What is the Academic Planning Form or Academic Advising Agreement, and when is it due?

The Academic Planning Form or Academic Advising Agreement is a “contract” between you and your advisor regarding the courses you are planning on taking while studying away, and how they will count towards your graduation requirements when you return. This form is available and due after you are accepted to your study away program. 

Be sure to follow the listed instructions! The form should be mostly completed BEFORE taking it to your advisor. Faculty get very frustrated when students ask them to complete this form for them. Faculty are not familiar with all of the classes available on study away programs, so it is your responsibility to do your research ahead of time, use your best judgment to match classes from the host institution with what you need to graduate, and then take that information to your advisor. We even recommend creating a spreadsheet of the classes you need, and what classes abroad are similar to those. Be sure to bring course descriptions and as much information on the classes as available.  

Keep in mind that faculty are VERY busy the last two weeks of classes, the first two weeks of classes, and around registration; they are also often unavailable during winter and summer break. You should not expect faculty to help you during these times, so be sure to plan accordingly.  

If you are planning on taking classes in your major, then a faculty member in that department will sign. If you want to take classes in your double major or minor, then likewise your advisor in that department will sign. If you want to take GE courses, there is no designated person to sign. You can either go to the department that houses that GE (ex. a history GE class would be in the history department) and ask one of them to sign, or you can work with the study away advisor.  

Navigating GE courses abroad can be difficult since there is no designated GE advisor. Use your best judgment by matching the abroad course with an SSU GE course title and course description. The more similar the class is to an SSU GE class, the easier it will be. You can view classes on study away programs that have already been approved to meet SSU requirements on the TES website. 

Once your advisor has approved your plan we recommend asking them to complete the ARR Update Form right away to make the approved class matches official. Once you feel confident about your GE class selection, we recommend completing the GE Substitution Petition right away to obtain official approval. 

When is it due?

The due date will depend on the program in which you are participating. There may be a specific deadline listed, so be sure to watch for that. Regardless of the listed deadline, you should work to have the Advising Agreement signed BEFORE May 1 or December 1. The reason for this is once we get into the months of May and December, faculty get very busy with finals and the end of the semester. Additionally, most faculty will not respond to emails once the semester ends. So, access to a faculty member after May/December 1 will be very, very limited.