Exchange students face headaches

British exchange student Kate Nave said she loved everything about studying at UNC — until she got home and received her grades.

A third-year student at King’s College London, Nave spent the spring semester of this year studying at philosophy UNC. She said she earned two A’s, one A-minus and one B-plus at UNC. But she said those credits did not translate as highly when she returned home.

The difficulties Nave faced are indicative of the headache some international students face upon transferring credits from UNC.

“My home university has a pretty strict credit transfer policy,” said Nave, who also wrote for The Daily Tar Heel.

“Even if a student gets 100 percent in everything at UNC, the maximum mark this would be transferred to back home is 70 marks, a borderline 1st.” A 1st is the highest mark under the British system, but there are three levels — A, A-plus and A-plus-plus.

Nave said since UNC does not offer those grades, she thinks it is impossible for King’s College students to receive anything higher than 70 marks.

A representative from King’s College, one of the most popular study abroad destinations for UNC students, did not respond to an email for comment.

Brooke Shurer, director of study abroad advising, said UNC students who take classes abroad receive transfer credit as long as they earn the equivalent of a C or above, and GPA isn’t affected.

But the King’s College system, which does factor study abroad credits into GPA, aims to match grades from American universities to its own.

“Personally, considering how much work I put in at UNC, the grades translated back here feel like they’re lower than I would expect for that much work back home,” Nave said.

Another former exchange student said he also had issues with how his grades translated ­— but at his university in Sweden.

Niklas Olsson, a former Swedish exchange student who started studying at UNC in the fall of 2009, said in an email that Lund University only gives out three marks — “fail,” “pass” or “passed very well.”

Olsson’s grades from UNC, which ranged from A-minus to C-plus, all translated as “pass,” but none as “passed very well,” he said.

Bob Miles, associate dean for study abroad and international exchanges, said these systems are decided upon by the student’s home institution, not UNC.

“They determine an equivalency, and that is their decision,” he said.

“But these arrangements are subject to constant review. All grading systems are always subject to review for whatever reason.”

Nave said she and other classmates are hoping that King’s College will rethink its current system to better match UNC’s grading scale.

Amanda Tyus, study abroad department registrar and international adviser, said she understands the pressure these systems put on students.

“I always try and let the students know when they’re experiencing these high levels of stress that this is UNC, this is a very difficult institution, and students do experience lots of academic stress here,” she said.

“Even though they might not be satisfied necessarily with how their grades are being transferred, there’s more that goes into it than just the numbers.”

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.