Special Credits and Programs

Transfer Credit

Credit earned at other institutions of higher education may be transferred to Kenyon (i.e., counted as meeting a part of the College’s degree requirements) if the following conditions are met: (1) an official transcript is sent directly to the Kenyon registrar, (2) the grades earned are C or above, (3) the other institution is fully accredited by a recognized accrediting agency, or the Academic Standards Committee has specifically approved the program for off-campus study purposes, and (4) the subject matter of the courses is within the spirit of Kenyon’s curriculum. (Grades for transfer credit are not recorded on the student’s permanent record, except for off-campus study transfer credit; see the section explaining off-campus study.)

The registrar determines whether the above criteria are met, the amount of credit that is transferable, and the distribution requirements that are fulfilled. Credit is accepted in transfer to the College on a pro rata basis: One Kenyon unit equals eight semester-hours or twelve quarter-hours of credit.

Summer School Credit

Because summer school credit is credit transferred to the student’s permanent record, the provisions listed above regarding all transfer credit also apply to summer school credit. Students wishing to take courses at a summer school and receive transfer credit for work done there should obtain a transfer credit approval form at the registrar’s office and then consult with their faculty advisor and with the chair of the corresponding department at Kenyon for approval of the course(s). These approvals, along with any pertinent information from the summer school brochure or catalogue, should then be submitted to the registrar’s office. Upon receipt of the summer school transcript, the credit will be transferred to the student’s permanent record.

Students may not be able to anticipate what summer school they will attend before leaving campus in the spring. If this is the case, when students return to campus for the fall semester, they should pick up a transfer credit approval form in the registrar’s office and then proceed to obtain the necessary signatures of approval from both their faculty advisor and the chair of the corresponding department(s).

Failure to receive these permissions may result in the College not accepting the work for Kenyon credit.

No more than 2 units of summer school credit may be credited to the Kenyon degree. Credit earned in summer school may not be counted as a substitution for a semester of residence at the College. Summer school credit may, however, be included in a proposal for early graduation.

Off-Campus Study

Off-campus study, either in the United States or abroad, is an option chosen by approximately one hundred fifty Kenyon students each year. Nearly all academic disciplines may be studied off campus, and the curricula of off-campus study programs approved by the College often supplement a student’s degree work with courses not available on campus.

Generally, students in the humanities and social sciences can more easily integrate their off-campus programs with their work at Kenyon. However, several programs for science and fine arts majors can be arranged to complement a student’s on-campus work. Academic credit toward degree work at the College is assured for off-campus study, provided a student participates in an approved program and that the course of study is carefully planned with the student’s faculty advisor and Kenyon’s director of international education.

The junior year is usually the time for participating in an off-campus program. A student’s first year, however, is not too early to begin considering off-campus study while planning a Kenyon course of study. For certain majors, such as international studies, study abroad is either required or strongly encouraged, and such majors should begin early to coordinate their off-campus plans with their College study program. All students should carefully consider their major and degree requirements while planning off-campus study to ensure that their studies complement their work at Kenyon.

The Office of International Education provides academic and personal counseling to help students select the best off-campus study options from among the many approved programs and universities available to Kenyon students. Each option provides students with an academically rigorous experience while promoting the exploration of different cultures, societies, and values.

Options available in the United States include the following programs: the National Theater Institute, the Newberry Library Program in the Humanities, the New York Arts Program, the Oak Ridge Science Semester, the Philadelphia Center, the Washington Semester, and study at a few selected historically black colleges and universities (e.g., Hampton and Howard universities, and Spelman and Morehouse colleges).

Options available overseas include dozens of programs in Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

In cooperation with the University of Exeter School of English (England), Kenyon sponsors a year-long program of study for up to twenty Kenyon juniors who are accompanied by a Kenyon faculty member. Also, the Kenyon Honduras Program is a unique opportunity to pursue archaeology and cultural anthropology with two Kenyon faculty members.

Students should discuss, with their faculty advisor and the director of international education, their off-campus study options in relation to personal, educational, and career goals. For more information about specific programs or about off-campus study in general, please call extension 5637 or visit the Office of International Education, which is located in Acland House.

The transfer of off-campus study credit. Students having a minimum grade point average of 2.75 who believe and can demonstrate that a period of study elsewhere would contribute to their course of study may apply to study off campus. Courses of creditable study may be undertaken in the United States and many foreign countries. Most programs are designed for juniors, although in exceptional circumstances others may participate. Approval for off-campus study is competitive.

Students will have letter grades recorded for work done off campus whenever the course is taught and graded by a member of the Kenyon faculty and the course is given credit in the department where the member is appointed. These grades will factor into the student’s grade point average at Kenyon.

All grades received from completion of approved off-campus study courses will be posted to the student’s transcript, but no quality points will be awarded; grades below a C- will be posted but no credit will be awarded. Off-campus study grades, unless earned with a Kenyon professor or department, will not be calculated into the College grade point average.

Prohibited off-campus study programs. Certain study-abroad programs and courses that do not meet Kenyon standards are explicitly prohibited. Students interested in enrolling in off-campus study programs should first consult with the College’s director of international education and follow Kenyon procedures to gain admission to approved programs of study. Students who fail to follow College procedures regarding off-campus study, or who withdraw from Kenyon and thus circumvent existing College regulations regarding off-campus study, will not receive credit for coursework completed off campus.

Advanced Placement Credit

Students admitted to Kenyon who have taken college-level courses or the equivalent in preparatory or high schools and have achieved a grade of 3 on the CEEB Advanced Placement Examination, representing one year of college work, will be granted 1/2 unit of credit; or, if the work represents one semester, they will receive 1/4 unit credit. Students who receive a grade of 4 or 5, which represents one year of college work, will be granted 1 unit of credit; or, if the work represents one semester’s work, 1/2 unit of credit.

Advanced placement (AP) credit counts toward the 16 units required for the degree. However, no diversification requirement (i.e., five departments, four divisions) may be satisfied with AP credit.

The registrar records all AP credit on transcripts as unassigned transfer credit in the department designated, unless the department certifies a correspondence between the AP course and a particular course in the department.

Assigned AP credit may serve as a prerequisite for specific courses in the department, toward requirements for the major, and as advanced placement. Unassigned AP credit may or may not serve these functions, depending on each department’s decision.

Advanced placement, as opposed to credit, is determined by each department. AP credit may not be substituted for a semester of residence at the College. It may, however, be included in a proposal to the Academic Standards Committee for early graduation.

Baccalaureate Programs

Up to 3 units of Kenyon credit may be awarded to those who have satisfactorily completed certain Baccalaureate programs, including the International Baccalaureate, the French Baccalaureate, the British A-Levels, and the German Arbitur. Upon receipt of the official transcript, the registrar will determine, in conjunction with faculty members of specific departments, the awarding of the allowable 3 units. Placement in courses is determined by the department’s faculty.

As with the College’s advanced placement policy, baccalaureate credit cannot be used to fulfill residency or distribution requirements but may be included in a student’s petition for early graduation.

Kenyon Academic Partnership (formerly SCAP)

Founded by Kenyon and six independent Ohio secondary schools in 1979 as the School-College Articulation Program (SCAP), the Kenyon Academic Partnership (KAP) is dedicated to improving the transition of students from high school to college. KAP is designed (1) to reduce the amount of course duplication some students find in college; (2) to give students an introduction to the rigors of college work in familiar, supportive settings; and (3) to offer students more advanced and varied courses than are normally found in high school.

KAP course offerings have increased from four to twenty-two, and participating students have increased from one hundred twenty to more than one thousand per year.

Participating schools offer one or more courses cooperatively developed by the school and Kenyon faculty members. The courses are fully equivalent to the introductory courses offered in each of the College’s participating departments. The teachers in the secondary schools present these courses to eligible students according to collegiate standards, reproducing as closely as possible a college environment. Kenyon’s standards are maintained in a number of ways: the College appoints KAP teachers in the schools, Kenyon departmental representatives visit and evaluate classes in the schools, and teachers at both levels periodically exchange student papers for cross-grading. At the end of a course, a student’s final grade is posted in the same manner as for other College students, and a transcript may be sent to any college to which the student may wish to apply. KAP credits have been accepted in transfer to approximately two-thirds of the colleges attended by KAP students.

In addition to Kenyon, KAP schools include the following:

Beechcroft High School, Columbus, Ohio
Buckeye Valley High School, Delaware, Ohio
Bucyrus High School, Bucyrus, Ohio
East High School, Columbus, Ohio
Edison High School, Milan, Ohio
Fredericktown High School, Fredericktown, Ohio
Gilmour Academy, Gates Mills, Ohio
Granville High School, Granville, Ohio
Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights, Ohio
James Ford Rhodes High School, Cleveland, Ohio
John Hay High School, Cleveland, Ohio
John Marshall High School, Cleveland, Ohio
John F. Kennedy High School, Cleveland, Ohio
Laurel School, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Licking Valley High School, Newark, Ohio
Linden-McKinley High School, Columbus, Ohio
Maumee Valley Country Day School, Toledo, Ohio
Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon, Ohio
North Ridgeville Senior High, North Ridgeville, Ohio
Northland High School, Columbus, Ohio
Ridgewood High School, West Lafayette, Ohio
River View High School, Warsaw, Ohio
Tiffin-Columbia High School, Tiffin, Ohio
University School, Chagrin Falls, Ohio West High School, Columbus, Ohio
Western Reserve Academy, Hudson, Ohio.

Kenyon defines a unit of credit as eight semester-hours of credit. Many courses are taught over two semesters and earn the student 1 unit, while others, lasting one semester, earn the student 1/2 unit or four semester-hours of credit.

Descriptions of Kenyon courses that are also taught through the KAP program are found in this catalogue within the departmental sections. Currently, KAP courses and credits include those listed below.

ARTS 101 Color Design (1/2 unit)
ARTS 102 Drawing/Design (1/2 unit)
BIOL 112 Population and Environmental Biology (1/2 unit)
BIOL 113 From Cell to Organism (1/2 unit)
BIOL 114 Genetics and Development of Organisms (1/2 unit)
CHEM 111-112 Introductory Chemistry I- II (1 unit)
CHEM 113-114 Introductory Chemistry Laboratory I-II (1 unit)
ENGL 101-102 Literature and Language (1 unit)
FREN 323 Introduction to French Poetry and Theater (1/2 unit)
FREN 324 Introduction to French Prose
HIST 131-132 Modern Europe (1 unit)
HIST 101-102 United States History (1 unit)
LATN 202 Intermediate Latin (1/2 unit)
MATH 106 Elements of Statistics (1/2 unit)
MATH 111 Calculus A (1/2 unit)
MATH 118 Introduction to Computer Science (1/2 unit)
PHYS 113 Fundamentals of Physics (1/2 unit)
PHYS 130,135 General Physics I-II (1 unit)
PSCI 200 Liberal Democracy in America (1/2 unit)
PSYC 101-102 Introduction to Psychology (1 unit)
PSYC 325 Social Psychology (1/2 unit)
SPAN 325-326 Introduction to Spanish-American Literature (1 unit)

Transcripts of KAP student records are issued following the same format as all other Kenyon transcripts.