Gaining approval for courses taken during the summer or while studying abroad
Please read this carefully.
Preliminary approval
Before you leave Oberlin, deliver to Professor Wilson a hard copy of the course description and syllabus, if available, plus any other information you have about the course(s) and institution, along with the form that needs to be signed. Be aware that, if the program is not an Oberlin-affiliated program, it may be impossible to give approval if you only provide a course number and title.
Please: Do not leave this for the last day or two before the form is due!
You can sign up for Professor Wilson's office hours (see below), or you can drop the material off at the mail slot outside of his office (Rice 217).
Note that preliminary approval does not mean you will automatically get Politics credit for the course(s), especially if a syllabus is not available at the time you receive preliminary approval.
Final approval
Save a hard copy of the course syllabus and your papers and exams. If papers or exams are not normally returned, explain to the instructor that you need to take your papers/exams with you to your home institution. If the syllabus is online, print out a copy; you may not be able to access it after you return.
Deliver hard copies of these materials to Professor Wilson along with the form for his signature. Note that it may take a bit of time to review these; again, do not leave this for the last minute.
Final approval cannot be given without at least some of this material; it is almost always impossible to give credit for a course based only on its title or a brief catalogue description.
If you are seeking transfer of credit for a summer school course taken elsewhere, you are waiting for the transcript, and the deadline is approaching, go ahead and deliver everything else when you have it, along with a note explaining that the transcript has not yet arrived. Then deliver the transcript when it arrives.
Changing courses
If you go abroad and find that the course you planned to take is not offered, you can email Professor Wilson and ask for preliminary approval, if you are able to send him some written material (especially the syllabus) from the course. Otherwise, wait until you return.
Mechanics
For either preliminary or final approval: You can drop material off (along with the form for signature) in the mailslot outside Professor Hirsch’s office, Rice 209. He will review the material, sign the form, and leave it for you to pick up from the same slot. Make sure the forms are filled out completely.
Language issues
Professor Wilson can read French, and syllabi in most languages using the Latin alphabet are fine. If your papers are in a language other than French or English it is especially important to have the syllabus, in English, French, or another Latin alphabet (a syllabus in Spanish or Italian, for example, is usually fine). If both the syllabus and your papers are in, say, Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic, you will need to translate at least some of the material. Titles of materials used in the course are particularly helpful, so start with a translation of the syllabus; that may be enough.
Office hours
If you want to discuss any of this with Professor Wilson, please stop by his office during office hours Tuesday 10:00-12:00 and Thursday 2:30-4:30.
