School of Record - Spanish Institute Academic Programs

For over forty years the Spanish Institute has provided instruction to students from all over the world in Spanish language and related topics. The Spanish Institute is recognized by Instituto Cervantes and other Spanish and international organizations but, like most organizations that provide study-abroad courses and services, it is not a university that can issue its own official transcripts. In the past, students have obtained credit for their Spanish Institute courses only through special agreement with, or review by, their home institution.

Now obtaining academic credit is easy!

In 2023 the Spanish Institute signed an agreement with the University of Montana (UM), a top-tier («R1») research university in the United States, to record grades for Spanish Institute courses and to issue transcripts for those grades. The University of Montana transcript enables students participating in Spanish Institute courses to transfer official U.S. credits to their home institution for those courses.

This follows rigorous review of Spanish Institute syllabi by the faculty of UM’s College of Humanities and Sciences, World Languages and Cultures Department (WLC), and also by UM’s Global Leadership Initiative (GLI). The GLI provides credit for experiential learning courses (i.e., Internship, Service-Learning, and some Independent Study Projects) that are conducted primarily in English or whose content is beyond the scope of WLC.

UM’s approval of our courses underscores the quality we offer and the applicability of our curriculum to U.S. institutions and to those institutions around the world that recognize a U.S. standard.

Who needs a School of Record transcript?

Students who come to the Spanish Institute as part of a program arranged by their home college or university will be informed by their home institution whether they require a University of Montana transcript for Spanish Institute courses.

Students who come individually to the Spanish Institute will almost certainly want the University of Montana transcript to assist in the credit transfer process to their home institution.

• Be certain to notify the Spanish Institute during the acceptance process if you will require a School of Record transcript. The Spanish Institute will provide you with the necessary transcript request form to complete. The cost for School of Record credit depends on the number of Spanish Institute courses that you take. Courses taken at the local universities are not part of the School of Record process because you will receive an official transcript from the local university for these courses to share with your home institution.

How and when do students obtain a transcript and how much does it cost?

The Spanish Institute compiles a grade report at the end of every session. An unofficial grade report is issued to students. The grade report is also securely transmitted to our School of Record, the University of Montana. UM records the grades and conveys them securely to the National Student Clearinghouse.

Students obtain the transcript from the National Student Clearinghouse.

It’s easy! This is how:

• Go to: https://tsorder.studentclearinghouse.org/school/select
  • Enter: University of Montana
  • Follow the instructions on the subsequent page.
    • Typically, you will request an electronic (pdf) transcript to be emailed to your home school Registrar’s Office
    • Typically a transcript is considered “official” only when it is conveyed directly to the home school
  • Students need the following information:
    • The email or physical address of their Registrar’s Office
    • Student ID (790#) or Social Security Number
    • Name while participating in Spanish Institute courses
    • Date of birth
• The cost is currently $10 per transcript, payable to The National Student Clearinghouse by credit or debit card, through the National Student Clearinghouse portal, at the time of the transcript request.
• Transcripts for the Spanish Institute program should be available approximately a month after the end of the program.
  • Students must initiate conveyance of the transcript to their home institution by following the simple procedure detailed above.

Transcripts are available to students at any time in the future, for any purpose, through the National Student Clearinghouse.

Am I a student at the University of Montana because I am receiving UM’s School of Record transcript?

No, unless you are enrolled as a degree student at UM. Typically, all others are not, but rather are students at their home college or university.

For purposes of obtaining your transcript at the conclusion of your Spanish Institute program – or at any time in the future – you will respond to National Student Clearinghouse prompts as if a UM student. This is how the National Student Clearinghouse portal works and indicates only that UM is the recording institution for your transcript.

How are grades for courses I took at one of the Spanish partner universities processed?

The Spanish Institute’s partner universities in Seville issue transcripts for their own courses. These university transcripts are official and will be recognized as such by your home institution. Spanish grades and/or credits on the Spanish university transcripts will be converted to the grades and/or credits of your home institution according to in-house or published algorithms.

If I have transcripts from the School of Record and the Spanish university, will I definitely receive credit and grades for all the courses I took in Seville?

The University of Montana transcript and the Spanish university transcripts will facilitate credit transfer to your home institution. Keep in mind that course credit transfer and approval of specific credits are at the discretion of your home institution. It is always important to consult with your home institution prior to studying abroad to clarify how credits will transfer and how courses taken abroad apply to major, minor or other course credits.