Transfer Credit Policy

General Transfer Credit Policy

SUBJECT: General Transfer Credit

PURPOSE: To delineate policy and procedures followed to award credit for course work taken at other colleges and universities.

POLICY:

1. The Registrar has the responsibility for the evaluation and awarding of transfer credit according to established school/division transfer policies. Department faculty and college catalogs may be consulted for advice. Undergraduate students may petition the appropriate academic division or school and graduate students may petition the respective School to request variance in program requirements in light of previous background.
2. Credit is accepted if transferred from regionally accredited institutions, as determined by the Transfer Credit Practices of Designated Educational Institutions, published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Credit not ordinarily accepted as shown in this guide, may be accepted at Graceland University if it is verified that course work from the sending institution is recognized and accepted at any major state university within that state.

RATIONALE: To provide for consistent evaluation of credits taken at other colleges and universities.

PROCEDURE:

1. Official transcripts are required and must be received directly from all accredited and nonaccredited secondary and post-secondary institutions. (VA requirement and regulation for federal financial aid.)
2. A maximum of 16 semester hours of vocational-technical course work will be accepted as elective credit, if needed.
3. A maximum of 6 semester hours of physical education activities, including a maximum of 2 semester hours of intercollegiate sports, will be accepted.
4. A maximum of 8 semester hours of music ensemble credit will be accepted.
5. A maximum of 8 semester hours of English as a Second Language will be accepted.
6. A maximum of 6 semester hours of developmental or remedial coursework will be accepted.
7. Credit is awarded according to the American Council on Education (ACE) Guide to Educational Credit by Examination. Score reports must be sent directly from the testing center to Graceland for evaluation.
8. Credit for proficiency examinations taken at previous post-secondary institutions is not awarded.
9. No more than 75 semester hours of course work will be accepted from two-year colleges.
10. Credit does not become obsolete, but application of some credit to a specific program at Graceland may be subject to review by department faculty.
11. Graceland's course number, as listed in the current catalog, is assigned to equivalent transfer courses.
12. An elective course number, "0000" for lower division courses or "4999" for upper division courses, is assigned to non-equivalent transfer courses.
13. Course titles, semester hours and grades assigned by the sending institution are generally retained on the Graceland record. There is no provision to award credit with plus or minus grades.
14. Quarter hours are converted to semester hours; one quarter hour equals 2/3 of a semester hour.
15. All work transferred from a two-year college will be considered lower division. However, some two-year college courses may meet the intent of specific upper division courses at Graceland. The courses are assigned a lower division elective number, "0000" and the upper division course is included on the academic record as “WV.” The intent of the course is met, but the hours will not count toward upper division.
16. Credit for military programs and training is awarded according to ACE recommendations in the baccalaureate category in the Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services.
17. Graduates of colleges and/or schools of nursing located outside the US may find it impossible to obtain official transcripts from the institution. After all other efforts to obtain an official transcript have failed, the student may request a letter from any college attended in the US or from the state board of nursing. A copy of the "foreign transcript" received by the college or state board should accompany the letter with a statement certifying it is a true copy of the official transcript received previously by the college or state board from the "foreign" institution.
18. Credit may be awarded for post-secondary education completed at colleges and/or universities in foreign countries. A course-by-course evaluation provided by the World Education Services (WES) is required before awarding credit. If the student is pursuing admission into the MSN program, nursing credits earned at an institution outside the US are evaluated by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) before awarding credit.
19. Credit accepted from colleges or universities in foreign countries is recorded only with “P” grades, unless the foreign college or university is accredited by a United States regional accrediting association, or (2) the institution is Canadian.

Approved:

Outreach Steering Committee
November 15, 1996

Approved by Executive Council

Academic Council
November 11, 2008

Faculty
December 1, 2008

Independence Academic Council
October 23, 2008