The College Handbook 1992/The College Handbook 1992 CD-ROM Edition - Nimbus.ISO/ceintro9.txt

Text File | 1992-01-18 | 13.9 KB | 256 lines

HOW CREDITS TRANSFER

It's important to understand something about the philosophy and
mechanics of the transfer of credit from one college to another. The
college that you transfer to determines which courses they will grant
credit for and how those courses will count toward the degree you earn
there, in other words, whether they will be counted as general education
requirements, courses in your major, or as electives. The transfer
institution has this authority because, as the degree-granting
institution, it takes responsibility for the degrees earned by its
graduates. It must ensure that you have gained the level of knowledge
implicit in the degree you receive.

In general, colleges' assessments of credit take into account:

  - The quality of the institution from which the student transfers;
  - The comparability of the nature, content, and level of credit
    earned to that offered by the receiving institution;
  - The appropriateness and applicability of the credit earned to the
    programs offered by the receiving institution, in light of the
    student's education goals.

These considerations were agreed upon by a joint committee of
representatives of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and
Admissions Officers, the American Council on Education/Commission on
Educational Credit, and the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation. They
serve as guidelines for determining transfer credit at accredited
colleges.

All colleges described in this handbook are accredited by an agency that
is nationally recognized by the Secretary of Education, or have
preaccredited status. (A few unaccredited colleges are included under a
method by which the Secretary of Education verifies that not fewer than
three accredited college-level institutions have accepted and do accept
the unaccredited institution's credits, upon tranfer, as though coming
from an institution accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting
agency.) Some accredited colleges have special policies for students who
apply from unaccredited colleges; talk with the admissions office at the
colleges you're applying to if you are attending or have earned credits
at an unaccredited institution. (For more information about
accreditation, see the Glossary.)


ALL CREDITS ARE NOT ALIKE

"Many students don't understand that some courses take them one step
closer to the degree but not to the major," according to one transfer
coordinator.

At most colleges, students are required to earn credits in three areas,
commonly called:

  - General education requirements (also called "distribution"
    requirements)
  - Requirements in major field of study
  - Electives

Colleges usually advise students to focus on completing general
education requirements in their first two years of college, before
taking electives and the courses required for a major.

General education requirements are similar at many colleges: some course
work in the liberal arts is usually required even for students preparing
for a profession such as nursing, engineering, or business. Some
colleges have core requirements either in addition to general education
requirements or in place of them. These are specific courses that all
students must take. Many students transfer after the freshman or
sophomore year with little loss of credit as long as they have been
completing general education courses that frequently meet the general
education requirements of other institutions.

Courses in a major may not meet the requirements of the major at your
transfer institution, which may want the bulk or even all of the major
taken there. This is often true for the professions--education,
business, engineering, nursing. On the other hand, prerequisites to the
major usually do transfer. In fact, you may increase your chances of
being accepted into competitive programs if you have completed all the
prerequisites for your major. Catalogs of the degree-granting
institutions you are considering will list the necessary prerequisites
for specific programs of study.

Courses that are not accepted toward the major or as general education
requirements may transfer as electives. Some courses may not transfer
at all.

Many colleges, especially four-year colleges and universities, accept
only courses that represent collegiate-level work. Remedial,
developmental, literacy, and certain vocational courses often do not
transfer. For example, what students learn in a computer programming
course that prepares them to work after earning an associate degree is
different in scope and content from the in-depth knowledge about
programming they obtain in a course that prepares them for further,
baccalaureate level course work. (Vocational courses transfer more
readily from one community college to another). Remedial, developmental,
and literacy courses help students make up deficiencies in basic skills
and enable them to do college-level work. It would be foolhardy not to
take a remedial course from which you might benefit tremendously, or a
vocational course in which you have a strong interest, just because it
might not transfer. But don't be surprised if these courses aren't
accepted for credit by other institutions. If you are given credit for
noncollegiate courses, it will probably be elective credit.

PROFILE: TANIA'S STORY

After her third semester at a public university, Tania decided to
transfer. "I had a really good time first year. I went out a lot. My
sophomore year, I was with a lot of people from my freshman year, but
suddenly I realized that we were really different. They had stuffed
animals in their rooms, for starters." By that time, Tania had also
decided she didn't want to study nursing. She had begun to take English
and theater courses, and thought she might want to major in drama, but
she was also considering education. Her adviser pointed out that the
university didn't offer the specialty she was considering--early
education--and suggested that she consider transfer.

Because she missed her home town, New York City, she applied to only one
college--a city college that offered early education. But she soon lost
interest in that major. "I wish I'd focused on what I wanted before I
transferred. And I really wish I'd considered more than one school."
Even though she doesn't feel her college is exactly right for her, she
decided not to transfer a second time. She switched her major to
English, in which she'll soon receive her bachelor's degree.

Tania had some problems with credits transferring. "The biology course
I'd taken was 'too advanced.' I'd done more work than was required by my
new college, but I didn't get the credit. My astronomy course was worth
3 credits at my previous college and 4 credits at my new college--so
that didn't transfer either." Tania decided to talk with faculty about
some of her credits, to see if she could get credit for some of her
"untransferable" courses after all, and her effort was worthwhile. "A
theater course didn't transfer at first, but I talked to the theater
department, and they decided they'd give me credit for it."


HOW THE CREDIT DECISION IS MADE

The determination of what transfers is based on an evaluation of your
transcripts--records from your high school and the colleges where you've
earned credit which show what courses you completed and what grades you
received. The admissions committee decides whether to accept you, but
may not determine the fate of your credits. Many colleges have transfer
committees composed of faculty and admissions staff that evaluate
transcripts; sometimes the academic dean or registrar assesses credits;
department heads or individual professors may become involved in
particular questions--whether to accept a drama course as a general
education requirement or an elective, or whether a course in nonviolent
protest should transfer as political theory or philosophy. Sometimes the
admissions committee does determine transfer credits, but if not, they
can tell you who can answer your questions about how your courses will
transfer.

When will you find out which of your courses will transfer and how the
credits will be applied to the requirements of your degree? Many
colleges provide an unofficial assessment of what and how courses will
transfer when you apply. This is truly unofficial. Your acceptance
letter may indicate what standing you will be given when you enter, or
how your courses will transfer, though until you've submitted a final
transcript with your last semester's grades, this is not the end result.
You may not know exactly what transferred until you enroll, though the
college usually will give you a clear indication of what to expect. If
you are unclear about what courses you will need to complete your
degree, ask the admissions office to put you in touch with someone who
can advise you.

The amount of course work that transfers may be a significant factor in
your college choice. There would be little point in opting to attend
your second-choice college because it gave you credit for all but one
course, whereas your first-choice college nixed two courses. But being a
semester closer to graduation at one college because it accepts your
course work may be significant in your decision. Always keep your goals
in mind. Being in a specific program or at your first-choice college may
be more important than transferring all or most of your credits.

Because colleges set their own policies about accepting credits from
other institutions, it's impossible to provide a formula for ensuring
maximum transfer of credit. As soon as you identify the colleges you'd
like to transfer to and the programs you'd like to enter, you should
discuss your course work with those colleges to find out exactly what
will transfer.

The "credit transfer" section in each college description provides
information about policies. Use this section to evaluate what may happen
to your credits, and determine what information about credit transfer
you need from particular colleges. Some colleges will state specific
policies. For example, the college may grant credit for equivalent
courses in which at lease a 2.0 (or C) was earned. Even these colleges,
however, evaluate each transcript individually.

College officials frequently mention the following as ways to ensure
maximum transfer of your credit:

 - Take the required general education courses during your first two
   years. These liberal arts courses often transfer to other
   institutions.
 - Take the prerequisites in your major.  Your chances of being accepted
   for transfer into a competitive major will be improved if you have
   completed them.  The transfer institution will be able to tell you
   what the prerequisites are for the program you are interested in.
 - Begin to take courses in disciplines that interests you, but reserve
   the bulk of your work in the major for the institution from which
   you'll receive your degree; upper-level courses (often numbered 300,
   400, or 500) may not transfer.  While many colleges listed in this
   book accept transfers into their senior classes, courses in the major
   may not transfer readily, and you may spend some extra time completing
   your degree.
 - Finish sequences.  Take both micro and macroeconomics if required, or
   chemistry 101 and 102.  Half a sequence may not be accepted for credit.
 - If you are at a community college, take "transfer" courses. These
   courses are often designated as such in the college catalog.  Work
   out your schedule with your adviser and get his or her advice on
   preparing for a major.  (See "Especially for community college
   students" for more on this topic.)
 - As soon as you identify the colleges to which you plan to apply, talk
   with their staff about your course work--what will transfer and what
   you should take before making the transfer.

Finally, remember that you can petition once you get to your new school
to have credits accepted (as Tania did with her drama course). The
transfer committee may not understand what's listed on your transcript
and therefore be unable to decide what to do with a course. Vassar
didn't know what to make of the three credits a young man had earned in
"DigHum." When he arrived on campus in the fall, he showed them the
catalog from his previous school and the description of the "Dignity of
Humankind" course that included readings from Euripides, Homer, Carlyle,
and other authors that Vassar found "quite acceptable." He was given
credit. According to one transfer coordinator at a selective
institution, about 75 percent of the transfers at his college have
trouble with transferring at least one course. Sometimes, though,
students can explain what is not apparent on a transcript and end up
with credit after all.

The college descriptions in this book will give you information on a
college's policies regarding credits in the "credit transfer" section.
You might have specific questions that you'll want to ask during the
admissions process. Below is a list of some frequently asked questions:

-- Is there a minimum of credits I must take at your college to earn
   my degree?
-- Is there a maximum number of credits I can transfer to your
   institution?  Is there a maximum in my major?
-- Will I be given full junior (or sophomore or senior) standing?  Are
   there specific courses required of students at your institution that
   I'll have to take?
-- Will the courses I've already taken in my major count toward the
   requirements at this college?
-- What is the minimum grade you will accept for a transfer course in
   general?  In my major field?
-- Do you grant credit for pass/fail courses?  For those in my major?
-- Will you accept the credits I earned through credit-by-examination
   or from placement tests given at my previous institution?
-- Do you have any advice on what courses I should take at my current
   college next semester?
-- When will I find out exactly which courses will transfer?