Acceptance of Transfer Students/Credits

Evaluating and Awarding Transfer Credit

Any such earned credit must meet the minimum College academic standards of a grade of “C” or better and must parallel the content of similar courses offered. The maximum amount of credit allowed to be transferred is seventy five percent (75%) of the College’s curriculum. Any course taken at a North Carolina Community College System institution will be accepted for the equivalent course except as specified herein.

For all others, the following criteria will be considered in determining the acceptability of the transfer course work:

1. Accreditation of the school by a regional or national accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. Accreditation does not guarantee acceptance of transfer credit.

2. Equivalency of course descriptions, outcomes and analysis of course level, content, quality, comparability, and degree program relevance. It shall be the student’s responsibility to provide documentation of this equivalency, which may include, but is not limited to, syllabi, course catalogs, course outcomes, etc.

3. Use of recognized guides, such as those published by the American Council on Education, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and the National Association of Foreign Student Affairs.

4. If the school was not accredited by a regional or national accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education at the time the course was taken, additional documentation will be required. It shall be the student’s responsibility to provide any additional documentation requested.

5. For skills-based courses, particularly those in the advanced technology programs, demonstration of student skills may be a component of the evaluation process. Once a course is approved for transfer from a particular school, the course will be entered on a master list maintained by the Office of Records and Registration. Courses will be re-evaluated at least once every two years. Decisions related to acceptance of credit will be made by the appropriate faculty member(s) and Dean, in consultation with the Vice President of Instruction.

The responsibility for determining transfer credit from other colleges and universities rests with the Director of Admissions, Records, and Registration. When there is doubt about the appropriateness of transfer credit or when a student wishes to appeal a transfer credit decision, the transcript will be referred to the appropriate faculty member(s) and Dean, whose decision will be final. In such cases, the Dean will note the decision in the student's academic file. Time limits may be imposed in certain situations, such as for allied health program courses. The Office of Records and Registration and the appropriate Dean will maintain a list of courses that have time limits for transfer.

When a student transfers from a postsecondary institution to the College, the following steps will be implemented:

1. The student fills out an application for admission and is responsible for providing an official high school transcript and an official transcript from any other postsecondary institution. The student should allow at least one month for the transcript evaluation process prior to registering for classes.

2. The Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration evaluates the transcript and credit is accepted in accordance with the College's program offerings and the procedure stated herein. No credit for a course with a grade lower than a “C” may be transferred. The transcript evaluation is conducted in cooperation with the appropriate faculty member(s) and Dean, as applicable.

3. The student is given placement test(s), if applicable.

4. The student continues with registration procedure.

The College recognizes the following additional opportunities for awarding transfer credits:

1. College Board Advanced Placement Program (“AP”): College course credit will be granted to students who pass the AP examinations with a score of three, four or five. Students must submit a College Action Report (official score report) and an official high school transcript showing the corresponding AP course was completed to the Office of Records and Registration for consideration of granting college credit. A grade of “PR” will be recorded for an appropriate course on their transcript. The course will be shown on the transcript as credit received but will not be used in calculating the GPA. No more than 25% of the required hours for a credential can be awarded from proficiency credit.

2. College-Level Examination Program (“CLEP”): College course credit will be granted to students who participate in CLEP Subject Examinations and achieve the minimum passing score as recommended by the American Council on Education. Students must submit a CLEP transcript to the Office of Records and Registration for consideration of granting college credit.

3. Educational Experiences in the Armed Services: Servicemen and veterans may be awarded college credit for service schools they have attended. The service schools must be accredited by a regional accrediting agency. Before applying for credit, contact the service school(s) and ask them to which regional accrediting agency they belong. Contact the Office of Records and Registration for more information.

Joint Services Transcript (“JST”) is an academically accepted document approved by the American Council on Education (“ACE”) to validate a service member's military occupational experience and training along with the corresponding ACE college credit recommendations. When the College receives an official copy of a JST, the Registrar will review and apply appropriate course credit. The Vice President of Instruction will be consulted if there is need for further discussion regarding proposed course credit.

4. Non-curriculum to Curriculum Transfer Credit: Workforce course work from the College related to curriculum instruction may be transferred or accepted for credit towards curriculum courses in specific programs. Students must have earned a minimum letter grade of a “S”, passed the final assessment with a proficiency of 70% or better or successfully passed the applicable credentialing exam. The appropriate Dean for each division will approve workforce course material prior to officially granting curriculum credit. All documentation leading to the awarding of credit, including documentation of the credentialing exam, will be filed with the Director or Records and Registration. Faculty teaching courses for which CE to CU credit may be awarded must meet all SACSCOC credential requirements.

5. Experiential Learning: Students may receive credit for work or other learning experiences. The student must present a file or portfolio of information to the appropriate Dean for the purpose of justifying academic credit for the past experiences.

• Once received, the Dean will either forward the file or portfolio to the Vice President of Instruction with a recommendation of academic credits to be awarded or require the student to provide additional information on which to base the decision.
• A final determination of credit awarded to the student will be made by the Vice President.
• All documentation leading to the awarding of credit will be filed with the Director or Records and Registration.
• If credit is awarded, the student will receive a proficiency credit, with a grade of “PR” on the transcript.
• No more than 25% of the required hours for a credential can be awarded from proficiency credit.

6. Professional Certificates: Successful completion of BLET (CJC 100) may substitute for CJC 120, CJC 131, CJC 132, CJC 221, CJC 225, and CJC 231. All other professional certificates will be evaluated by the appropriate Dean.  Once documentation of an earned certificate is presented to the Dean, he/she will make a recommendation of academic credits to be awarded to the Vice President of Instruction.