College transfer
College transfer is the movement of students from one higher education institution to another and the process by which academic credits are accepted or not accepted by a receiving institution.
Transfers may occur as "vertical transfers," typically movement from a two-year college to a four-year college or university, or "horizontal transfers," involving movement between two institutions at the same level.[1]
Background
According to the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), in 2005 nearly 60% of college graduates in the United States who completed undergraduate degrees had attended two or more institutions prior to graduation. Roughly 2.5 million students transfer every year. Usually in the movement from one institution to another, students are evaluated and receive all, partial or no transfer credit for completed courses already taken. The evaluation usually is preliminary prior to enrollment and won't be official until after enrollment and the full degree audit report is delivered.
Most institutions require a minimum satisfactory grade in each course to be considered by the receiver institution. Students should check course equivalency maps and transfer guides to validate how courses in one institution will relate to the potential receiver institution. Prior courses taken could either be accepted as electives, accepted as filling a degree requirement or not accepted at all.
Transferring credit from nationally accredited higher education institutions to institutions which have regional accreditation has proved particularly problematic.[2][3] Regionally accredited schools are generally non-profit and academically oriented. Nationally accredited schools are predominantly for-profit and generally offer vocational, career or technical programs.[2][3] Every college has the right to set standards and refuse to accept transfer credits. However, if a student has gone to a nationally accredited school it may be particularly difficult to transfer credits (or even credit for a degree earned) if he or she then applies to a regionally accredited college. Some regionally accredited colleges have general policies against accepting any credits from nationally accredited schools, others are reluctant to because they feel that these schools' academic standards are lower than their own or they are unfamiliar with the particular school. The student who is planning to transfer credits from a nationally accredited school to a regionally accredited school should ensure that the regionally accredited school will accept the credits before the enroll in the nationally accredited school.[4][5][2][3]
See also
References
- ^ Statement to the Community: Transfer and Public Interest, Council on Higher Education Accreditation, November 2000
- ^ a b c
- ^ a b c
- ^ Demanding Credit, Inside Higher Education website, dated Oct. 19, 2005 by Scott Jaschik
- ^ Tussling Over Transfer of Credit, Inside Higher Education website, February 26, 2007 by Doug Lederman
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