Awarding of Transfer Credit and Credit by Examination or Petition
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PPM 4-21a, Awarding of Transfer Credit and Credit by Examination or Petition |
Responsible Office: Office of the Registrar |
1.0 PURPOSE
This policy describes how the University awards transfer credit and credit by examination or petition.
2.0 REFERENCES
2.1 PPM 11-1, Graduate Programs
2.2 Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R470
2.3 Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R472
2.4 Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R473
2.5 Utah Code Ann. § 53B-16-103
2.6 Utah Code Ann. § 53B-16-105
2.7 Utah Code Ann. § 53B-16-107
2.8 Utah Code Ann. § 53B-16-110
3.0 POLICY
3.1 Transfer Credit
3.1.1 At the University there are no age limits on transfer credits. A department may set age limits for credits applied toward its degrees and programs by obtaining approval through the University curriculum process. Chairs of those departments that set age limits may make exceptions for individual students.
3.1.2 Transfer credit is awarded in accordance with the following stipulations (for transfer of graduate credit see PPM 11-1):
3.1.2.1 Transcripts must be submitted to the Office of Admissions from all previously attended colleges and universities. Receipt of the transcript is noted on the student's admission file.
3.1.2.2 If the sending institution is regionally accredited, all credits are entered onto the student's Weber State University transcript. Regarding course content, instances where the content of a transferred course may be comparable to a WSU course, relevant department chairs will determine whether the transfer course may be substituted for the WSU course. When applicable, the established formula for quarter to semester conversion will be applied.
3.1.2.3 If the sending institution is not regionally accredited, transfer credits may be accepted under the following guidelines:
3.1.2.3.1 Credit may be accepted only if the course is deemed to be equivalent to a course in the WSU catalog.
3.1.2.3.2 Specific course credit may be applied by the Office of the Registrar if recommended and approved by the appropriate department chair with the Application for Credit form but only under the following guidelines:
3.1.2.3.2.1 The student must present such evidence as the department deems necessary, which could include an official transcript, a course description, a course syllabus, evidence of work completed, or proof of completion by examination.
3.1.2.3.2.2 Credit must be evaluated by the appropriate department and the specific equivalency approved by the department chair through the Application for Credit form.
3.1.2.3.2.3 If transfer work is deemed equivalent to WSU course work, the department chair may grant credit with or without waiver of specific courses.
3.1.3 If the sending institution is part of the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), credits will be evaluated according to the Utah Board of Higher Education Policy on transfer credit (R470-7). For the purpose of General Education, Brigham Young University, Brigham Young University (Idaho), LDS Business College, and Westminster College will be considered the same as USHE institutions.
3.1.4 For the purposes of General Education, Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees from institutions accredited by one of the six regional accreditation associations (recognized by the U.S. Department of Education) will fulfil the University’s General Education requirements if the degree includes evidence of six credits of college-level English coursework, 3 credits of college-level Math coursework, and 3 credits of college-level physical or life science coursework. Students are required to complete the American Institutions requirement in addition to their accepted associate degree if that degree does not include 3-6 credits of coursework with course learning outcomes that include a reasonable understanding of the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States as required by Utah Code Ann. §53B-16-103(1)(b). Degree evaluation authority lies with the Office of the Registrar.
3.1.5 Credit designated as lower division by the sending institution may be awarded as lower-division or based on review of content by the department course may be articulated as upper-division. Credit designated as upper division by the sending institution may only be awarded upper-division designation at WSU and cannot be awarded lower-division designation.
3.2 Credit By Examination
3.2.1 Credit by examination will be awarded with the following stipulations:
3.2.1.1 A student must either be officially registered or have an established WSU transcript at the time the request for credit or examination is made.
3.2.1.2 Credit is not awarded if duplicated by previous examinations, petition or course work for which a student received a grade (A-E, I, T, W, UW, CR, NC).
3.2.1.3 This credit is not considered part of the residence requirement.
3.2.1.4 This credit, although graded on a credit/no credit basis, may be used to satisfy major, minor, and general education requirements.
3.2.1.5 Credit by standard examination (i.e. CLEP, AP) is awarded at the discretion of the appropriate department and according to departmentally approved guidelines.
3.2.1.6 Credit by special examination may be awarded at the discretion of academic departments according to the following guidelines.
3.2.1.6.1 Academic departments will provide an annual list of courses that may be challenged.
3.2.1.6.2 The department chair or designee may interview the candidate and determine whether or not the student has sufficient background in the area to justify giving a special examination.
3.2.1.6.3 The faculty member sends the examination results to the Office of the Registrar where the credit is posted to the student's permanent record.
3.2.1.6.4 The credit that can be earned (overall and in each sitting) will be determined by each department.
3.2.1.6.5 A student may not take examinations in more than one subject area at any one sitting.
3.2.1.6.6 A student may take an examination for any given course(s) one time only.
3.2.1.6.7 A fee will be charged for each sitting.
3.2.1.6.8 Veteran's benefits will not be paid for credit earned by special examination.
3.3 Credit By Petition
3.3.1 Credit by petition is awarded by the Office of the Registrar and appropriate academic departments according to guides published by the American Council on Education (“ACE”) and according to the following guidelines:
3.3.1.1 Military Credit is administered in accordance with the ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Military Service Experiences and articulation agreements with government agencies.
3.3.1.1.1 Elective Credit may be applied by the Office of the Registrar.
3.3.1.1.2 Specific course credit may be awarded by the appropriate department chair(s) with the Application for Credit form.
3.3.1.2 Credit for military training
3.3.1.2.1 Students who have completed at least 24 months of active military service may be granted a maximum of 10 credit hours. These credits are awarded as social science general education course HLTH 1030 (3 credit hours) and 7 elective credit hours.
3.3.1.2.2 Students who have completed four or more years in the National Guard or a reserve unit may be granted social science general education course HLTH 1030 (3 credit hours) and 7 elective credit hours.
3.3.1.3 Credit for prior experiential learning and industrial or commercial training may be awarded provided that such awarding is carefully monitored and documented.
3.3.1.4 Departments awarding experiential learning credit must have written criteria which assure its academic equivalence to credit earned by traditional means.
3.3.1.5 Credit for prior experiential learning may be granted only at the undergraduate level (for graduate credit see PPM 11-1).
3.3.1.6 Before credit for prior experiential learning becomes part of the student's permanent record, the student must have completed thirty credit hours with a GPA of 2.25 or better to establish evidence of a satisfactory learning pattern.
3.3.1.7 Credit may be granted with the approval of the department chair only upon the recommendation of teaching faculty who are appropriately qualified and who are on a regular appointment with the college on a continuing basis.
3.3.1.8 Credit may be granted only for documented learning that ties the prior experience to the theories and data of the relevant academic fields.
3.3.1.9 Credit may be granted only for documented learning which falls within the regular curricular offerings of the institution.
3.3.1.10 Credit for prior experiential learning may constitute no more than 25% of the credits needed for a degree or certificate.
3.3.1.11 No assurances will be made as to the number of credits to be awarded prior to the completion of the institution's review process.
3.3.1.12 Credit may be granted only to enrolled students and is to be identified on the student's transcript as credit for prior experiential learning.
3.4 Foreign Language Credit
The Foreign Language Department has a separate procedure to accept results from foreign language testing agencies and to allow petitions to gain credit for certain lower division courses by passing specific higher level courses with a grade of C or better.
3.5 Peace Officer Standards and Training (“POST”) Credit
3.5.1 The Criminal Justice Department maintains a procedure to award lower division credit hours to individuals completing modules of a POST program certified by the state of Utah.
3.5.2 Credits awarded are in accordance with the USHE POST Credit Statement of Agreement (“Agreement”), or its equivalent USHE policy.
3.5.3 Individuals requesting credits under this policy must be officially registered, or have an established WSU transcript, at the time the request for credit is made.
3.5.4 Students requesting transfer of credits received under this Agreement, or equivalent USHE policy, from other USHE institutions, may have the credits transferred to Weber State University, in accordance with the Transfer Credit policy, Section 3.1, and the Criminal Justice Department procedure to award the credits.
3.5.5 Credit hours awarded under this Agreement may not count toward completion of a graduate degree.
3.5.6 The University will not require any tuition or fees for credits granted under this Section 3.5.
Revision History
Creation Date: 4-20-77
Amended: 3-19-19; 6-19-20; 4-20-22