Comprehensive Standards: Educational Programs 3.4.4 (transfer credit policy)
The institution has a defined and published policy for evaluating and awarding, and accepting credit for transfer, experiential learning, advanced placement, and professional certificates that is consistent with its mission and ensures that course work and learning outcomes are at the collegiate level and comparable to the institution’s own degree programs. The institution assumes responsibility for the academic quality of any course work or credit recorded on the institution’s transcript.  

Compliance
North Carolina State University is in compliance with this standard.

Explanation
NC State University is strongly committed to realizing its mission by serving the needs of transfer students, thus it takes evalution processes very seriously and follows policies developed by the appropriate state and institutional authorities.  The university publishes its transfer policies in both print and on the Web, thereby advising prospective students as well as ensuring consistent evaluation and acceptance of transfer courses and advanced placement tests.  Further, the university has clear and consistent policies regarding experiential learning and professional certificates.  The university takes responsibility for the academic quality of the transfer credit.

Further, all policies governing the transfer of credit are the same for distance education students as for on-campus students.   

 

Undergraduate Programs
Transfer students make up a significant part of each new undergraduate class entering the university. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has an entire operational section devoted to processing transfer applications, coordinating transcript review and evaluation and serving the needs of  transfer students.     

Transfer admissions and credit policies are explained in printed material provided by the admissions office and posted on the Web.  In addition, the University Handbook for Advising and Teaching informs the campus community of the factors involved in transfer admissions decisions as well as factors involved in the awarding of transfer credit. 

In some instances, these policies were developed by the University of North Carolina system and delegated to NC State University.  For instance, the University of North Carolina has an approved comprehensive articulation agreement with the North Carolina Community College system.  As a part of the University of North Carolina, NC State University participates in this agreement.

In other instances, transfer credit policy has been developed by the Office of the Provost.  When transfer students are admitted to NC State University, their colleges and academic departments follow the provost's guidelines to determine how the credit applies to a degree from NC State University.  In this case, the student's transfer courses are evaluated by the appropriate university faculty teaching in the discipline. 

If the transfer credit is evaluated and accepted by the appropriate academic unit, it is then applied towards a student's degree, becomes part of the student's official transcript, and is added to our transfer credit database.   

Prospective transfer students can reap the benefits of the university's long-standing evaluation process by accessing the interactive transfer equivalency website maintained by the undergraduate admissions office.  Students from various institutions can review the list of courses that transfer and develop a general idea of where they will stand at NC State University.  Besides being a valuable resource for prospective students, the database also helps expedite the transfer process for faculty and staff, thereby ensuring the consistent and timely evaluation of transcripts. 

The university also has clear policies regarding experiential learning, advanced placement examinations, and professional certifications. 

First, credit for experiential learning is only awarded at NC State University by validation through our credit by examination academic regulation. The regulation used to determine credit for experiential learninghas been developed by the provost's office and posted on the Web.

Also, the university awards academic credit on the basis of examination results on the College Board Advanced Placement program (AP) exams or the International Baccalaureate (IB) exams.  Experienced NC State University faculty review the test results to determine appropriate credit for either AP or IB exams.   The university's AP and IB policies are detailed on the admissions office website.

Graduate Programs
NC State University also has defined and published similar policies for its graduate programs.  As with its policies governing undergraduate programs, these policies are also consistent with the university's mission and ensure that the transferred coursework is equal to its own degree programs.  Again, NC State University assumes responsibility for the academic quality of any course work or credit recorded on the institution's transcript.

Rules, regulations, and procedures governing graduate transfer credits are recommended by the Administrative Board of the Graduate School and are published in the Graduate Administrative Handbook, which is posted on the Graduate School website and in the Graduate Catalog, which is periodically issued in a print version and published and continuously updated on the Graduate School website.

In the Graduate Administrative Handbook, Section 3.1 ("Degree Requirements" - see "Table of Contents") includes the rules and procedures that govern graduate credits transferred from other universities and the transfer of graduate credits to a master's program earned while a student was an undergraduate, in post-baccalaureate status, or in a previous graduate program at NC State University. 

Section 3.10 of the Handbook covers rules and procedures for "Transferring from One Curriculum or Degree Program to Another" (see "Table of Contents").  The Graduate Catalog also contains a section on transfer credits for master's programs.  Rules governing credit from previous master's programs that can be used toward doctoral degrees are given in the section on Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education Degrees.

All courses transferring into a graduate program must be earned at the graduate level.  In addition, the student must have earned a grade of "B" or better (3.00 on a 4.00 scale).

All requests for transfer credit must be submitted by the Director of Graduate Programs for the student's degree program at NC State and approved by the Graduate School.  The Graduate School does not give credit for experiential learning.

References

• AP and IB credit information (http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/uga/APCREDIT.html and http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/uga/IBCREDIT.html)

• Comprehensive Articulation Agreement for Transfer Students between the University of North Carolina (UNC) and the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS)(http://www.ga.unc.edu/student_info/caa/)

• Credit by examination regulations (http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/pols_regs/REG205.00.10.php)

• General undergraduate transfer information (http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/uga/transfer/transfer.htm)

• Graduate Administrative Handbook, Chapter 3 (Sections 3.1, 3.10, 3.12, and 3.14) (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/handbook/) and other relevant policies (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_catalog/frt-gp2.htm#TRANSFER, http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_catalog/frt-aai.htm#TEACHING, and http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_catalog/frt-rr.htm#ABM)

• Teacher Education Program at NC State University (http://ced.ncsu.edu/teachered/)

• The undergraduate transfer course database (http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/uga/transfer/transreqs.htm) and transfer credit regulations (http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/academic_policies/coursecr/transfer/reg.htm)

• Undergraduate transfer information in the University Handbook for Advising and Teaching (http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/hat/current/ch02/0102.html)

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