Colleges call agreements that permit the transfer of courses from one college to another articulation agreements.   This discussion answers many of the questions that you may have regarding transferring classes from one college to another.  This information applies to both traditional and online colleges.

Q. What is an articulation agreement?

A. An articulation agreement is a formal agreement between institutions that allows credits earned in specific programs at one institution to be applied towards advanced standing at another institution.  This helps to ensure that courses taken at one college transfers to another college.  The existence of the agreement eliminates the need for a student to bargain with the admissions personnel at a college about accepting courses taken at a different institution.

Q. What is the advantage of a course transfer agreement?

A. Course transfer or articulation agreements speeds the course transfer process and reduces the hassle for the student. The agreements allow you to continue your education at another institution without having to repeat certain courses to graduate. You can reduce duplication of instruction by transferring credits already earned and save money on tuition, student fees and textbooks.

Q. Does an articulation agreement guarantee admission to the receiving college?

A. No. Course transfer agreements between colleges does not guarantee admission to a receiving college.  Even the completion of a college degree at one school does not guarantee admission to another institution.  You still have to apply using the college’s standard application process.

Q. What are transfer credits?

A. An articulation agreement permits an easier course transfer credit process.  Transfer is the recognition by one institution of education completed at another. Students who have completed a program of study at a college may be able to transfer credits earned towards advanced standing in an articulated program at another institution. Students must officially apply to have their credits recognized.

Q. How do institutions determine transfer credits?

A. Articulating institutions consider course content, credit values, and subjects covered in the courses that they are reviewing. There are several ways in which colleges and universities assess the number of credits that they will accept as transfer from one institution and program to another:

Block Transfer of Credits – a block transfer of credit is an agreement whereby a group of courses from a student’s program will be accepted to a related program and assigned a specific number of transfer credits. This is the simplest method of credit transfer.

Course by Course Credit Transfer – some colleges carefully match all college courses in a degree program to the relevant course at that College. The college determines the courses that must be taken at the college and those which can be transferred from the college program.

Formal Agreements – Formal agreements permit students to readily transfer specific courses to another institution.

Individual Negotiation of Transfer Credit – all universities and colleges will consider credit transfer requests from individual students and treat them on a case-by-case basis.

When transferring to another institution, students should always take with them a transcript of their grades and a college catalog.  Sometimes college administrators may want to examine the syllabi used in a course.

Q. What does it mean when courses transfer for a different credit value?

A. Each institution has its own credit value system. Institutions will not assign more credit to a transfer course than they assign to their own course.  They may assign fewer credits to a particular course if they believe the material covered does not go into the same depth as in the institution’s offering.

Q. Do “D’s” transfer to another college?

A. “D’s” usually do not transfer to other colleges, but that is the decision of the accepting college.  Most colleges will not accept a course grade lower than “C” for transfer purposes.

Q. I transferred from another college A to college B.  I am now transferring to college C.  Do I have to send a transcript from my first college?

Yes. Most colleges only send transcripts for the work done at that college.  You must contact all other colleges previously attended and have them send official transcripts as well. 

Q. Which colleges will give me credit for my college work?

A.   Ask a college about the articulation agreements that it has developed. 

Two national organizations that promote ease in transferring college courses.  These are

1. Higher Education Transfer Alliance (HETA) which is a voluntary group of accredited institutions concerned with the importance of student mobility, enhancing success in transfer of credit, and affirming the responsibility and prerogative of individual institutions with respect to acceptance of transfer credits.
2. Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) Consortium colleges and universities helps members of the armed services and their families get college degrees. 

Most colleges belonging to one of the regional accrediting organizations accept one another’s credits. These colleges are listed in the table below.

In addition to the regionally accredited colleges, national accrediting organizations exist.  These private career accrediting organizations include the following:

Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools

Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology

Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools

Council on Occupational Education

Distance Education and Training Council Accrediting Commission

National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences, Inc.

The most up-to-date list of accrediting agencies can be found at the web sites for The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) [ http://chea.org/ ]or the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) [http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/].  A document prepared by CHEA has a list of accreditation agencies recognized by CHEA and or the USDE and can be found at   http://chea.org/pdf/CHEA_USDE_AllAccred.pdf

Q. What if the College I want to go to is not in the foregoing list?

A. If the college you hope to attend is not listed, it means that you will have to contact them directly to see if your background will meet their entrance requirements and if any transfer credit is available. This must be negotiated individually with each institution.

Q. What should I consider when choosing an institution in which you will continue your studies?

A. There are a number of things you may want to consider:

• Does the receiving institution have the program or courses you are interested in studying?
• Will the receiving institution provide credit transfer or advanced standing for courses you have completed?
• Do you have the admission requirements to be accepted into the program?
• Would you prefer to study full-time or part-time or is distance education the preferred option?
• Do you prefer to attend during the day, evening or weekend?
• Can you fit the class offering times into your schedule?
• Is on-line learning available?
• Where would you prefer to live?
• What can you afford?
• Are scholarships available?

Q. What is the sending institution?

A. The institution from which you are transferring.

Q. What is the receiving institution?

A. The institution to which you are transferring.