UG/Chapter_1_Transferring

To prevent unnecessary loss of time and credit, prospective transfer students are encouraged to research as early as possible UTSA's admission policies and degree requirements in their areas of interest. Questions regarding the transferability of courses should be addressed to the Office of Admissions.

Students attending community colleges should also note the core curricula designed and adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to simplify the transfer of credit. Copies of these core curricula are available through most community college counselors. Top

Evaluation Procedures

An official evaluation of transfer credit is supplied to each new student as soon as possible at the time of admission. This evaluation shows the equivalency of courses completed elsewhere to courses at UTSA and indicates their applicability to the UTSA Core Curriculum.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved core curricula in the following areas: arts and sciences (including mathematics and natural sciences), business administration, engineering, art, and criminal justice. Although the courses in these core curricula at various institutions may not be precisely equivalent to courses in the UTSA Undergraduate Catalog, students who have successfully completed the core curricula at other institutions are given full credit toward the appropriate degree at UTSA.

Students who do not receive transfer credit for specific courses should review the policies for credit by examination or contact the Office of Admissions. Grades earned at other institutions are not averaged with grades earned at UTSA to determine a student's grade point average. Top

Resolution of Transfer of Credit Disputes

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has established the following procedure for Texas public colleges and universities to follow in resolving transfer of credit disputes for lower-division courses. (The individual courses covered by this procedure are defined by the Coordinating Board's guides: "Transfer of Credit Policies and Curricula" and "Common Course Numbering System Guide.")

If a transfer course covered by the Coordinating Board policy is not accepted in transfer to UTSA, the student should contact the Office of Admissions for further explanation. The Office of Admissions, the student, and the sending institution will attempt to resolve the transfer of course credit in accordance with Coordinating Board rules.

If the transfer credit question is not resolved satisfactorily in the opinion of the student or the sending institution within 45 days of notification, the Office of Admissions states the reasons for the course denial to the Commissioner of Higher Education. The commissioner or a designee then provides a final written decision about the transfer course(s) in question to UTSA, the student, and the sending institution. Top

Course Types and Acceptability

Undergraduate college credits completed at other U.S. institutions are evaluated for transfer to UTSA by the Office of Admissions on the basis of UTSA equivalency tables and according to the guidelines in this section. Generally, all work transferred must be from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association (see section below for information about credit from a non-accredited institution).

Credits completed at institutions outside the U.S. must be evaluated on an individual basis, at the student's expense, by the foreign credentials evaluation service designated by the Office of Admissions. Transfer credit from foreign institutions is accepted by UTSA on the basis of this evaluation. Top

Generally Accepted

Courses from an Accredited College or University. Any academic course from an accredited college or university in which a passing grade has been earned is accepted for transfer credit if it meets all other criteria in this section. Only those hours that apply toward a specific baccalaureate degree program count toward minimum degree requirements.

The applicability of particular courses completed at other institutions toward specific course requirements for a bachelor's degree at UTSA depends upon equivalency of such courses offered by UTSA. Other academic courses are transferred as electives; credit for these courses counts toward minimum degree requirements only if they satisfy requirements of the student's degree program. Credit is not given for duplication or repetition of courses.

All course requirements at UTSA designated as upper-division may be transferred to UTSA only from senior-level institutions. For credit to be transferred as an upper-division course, the institution where credit was earned must be an accredited senior-level institution, and the course must be described in the institution's catalog as being upper-division.

If the equivalent of a required upper-division UTSA course is completed at an accredited institution as a lower-division course, the course need not be repeated, but another upper-division course, approved by the student's advisor, must be completed at UTSA in substitution. Top

Credit by Examination. Credit by examination awarded at another accredited college or university transfers if the institution equates the results of the examination to a specific course and the course is transferable. Such credit is subject to all other transfer provisions, including the 66-semester-credit-hour transfer limitation from community colleges. Top

Accepted on a Limited Basis

Physical Activities Courses. Credits earned for physical activities courses can be transferred, within other UTSA transfer provisions, as free elective credit up to a maximum of 6 semester credit hours. Top

Extension or Correspondence Courses. Credit earned by extension or correspondence through accredited colleges and universities for college-level academic courses is evaluated and accepted for transfer if the course is equivalent to UTSA courses and acceptable to the student's degree program, and if all other transfer provisions in this section are met. However, the maximum credit accepted through a combination of extension and correspondence courses is 30 semester credit hours (18-semester-credit-hour maximum by correspondence). No more than 6 semester credit hours of correspondence credit may be applied to the major.

Students currently enrolled at UTSA are not normally permitted to take correspondence or extension courses and transfer the credit to UTSA. Exceptions to this rule must be approved by the student's advisor and Dean, and such courses can be taken only in the event that the student is about to graduate and cannot obtain the course in residence. Top

Community College Courses. Transfer credit for community college work may not exceed 66 semester credit hours. Students who have completed more than 66 acceptable semester credit hours may apply specific completed, transferable courses to specific course requirements to avoid having to repeat the courses. The semester credit hours for additional courses may not be applied toward the minimum semester credit hour requirements for a baccalaureate degree.

No upper-division credit may be earned at a community college. Top

Military Service Training School Courses. As a Serviceman's Opportunity College (SOC) institution, UTSA awards credit on a limited basis for military coursework. In order for credit to be awarded, a student submits to UTSA an official Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript System (AARTS) or an official Sailor/Marine/Ace Registry Transcript (SMART) listing all military coursework completed. The Office of Admissions evaluates the transcript and determines the transferability of coursework. Credit is awarded for military coursework that is deemed parallel to academic coursework. Credit is not awarded for military experience based upon a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) or for coursework that is solely technical in nature. Awarding of credit for military coursework does not guarantee its applicability to a degree at UTSA. A student who has taken military courses that do not transfer may challenge by examination those UTSA courses that appear equivalent to those already completed (see Challenging a UTSA Course in chapter 5, General Academic Regulations, of the UTSA Information bulletin).

Credit for R.O.T.C. or military science, when awarded by another accredited college or university, is accepted by UTSA as free elective credit within the limitations of the student's degree program (for a maximum of 9 semester credit hours). See individual degree requirements and the R.O.T.C. program requirements in this catalog for limits on military science courses as free electives. Top

Courses from an Institution Undergoing Accreditation or a Nonaccredited Institution. Credits earned in colleges and universities that are candidates for accreditation may be considered for transfer to UTSA on an individual basis and as applicable to the student's degree program. Any such credit accepted in transfer must be validated by 30 semester credit hours of coursework in residence at UTSA, with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher in that work.

UTSA reserves the right to refuse recognition of credit from a college or university that is a candidate for accreditation or from a nonaccredited institution. Top

Not Accepted

Developmental Education, Orientation, Life Experience, High School Level, Below-Algebra Mathematics, or Vocational-Technical Courses. Credits for developmental education, orientation, life experience, high school level, mathematics below the college algebra level, or vocational-technical courses are not acceptable for transfer credit. Where vocational-technical courses support a student's degree program, the student may make a written request to the Dean of the college to approve those courses as free elective credit. No transfer credit is granted for the General Educational Development (GED) test. Top

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