Academic Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual

A-2: TRANSFER STUDENT AND TRANSFER COURSE PROCESSES

Penn State admits students who bring academic credit from other institutions. Penn State also accepts academic credit current students may earn at another institution while enrolled at Penn State. The processes for admitting students and accepting credit are guided by the following processes.

Application Requirements

Applications are available in June for the spring semester and in August for the summer and fall semesters.

An applicant must hold a high school diploma or its equivalent and present evidence of having completed the entrance requirements (Carnegie units) for the proposed program of study at the time of acceptance (not required for application review, except in the case of an applicant who has completed high school outside the US). Adult learners are allowed to apply and self-certify their graduation by exception without the normal documentation. Self-certification of high school completion is allowed under the regulations that govern Federal student aid eligibility.

An official transcript is required for each college or university attended, and it must be sent directly from the registrar of the originating college or university to the Admissions Office at University Park or to the appropriate campus.  A literal, line-by-line English translation is required if the transcript is in another language.

An applicant currently attending a college or university must also submit a schedule of courses for the final term the applicant plans to attend the current institution. An applicant who has attempted fewer than 18 semester credits (27 quarter credits) is evaluated following the procedures specified in Section A-1. Some programs have deadlines that are published at http://admissions.psu.edu/info/future/transfer/apply.

An applicant to the University Park campus who has attended regionally accredited colleges or universities or recognized institutions outside of the United States, for consideration of admission must have completed a minimum of 48 semester credits (72 quarter credits) and must have a grade-point average of at least 2.50 (on a 4.00 scale). Satisfaction of the minimum academic and semester hour requirements does not guarantee admission, as individual colleges may have additional grade-point average and/or course requirements.

An applicant who has attended regionally accredited colleges or universities, or recognized institutions outside of the United States, and has a grade-point average of at least 2.00 (on a 4.00 scale) may be considered for admission to a Commonwealth campus.

Eligibility Requirements

An applicant must meet the entrance requirements of the college of enrollment and meet minimum advanced standing requirements of the college of enrollment found at  http://admissions.psu.edu/info/future/transfer/requirements.

An applicant whose overall grade-point average is less than 2.00 (on a 4.00 scale) but has a grade-point average of at least 2.00 (on a 4.00 scale) at all institutions attended the four years prior to the requested enrollment semester may apply for admissions as an advanced standing student with forgiveness in accordance with the policies and procedures of Senate Policy 06-57. An applicant who has not attempted any collegiate level course work four years prior to the requested enrollment semester may also apply for advanced standing with forgiveness.

Evaluation of Transfer Credit

Undergraduate Admissions evaluates the transcripts to determine if courses are eligible for academic credit at Penn State as specified in Senate Policies 42-80 and 42-90 If eligible, the Undergraduate Admissions Office assigns credit per the following guidelines.

Initial Evaluation of Transfer Credit:

Transfer courses not previously assigned a course equivalency will be evaluated for transfer credit eligibility as specified in Senate Policy 42-82 and E-5. An equivalent Penn State course will be awarded when a candidate has satisfactorily completed, at another regionally accredited institution, course work that is substantially equivalent (at least 80% the same) to a specific course at this University. For course work that is equivalent to 400-series courses, general or direct equivalent credits may be granted. Credit granted for course work that is equivalent to 800-level courses may be applied only toward completion of requirements for a college or major in accordance with the policies established by that college, but not toward General Education.

Students are responsible for providing syllabi for courses completed at prior institutions. If a syllabus is no longer available, students may receive general transfer credit; their departments will decide if and how to apply the credits. There are no guarantees that a course will be applied to a Penn State degree.

The Undergraduate Admissions Office is responsible for requesting disciplinary faculty evaluations, for maintaining a database of evaluated courses in the student information system, and determining transfer credit business practices. Courses that have previously been granted credit can be found in the transfer credit evaluation tool.

Once a course equivalency is determined, it will remain in effect for a time determined by its disciplinary community, unless a course alteration becomes known and the course is subsequently re-evaluated, or per accreditation requirements.

If a course is deemed "non-transferable," the evaluation will stand permanently, unless a course alteration becomes known or per accreditation requirements.

Review of Previously Evaluated Transfer Credit:

Courses with existing evaluations may be reviewed according to the following guidelines:

No Review Necessary: Disciplinary communities may choose not to review courses after the initial evaluation, allowing the existing evaluations to be extended for a fixed time or to stand permanently or until a course alteration becomes known. Disciplinary communities choosing extended or standing evaluations for courses should inform the Undergraduate Admissions Office of this decision or changes to this decision.

Review Necessary: Disciplinary communities will review courses per their stated timeline to determine the future articulation rule.

1. Prior course evaluations, course descriptions, and University Bulletin links will be available as part of the review process. For partner institutions, new syllabi may also be available.
2. Disciplinary communities reviewing courses will provide the re-evaluation results to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at least two months prior to that expiration date to allow for processing.
   
   Possible outcomes of the review are as follows:
   • extend existing review for a fixed time or make indefinite
   • assign new equivalency
   • request that the course equivalency expire
3. Outcomes become effective at the time of the review. Courses with multiple articulation rules for the same course will have effective dates listed within the Transfer Credit Tool.

Effective 1/1/2023, students will be awarded the course equivalency rule in effect on the date the course began.

Students who have taken Review Necessary courses more than 20 years ago will be assigned General credit. Students may work with departments through the course substitution process as specified by ACUE E-12 to determine if General credit can be used toward degree progress.

Students who have taken No Review Necessary courses would receive the standing equivalency for that course.
After a course is determined to be eligible for transfer, Undergraduate Admissions assigns credits as specified in Senate Policies 42-80 and 42-90.

A semester classification is assigned to the candidate in accordance with the policies and procedures given in Senate Policy 37-70. (Ref: Senate Policies 06-30 and 06-70)

Senate Policy:  06-30, Advanced Standing Admission as a Baccalaureate Degree Candidate

Senate Policy:  06-70, Advanced Standing Admission as an Associate Degree Candidate