DE Classes and whether they will transfer

[OnMyOwn]

What is the best way to find out if specific classes taken at the cc will transfer to specific colleges? I'm not seeing it listed on the college websites. Do I have to contact each college about this or would a counselor at the cc have this information?

Edited February 1, 2017 by OnMyOwn

[workingmom]

Yes need t confirm with each college. Here the community college DE will transfer to all state schools but private out of state IVy which we're looking at will not take any but want to see transcript . May count to transfer up to a height level but will not give credit hours for them.

[KarenNC]

I'd start with the transfer resource center at the community college. If a large percentage of your cc's students transfer to the schools in which your student is interested, the cc might have specific transfer guides, possibly even online, for those schools. In our case I found the information most readily available for public colleges in our state (so the same state in which the cc is located). You can also look for the term "articulation agreement," the documents that outline an agreement between two schools on how the credits will transfer.

[OnMyOwn]

Thank you!

[8filltheheart]

Have you looked on the transfer page on the different colleges' websites. Usually there is a database with some courses that have already been approved. Here is an example. I just googled NCSU transfer courses.

 

https://www.acs.ncsu.edu/scripts/ugadmiss/trnsfcrs.pl

[teachermom2834]

Two of the schools my ds is interested in have transfer conversion tools on their websites. It is really cool. You can enter the college you attended and the course you took and it will tell you if and how it transfers.

 

The private LAC my oldest ds attended just awarded general elective credits for transfer courses. We were aware ahead of time that they would not substitute for required courses.

 

It is best to ask the school you intend to transfer to, I think.

[regentrude]

The various colleges should have that information on their websites. Look at the Registrar's page, search the college pages for "transfer credit" and "Course equivalency database".

 

I would not rely on the word of a counselor at the CC, but always contact the school where you want your credits to transfer.

[Crimson Wife]

One thing to watch out for is that just because a college will accept the transfer credit does NOT automatically mean that the major will. I ran into this issue when I went back to school even though my 1st bachelor's is from a top 5 university and the college I'm in now is non-selective.

[Lori D.]

Also, if the credits DO transfer, you will want to check about HOW the credits transfer -- will the university count the credits towards the general education requirements and core requirements of a 4-year degree (a major or a minor) -- or does the university only count the credits as "electives" (which do not count towards a degree at all).

 

For example, some community college sciences are 3-unit introductory courses but don't transfer as fulfilling the requirements towards a degree because the 4-unit or 5-unit course with lab is what is specifically required for the 4-year degree. Or, in another example, our local Community College offers several different intro level classes of Spanish, but ONLY the SPAN101, 102, 201, 202 series will transfer AND count towards the general ed. requirements of a 4-year degree. The other intro levels of Spanish are things like: "Conversational Spanish", "Beginning Spanish for Heritage Learners", or "Spanish for Medical Professionals", or "Spanish for Emergency Workers"; these transfer only as Electives, and do NOT count as fulfilling a Foreign Language requirement of a 4-year degree.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2017 by Lori D.

[regentrude]

After checking the equivalency database, you also need to correlate the course for which it transfers with the student's major.

For example, if somebody transfers physics in and is awarded credit for algebra based physics at my school, that will only help if this is not a STEM (except biology) student - the credit will not count towards the major because that requires calc base physics.

 

So, look at the course numbers for which it transfers in, and then look at the degree program to see whether that particular course fulfills the requirements for the degree.

But this info, too, should be readily available online.

Edited February 2, 2017 by regentrude

[OnMyOwn]

Thanks! Two of the colleges my son is considering are probably large enough to have a database for transfer credits, but the one he is most interested in is small and does not have one that I can see.

[G5052]

You have to dig. Period. I've found that the transfer counsellors from the schools you're think of transferring to are generally reliable, but not the more multi-purpose ones. And never, ever trust the counsellors at the school you're transferring from for that information. I've been horrified at how bad they are at the local community college. Here it's somewhat of a revolving door job, so I guess it's not unexpected, but the transfer counsellors from the 4-years in my state visit that school every semester and have very clear handouts. Somehow the information doesn't sink in with the counsellors sitting down the hall.

 

My oldest is graduating with an associate's and going (Lord willing) to a 4-year with a general guaranteed admission agreement. However, his major has an additional list of courses that are required that I'm guessing many don't know about. When I met with a transfer counsellor two years ago (he was still in high school and in class), she gave me all the handouts and told me step-by-step what to do. Then when we went to register a few months later, the community college counsellor questioned our plans and was completely unaware of the major-specific courses. And so it's been every time we've dealt with them. He's had to take three courses now at another college and transfer them into the local one so that he's set up. And each time he has to explain that when he transfers them into the community college because they think it's odd that he's doing that.

[Guest]

Speak with advisor in dept at school transferring credit to.

 

Ds wanted to take one particular course in the summer and his school listed it as acceptable for transfer. His advisor was quite familiar with the course , knew the instructor and articulated all the reasons that it could not be accepted for transfer. Fortunately ds worked with his advisor enough ahead of time that he wasn't out any money and found other summer courses he could take and transfer.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Heigh Ho

[katilac]

Another thing to consider, even if the college says they will transfer, is that you might have to submit every piece of work that they student has done! One of my children wanted to transfer some math and physics from one state school to another WITH articulation agreements. We had 12 hours to cough up all the work.  

 

 

In some of the math classes at our local university, there is almost no work available to cough up - the homework is done online, and students are not allowed to keep any tests, so no graded work available. 

 

I wonder if schools like this would accept the syllabus and the notebook of worked out problems, or if one would just be out of luck? 

[clementine]

We use transferology dot com.  Not every school is listed there, it worked for us, but we are from the midwest.  

 

Also, dd's college gave her a printout of what courses from her DE school will transfer to their school.