Understanding Transfer Credit
The ABCs of Transfer Credit
Course credit comes in two general forms:
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Traditional coursework is earned at an accredited technical school, college, or university, excluding some remedial and/or general requirements specific to the school. (Work from unaccredited institutions is not transferrable to Baylor.)
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Credit by Examination (CBE) is earned through a one-time testing situation and includes College Board exams – SAT II subject tests, Advanced Placement Tests (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP) – and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. CBE credit is not counted as hours of “transfer” credit
There are three levels on which you need to examine your transfer credit, the "ABC's of Transfer Credit"
"A" Hours Transferred
"B" Course Equivalency
"C" Program Application
It is important to know, from the earliest possible time, that all of your previous credit has arrived, how it is credited at Baylor, and most importantly, how it is applied to your declared degree program.
"A" Hours Transferred
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Have all of your transcripts arrived at Baylor?
Be sure that all transcripts carrying “higher ed.” credit have been received and are entered into the system. This includes all colleges and universities where you have credit, as well as AP, SAT II, IB, and CLEP scores. Former military personnel should submit their DD214 for fitness credit. The credits from these transcripts will be reflected as hours earned.
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Log in to your goBAYLOR account, where you can see if a transcript had been received. If you are missing a transcript which you have requested from a school, phone their registrar’s office to ask when the transcript was sent to Baylor.
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If you are missing a CBE transcript, contact information for College Board, International Baccalaureate Program, and other testing entities can be found here.
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Are all of your course credits entered into the Baylor system?
Reconcile your transcripts with the credit that shows up in goBAYLOR and your Degree Audit (available in BearWeb >Academic Services>Student Records.) All coursework in which a “C” or better was earned should be accounted for. (Note: Pass-Fail credit is not transferrable.) Transfer work will be recognizable by the “T” that appears before the earned grade in your transcript and in your Degree Audit. Be sure to look at the last two sections of the Degree Audit for courses listed under “Electives” and “Work Not Applicable”.
"B" Course Equivalency
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Pre-approved Equivalencies Courses from other schools are reviewed within their respective departments and equivalency to Baylor courses is determined based on several factors. Courses which have previously been found to be equivalent are listed, by school, in the Equivalent Course Tool (ECT). Courses not listed have either been found not equivalent, or have not previously been reviewed. Since you cannot tell which is the case, contact the department before deciding to submit a syllabus for review.
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Courses assigned a 1000 or 2000 Baylor course number Courses that are not already found to be equivalent to a specific Baylor course are listed with the number 1000 or 2000 in your Baylor transcript or Degree Audit. Always check the Degree Audit before submitting syllabi for evaluation because you may find that, although a course is listed as 1000 or 2000 elsewhere, in your audit it has been “matched as” a specific course. In that case, the course has been approved to satisfy a requirement on your degree plan and there is no need to submit a syllabus.
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Submitting a course for equivalency review If you have courses for which the Baylor number assigned is a 1000 or 2000, and it is not “matched as” a course appearing in your Degree Audit, always submit a syllabus for departmental review. Please work directly with the department overseeing the particular class you are inquiring about.
"C" Program Application
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Do you have courses that are not applicable to your declared program? Look at your Degree Audit and head straight to the last two sections of the audit. Any coursework appearing under the “Electives” or “Work Not Applicable” sections are not necessarily gaining any ground in the journey toward graduation.
For example, if you transferred 24 hours of social science credit and you have declared a Bachelor of Science degree, most of those hours are not likely to be applicable to your degree plan, except as possible hours to fulfill any elective credit needed. Your academic advisor can help you determine how these courses may apply to your declared degree program.