Transfer Credits
The Transfer Credits page allows you to evaluate, record, and manage credits that students have earned at other institutions or through alternative pathways. This includes traditional transfer credits, credit by examination (AP, CLEP, IB, etc.), and Prior Learning Assessment (PLA).
Viewing Transfer Credits
The transfer credit list displays all recorded credits with the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Student | Student name and student number |
| Credit Type | Transfer, Credit by Exam, or PLA |
| Institution | The source institution or exam provider |
| Course / Title | Source course code and title (or exam name) |
| Credits | Number of credits transferred |
| Grade | Grade received at the source institution |
| Equivalent Course | The internal course this credit maps to (if any) |
| Term | The term the credit is associated with |
| Status | Pending, Approved, or Rejected |
Filtering
Use the filter bar to narrow results:
- Search -- Type to search by student name, student number, or course information.
- Credit Type -- Filter by Transfer, Credit by Exam, or PLA.
- Status -- Filter by Pending, Approved, or Rejected.
- Term -- Filter by a specific academic term.
- Click the clear button to reset all filters.
Institutions and the equivalency library
Transfer credit no longer carries a free-text institution name. Two supporting structures sit behind this screen:
- Institutions (
records.institutions, migration 240) — 39,030 real institution rows imported from Colleague, with CEEB codes, addresses and a type. A transfer credit points at one of these. - The equivalency library (
records.transfer_course_equivalencies) — 42,095 saved mappings of this course, at this institution, equals that course here, with credits awarded and a minimum grade.
Once an equivalency is saved, evaluating the same course for the next student is a lookup rather than a fresh judgement. Batch entry lets you enter a transfer student's whole record at once: courses with a saved equivalency resolve automatically, and the rest are presented for a decision you can save back into the library.
Four-year status comes from the institution's type
An institution is four-year because its type says so (is_four_year on records.lookup_institution_type), not because anything about the individual institution was inspected.
A credit from an institution whose type has no four-year classification on file is not counted for or against an upper-division requirement — the audit shows it as Not Evaluated rather than guessing. That is a deliberate answer, not a gap.
Quarter and semester hours are not interchangeable. An institution has a default credit system and an equivalency records the source system explicitly; set the institution default correctly and the common case needs no per-course thought.
See Institutions & Transfer Equivalencies for the administration of both.
Creating a Transfer Credit
- Click Add Credit at the top of the page.
- Complete the form fields (fields vary based on credit type):
Common Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Student | Search for and select the student |
| Credit Type | Select: Transfer, Credit by Exam, or PLA |
| Term | The term to associate the credit with |
| Credits | Number of credits to award |
| Grade | Grade received (e.g., A, B+, P) |
| Equivalent Course | Search for and select an internal course equivalent (optional) |
| Status | Pending (default), Approved, or Rejected |
| Evaluated Date | The date the credit was evaluated |
| Rationale | Rich text field for documenting your evaluation rationale |
Transfer-Specific Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Source Institution | Name of the sending institution |
| 4-Year Institution | Whether the source is a 4-year institution |
| Source Course Code | The course code at the source institution (e.g., ENGL 101) |
| Source Course Title | The course title at the source institution |
Credit by Exam Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Exam Provider | Select from presets: Advanced Placement (AP), CLEP, International Baccalaureate (IB), DANTES (DSST), or enter a custom provider |
| Exam Code | The exam identifier (e.g., AP-CALC-AB) |
| Exam/Assessment Name | The name of the exam (e.g., AP Calculus AB) |
PLA (Prior Learning Assessment) Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Portfolio/Assessment Title | The title of the PLA portfolio or assessment |
The source institution is automatically set to "Prior Learning Assessment" for PLA credits.
Credit System Conversion
If the source institution uses a different credit system (e.g., semester vs. quarter), you can specify the source credit system:
Select the Source Credit System from the dropdown.
If it differs from the institution's credit system, an Original Credits field appears.
Enter the original credit amount. The system automatically calculates the converted credits based on configured conversion rates.
The converted amount is shown as a preview and automatically populates the Credits field.
Click Create to save the transfer credit record.
Editing a Transfer Credit
- Click the pencil icon on any row to open the edit dialog.
- Modify the fields as needed. The student field is read-only when editing.
- Click Save.
Deleting a Transfer Credit
- Click the trash icon on any row.
- Confirm the deletion in the dialog that appears.
Credit Type Reference
| Type | Tag Color | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer | Blue | Credits earned at another institution through traditional coursework |
| Credit by Exam | Green | Credits earned through standardized examinations (AP, CLEP, IB, DSST) |
| PLA | Yellow | Credits earned through Prior Learning Assessment of professional experience |
Status Reference
| Status | Tag Color | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Yellow | Awaiting evaluation |
| Approved | Green | Credit has been accepted and will count toward the student's degree |
| Rejected | Red | Credit has been reviewed and denied |