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University Registrar

Transfer Credit

Whether this is your first time in college after high school or you are transferring from another college to finish your bachelor鈥檚 degree, we understand that one of your top priorities is to learn how your past credit will apply to your IM体育官网 Poly degree.

 

Submit Official Transcripts and Test Scores 

All official transcripts and test score reports must be sent to the Office of Admissions as soon as possible. If a transcript is sent while a term is in progress, students are required to send another official copy once final grades are available. This is to include final transcripts reflecting high school, associate鈥檚, bachelor鈥檚, or graduate degrees earned at a prior school.

 

Transfer Credit Evaluations

After a student has been admitted, transfer credit evaluations are completed by the Registrar鈥檚 Office to determine which courses taken outside of IM体育官网 Poly are applicable to the student鈥檚 selected program of study. Exam credit (AICE, AP, CLEP, and IB) is also evaluated for applicability at this time. 

After the transfer credit evaluation is completed, a Degree Planner will be provided to the student during their first term. It will outline how transfer credit was applied and show the remaining courses and requirements needed to complete the degree. The Degree Planner serves as a guide students can reference each term to plan their schedules for future terms. 

After a student earns 72 credit hours, the Registrar鈥檚 Office will complete a Degree Audit which will show a student鈥檚 updated academic progress since their first term at IM体育官网 Poly. Degree Audits will only be completed prior to a student earning 72 credit hours if they change majors and/or catalog years.

Students can log in to their Student Portal and select the Document Tracking link in the left-hand menu. The My Documents screen will list various documents shared with students from different University departments. The Degree Planner and Degree Audit will be part of the 鈥淩EGISTRATION鈥 department. 

Note: Students may need to select the 鈥淚nclude Completed Items?鈥 checkbox on the top of the document list to view items that may be hidden.

To view the document, click on the 鈥IMG鈥 link on the same row as the item you wish to view. Depending on the image, you may have to have a plug-in installed on your browser (Internet Explorer is recommended) in order to see the image in a browser. To save an image document to your hard drive, right click on IMG and select -Save Target as-. Not all document items will have an image associated with it. Email the IT Helpdesk for need technical assistance.

All baccalaureate degree programs at IM体育官网 Poly require a minimum of 120 credit hours to complete. Our degree programs provide students with a strong foundation in the fundamentals of their chosen discipline with opportunities to focus in leading-edge areas or simply explore a range of possibilities within the program.

There are also and regulations, such as the Excess Credit Hour Surcharge Law, which students must adhere to while completing their degree.  When reviewing transfer and exam credit we take this under consideration and will only apply credit that will contribute to the State and University degree requirements. The transfer credit we do not use is most likely credit that will not apply to your degree.

With that said, at IM体育官网 Poly, we believe all knowledge and past academic experiences are valuable and will contribute to make a student more well rounded and versatile for their future career. Many of our STEM students have passions for music, literature, art, and athletics, and are able to further embrace these interests by joining one of our student clubs and organizations.

If you have any questions about why a course or credit is not being used toward your degree, or if you have changed majors and a course we previously did not apply is now applicable, contact the Registrar鈥檚 Office.

IM体育官网 Poly requires a student to earn a minimum of C or higher (a grade of C- (minus) does not meet the minimum grade requirement), to be transferrable and applicable to their degree. If an institution uses Pass/Fail grading, passed coursework equivalent to a C or higher (as indicated by the transfer institution) will be considered transferable.

Any transfer credit that is applied to a student鈥檚 degree will count toward cumulative attempted and earned credit hours. Transfer credit will not contribute to a student鈥檚 cumulative grade point average (GPA). The cumulative and term GPAs will only include coursework completed at IM体育官网 Poly. In other words, students cannot use transfer credit to improve their IM体育官网 Poly GPA or academic standing.

Transfer credit may not be used to forgive grades earned at IM体育官网 Poly. See the full Grade Forgiveness policy () for more information.

For detailed information regarding how your transfer credit will apply toward , visit the Excess Credit Hour Surcharge webpage.

Evaluations will only be completed once we have received all of a student鈥檚 transcripts and test scores. Incomplete and missing documents will delay the evaluation process and could potentially reduce the course options for a student鈥檚 first term of enrollment.

Evaluation time can vary depending on how close it is to the start of a new term and how many institutions a student attended prior to IM体育官网 Poly. Evaluations will typically take one to three weeks after documents are received. Our goal is to complete the evaluation within ample time, so students can review how transfer credit has been applied, which program requirements have been satisfied, which requirements are remaining, and the courses they will be enrolled in for their first term at IM体育官网 Poly.

It is important for new students start off on the right foot when they begin their academic careers at IM体育官网 Poly. Many of our programs are designed to guide students through the necessary curriculum to graduate in the most efficient way possible.  We register all new students in their first semester of classes so we can ensure they are in the right courses to be on track for future semesters. The added benefit of this is that we are often able to work closely with our academic departments to help new students get a full-time (12 to 15 credit hours) schedule.  

First-semester schedules are created after the admissions deposit is submitted and all required documentation is received and evaluated. Students are responsible for creating their schedules thereafter and are encouraged to update and work off of their Degree Plans.

Please Note: Undecided majors may have limited course options dependent upon the courses transferred in. Please discuss your options with the Office of Admissions so they may collaborate with the Registrar's Office to create an optimal plan.

How Transfer Credit is Reviewed

Credit that comes from an external source is reviewed carefully to ensure it is appropriately being applied to a student's IM体育官网 Poly degree. Below are some of the guidelines that are followed during the evaluation process. 

IM体育官网 Poly generally adheres to the (SCNS) when determining transfer eligibility for FCS and SUS institutions. If the prefix (first three letters) and last three digits of the course number are the same, then the course is considered equivalent. For example: A student who has earned credit for MAC 2311 from Polk State College (and receives a C or higher), will receive credit for MAC 2311 at IM体育官网 Poly.

Course substitutions may be awarded for courses that do not directly match the courses we offer but are close in content. These courses will require additional review and approval, and will be determined by the academic department chair for the respective course subject(s). Students should be prepared to supply syllabi and course descriptions promptly to complete the evaluation process in a timely manner.

An official score report must be submitted to determine credit-by-examination. Eligible exams completed with the required score (and applicable to a student鈥檚 program of study), will be accepted through one, or a combination of state-approved acceleration mechanisms not to exceed 45 semester credit hours. Please visit the Credit-by-Exam webpage for a list these examinations and credit eligibility.

College credit will be granted to students with military training or coursework that is recognized by the . Military training or coursework is subject to regular University transfer policies and procedures including limitations on the amount and level of transfer credit for a given degree. 

Students transferring from out-of-state institutions may be required to provide additional materials to demonstrate course equivalency including, but not limited to, course descriptions, course syllabi, exams and/or sample assignments.

International transcript evaluations require an independent accredited foreign transcript evaluator. Visit the International Admissions Requirements webpage for additional information, and a list of approved international evaluation services.

IM体育官网 Poly works with state and community colleges to develop special agreements for students transferring from these institutions (for some or all of our programs). Presently, the University has an agreement with  for all of IM体育官网 Poly's programs, and an agreement with  for electrical engineering. Students at these institutions must work with their college advisors to learn more about these opportunities and ensure they are on the right path to maximize their transfer experience.

Institutions of higher education in the state of IM体育官网, under legislative mandate and through the direction of the Articulation Coordinating Committee, established a list of common prerequisite courses for every degree program. This list is provides students, especially those who plan to transfer between institutions, with information regarding the courses that they will need to take to be admitted into upper division programs.

Common prerequisites should be taken in the first two years of study. The common prerequisite coursework required for a particular program is dependent on the student鈥檚 year of matriculation and year of admittance into the upper division. Special guidelines apply to students who transfer from one public institution to another in the State University System or Community College System. For additional information, refer to the , contact the Registrar's Office, or access the  on the website.

Since the initial implementation of the , specific disciplines or types of courses may be exempt from the guarantee of transfer for equivalent courses, these courses must be evaluated individually. The following are exceptions to the general rule for course equivalencies that may not be transferrable:

  1. Courses from non-accredited institutions
  2. Courses carrying grades but not credit hours
  3. Courses taken more than 10 years prior to enrollment at IM体育官网 Poly
  4. Courses listed on a transcript without a grade, as 鈥渋ncomplete鈥 or as 鈥渋n progress鈥
  5. Courses currently not applicable to a program of study at IM体育官网 Poly
  6. Applied academics, adult education, vocational, technical and graduate courses
  7. Internships, apprenticeships, practicum, clinical experiences, and study abroad courses with numbers other than those ranging from 900-999

Transfer credit for grades of P or S (transcripts that verify these grades are equivalent to a grade of C or higher will be subject to the approval of the University Registrar).

 

Reverse Transfer

Contact Registrar@floridapoly.edu with questions. 

Reverse Transfer is a statewide articulation agreement to award the Associate in Arts (AA) degree to eligible students who transfer without earning the AA degree from a IM体育官网 public college (known as the IM体育官网 College System, or FCS), and subsequently complete the AA degree requirements at a IM体育官网 public university (known as the State University System, or SUS). Reverse Transfer provides eligible students the opportunity to earn the AA degree from their past institution even after they have transferred, if they meet the criteria below.

For more information about the Reverse Transfer program, visit the .

Currently enrolled IM体育官网 Poly students who meet ALL of the following criteria, as determined by the IM体育官网 Poly Registrar's Office:

  • Transferred from a FCS institution without earning the AA degree
  • Earned more than 30 credits that count toward the AA degree at a single FCS institution, plus the remaining credits at IM体育官网 Poly to equal the minimum 60 credits applicable toward the AA degree
  • Completed the IM体育官网 Poly University General Education requirements
  • Completed the college-level communication and computation competencies, per SBOE Rule 6A-10.030, IM体育官网 Administrative Code
  • Have NOT yet earned the AA, a bachelor鈥檚 or higher degree, and are not enrolled in their graduating term at IM体育官网 Poly
  • Be in good academic standing, current with financial obligations, and not have any pending student conduct or academic integrity issues at IM体育官网 Poly
  • Have an overall cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher at IM体育官网 Poly
  • Completed the civic literacy requirement per section 1007.25(4), IM体育官网 Statutes (F.S.)
  • Completed the foreign language requirement per F.S. 1007.25(8)

To be awarded the AA from their previous FCS institution, students must also:

  • Consent to allowing IM体育官网 Poly to transmit the necessary information to the FCS institution
  • Meet the AA requirements of the degree-granting FCS institution, as determined by that institution
  • Be in good academic standing and be current with financial obligations at the awarding FCS institution

Students who meet the above criteria will be automatically identified and notified by the IM体育官网 Poly Registrar's Office by email. Students can reply to this email letting us know if they would like to:

  • Opt-in: Concent to allowing IM体育官网 Poly to transmit the necessary information to their FCS institution to see if they are eligible to earn an AA
  • Opt-out: Do not wish to earn an AA. We will not send any information to your past FCS institution. Students who do not reply to the email by the noted deadline date will be considered as "opting-out."

All student information shared between IM体育官网 Poly and the FCS institution(s) to facilitate the reverse transfer process will be in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. section 1232g) requirements and applicable IM体育官网 statutes, rules, and regulations pertaining to privacy of student information. 

To adhere to the FERPA requirements, only students who actively 鈥渙pt-in鈥 to the reverse transfer process will have their transcript sent to the FCS institution(s) where they earned more than 30 credits.

Is it necessary for me to get an AA?

No, earning an AA degree is optional. Students pursuing a Bachelor's degree at IM体育官网 Poly are not required to earn an AA degree, but may become eligible to do so while completing their Bachelor's degree requirements. 

If I'm not eligible to earn an AA form my past FCS institution can I receive one from IM体育官网 Poly?

Yes. Students who are not identified as being eligible for reverse transfer, but who meet IM体育官网 Poly's AA requirements will receive a similar "opt-in/opt-out" email asking if they would like to receive their AA degree from IM体育官网 Poly.

If my FCS institution tells me I'm not eligible for an AA through Reverse Transfer, will that change my status at IM体育官网 Poly? 

No, the AA is not required for students to complete their Bachelor's degree at IM体育官网 Poly. If your FCS institution tells you why you were not eligible (i.e., missing a course), and you later become eligible, we can send your records again to be evaluated by your FCS institution. 

Are there any financial considerations for Reverse Transfer? 

No, this is a free service to students who qualify. Additionally, there will be no impact on financial aid or scholarships students are eligible to receive at IM体育官网 Poly. 

Will earning my AA through Reverse Transfer impact my Excess Credit Hours?

No, there is no impact on excess credit from the awarding of the AA degree. However, any coursework attempted at IM体育官网 Poly towards the AA will contribute to your excess credit hours as any other attempted credit would.