​Acceptance and Evaluation of Undergraduate Transfer Credits

Policy

The policy hereafter is applicable to undergraduate-level coursework.

Regional Accredited Institutions
Credit from regionally accredited institutions will be considered for transfer credit by Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Non-Regional Accredited Institutions
Credit from colleges or universities that are not accredited by a regional accrediting body, but are recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation will be considered for transfer credit by Minnesota State Mankato.

International Degrees and Courses
International degrees determined valid by the Minnesota State Mankato Admissions Office will be recognized. In order to be considered for transfer credit international courses must be evaluated by an outside agency recognized by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. In addition, courses fulfilling Minnesota State Mankato General Education Goal Area 1a (English Composition) will be subject to a university review process.

Discretionary Rights for Determining Transferrable Credit
A university record is considered to be a continuing one. Students who transfer credit may not disregard a poor record/course grade(s) during the transfer process as a means of academic forgiveness. Students should consult with their previous institution(s) regarding college and/or university policies governing academic forgiveness prior to transfer. Minnesota State Mankato will recognize and apply academic forgiveness from previous institutions who have formally given approval for this provision, as documented on the transcript of the previous institution. Acknowledgement of attendance at previous colleges or universities is mandatory. Failure to list each college/university attended on a student’s application for admission may be considered reason for cancellation of admission or dismissal from the University.

University General Education Requirements and Previously Earned Degrees

Baccalaureate Degrees (Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts)
Students with an accepted Baccalaureate degree will have satisfied Minnesota State Mankato’s General Education requirements for a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree. These same baccalaureate guidelines apply to the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. However, if not previously completed, 8 Page 2 of 7 semester credits of world language or 9 credits of American Sign Language are also required if completing a BA degree at Minnesota State Mankato. Major and minor requirements are determined within the major department at the time of advisement.

Associate of Arts Degree (AA)
Students transferring from a Minnesota State system 2-year community college with an earned AA degree will have satisfied the General Education/Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) requirements for the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree. Students with an AA degree from other regionally accredited US community or two year colleges will satisfy the General Education requirements of the BS degree if their AA contains 40 semester (60 quarter) credit hours of General Education coursework comparable to Minnesota State Mankato General Education courses within the General Education Goal Areas 1-10. If the AA degree contains less than the required General Education requirements, additional General Education coursework will be required.

Associate of Science (AS) Degree and Associate of Applied Science Degree (AAS)
Students transferring from a Minnesota State 2-year community college with an earned AS or AAS degree may not have the entire General Education/MnTC completed. If the AS or AAS degree contains less than the required General Education requirements, additional General Education coursework will be required. Transfer AS/AAS degrees must have 40 credits in Categories 1-10; a minimum of 1 course in each of the MnTC Goal Areas 3-10; and one course in each part of the MnTC Goal Area 1. MnTC Goal Area 2 and Minnesota State Mankato Goal Areas 11-13 are exempt.

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC)
Completion of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum fulfills the General Education requirement for any Minnesota public institution. Students transferring with a completed Minnesota Transfer Curriculum will satisfy Minnesota State Mankato’s General Education requirement. Completion of goal areas within the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum will be accepted as completion of that same goal area at Minnesota State Mankato. Goal areas 11-13 are part of the General Education curriculum at Minnesota State Mankato but are not goal areas in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum.

Determining Course Comparability or Equivalency
Course(s) to be transferred must be comparable in nature, content and level to courses offered by Minnesota State Mankato. In evaluating courses for transfer equivalency, the standard for review will require a minimum of 75 percent comparability of course content. For courses in a sequence, students need sufficient preparation to succeed in the next course in the sequence. Transfer equivalencies are based on current policies and generally reflect course numbers from the Minnesota State Mankato catalog at the time the evaluation is conducted. Minnesota State Mankato courses and course numbers are subject to change; thus, transfer equivalencies are subject to change as well. Course equivalency tables are maintained within Transferology, https://www.transferology.com. Established course equivalencies for most Minnesota State Mankato and many out-of-state institutions are included.

Transferring Credits According to Articulation Agreements
Minnesota State Mankato will accept all credits defined within formal articulation agreements it has established with a sending institution.

Transferring Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) Credits
Minnesota State Colleges and University policy (3.21, part 7 http://www.minnstate.edu/board/policy/321.html) allows for the transfer of MnTC courses, including all courses for which a grade of D- or higher was earned.

Minimum Academic Grade Standard for Acceptance of Transfer Credit
All transfer courses appropriate to baccalaureate education for which a grade of D or higher (grades of D do not transfer with the exception of MnTC courses) was awarded are reviewed for possible credit. Some Page 3 of 7 degree programs may require a higher minimum grade to satisfy graduation requirements. In accepting transfer work, Minnesota State Mankato uses all transferable grades, D and higher (grades of D- do not transfer, with the exception of MnTC courses), in calculating transfer earned hours and grades A - D (grades of D- and lower do not transfer) in the calculation of transfer GPA.

A student's grade point average at Minnesota State Mankato is based only on courses completed at Minnesota State Mankato. A transfer grade point average is carried as part of the student's total record. The Minnesota State Mankato and transfer grade point average are combined into a cumulative grade point average. Students are encouraged to review with their advisers how Minnesota State Mankato and combined grade point averages are used (e.g. to determine eligibility for admission to programs, academic status, and graduation honors). Students who transfer should be aware of the University policy governing Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (SAPS) for Undergraduate Students: http://www.mnsu.edu/atoz/policies/satisfactoryacademicprogress2015.pdf. Students who transfer should also review specific requirements concerning financial aid eligibility as outlined in University policy – Student Financial Aid Eligibility: Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (SAPS): http://www.mnsu.edu/atoz/policies/finalstudentfinancialaidelig15.pdf.

Transfer of Occupational/Professional Course Credits
Minnesota State Mankato will accept in transfer as electives up to 16 semester credits of occupational and/or professional courses (also known as technical college credits) which are not comparable or not equivalent to specific courses taught at the receiving college or university. Students may petition a department/major for an evaluation of occupational/professional course credits believed applicable to the major.

Additional credits beyond 16 may be accepted into a major when approved by department/major, or as outlined in an approved articulation agreement for the duration of the agreement.

Credit for Prior Learning
See Minnesota State Mankato Policy on Credit for Prior Learning for Undergraduate Students encompassing: Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), International Baccalaureate (IB) credit, Military Course Completion following American Council on Education (ACE) Guidelines, Project Lead the Way (PLW) credit, and Course Specific Examinations as determined by each academic department.

Transfer of Developmental Courses
Developmental courses shall not be granted college-level credit and they shall not apply to certificate, diploma, Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, general education goal areas or degree program completion requirements. However, a developmental course appearing on a student's transcript shall be evaluated to determine the student's readiness for college-level coursework at Minnesota State Mankato.

Credit Limit
Minnesota State Mankato shall not limit the total number of credits a student may earn through transfer so long as the total of earned credits is consistent with Minnesota State Board Policy 3.36 Academic Programs and Minnesota State Mankato Policy on Undergraduate Requirements for Award that establishes the number of credits taught by the faculty recommending the academic award (residency)

Procedure

Submitting Transfer Credentials/Coursework to Minnesota State Mankato
Request that an official transcript(s) be sent directly to Minnesota State Mankato Admissions Office by each college or university previously attended, including Minnesota State institutions.

Transcripts which have not been sent directly from other colleges or universities, or personally delivered in a sealed envelope to the Minnesota State Mankato Admissions Office, will not be considered official documents by Minnesota State Mankato.

Transcripts must be sent from each previous institution even though all previous records may be summarized on one transcript. Minnesota State Mankato will only accept credit from official transcripts of the institution granting the credit.

Credits accepted in transfer will be placed in the term of first enrollment.

Transfer Credit Evaluation
Students may expect to receive an evaluation of transfer work and a degree audit after the student is admitted to the University and before the student registers for classes. Students may expect to receive their tentative evaluation within 10 business days. It may take longer if the student’s transfer work is not recent or the student has attended multiple colleges or universities.

Minnesota State Mankato will work proactively to evaluate transfer courses completed at another Minnesota State institution by a student after they have been admitted to the university automatically to ensure timely consideration of the transfer work in the student’s academic standing and financial aid consideration.

Admitted students receive a Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE)
The TCE will indicate all General Education/Goal Areas coursework that is transferable to Minnesota State Mankato and will also indicate the transfer equivalent at Minnesota State Mankato. Credit not previously evaluated (pending review) will be reviewed by the academic program/department or its designee (Office of the Registrar). The evaluator will review pending credit, determine the transfer equivalent, update the student record, and notify the applicant.

How to Read the Transfer Equivalency Evaluation
Course number from sending institution.
Course title
If there is an exact course match, the title will reflect the Minnesota State Mankato course.
If there is no exact match, but the course transfers as an elective, the original course title will be retained. Credit hours awarded in transfer.
Minnesota State Mankato course number.
Note: With an exact match, the course number will be the Minnesota State Mankato equivalent.
Note: Coursework and institutions not listed are being evaluated for transfer credit by the academic program/department or its designee (Office of the Registrar).

International Credits
After acceptance, but BEFORE any possible transfer credit may be awarded, all transcripts or academic records from universities outside the U.S. must first be evaluated by a recognized outside agency as confirmation of the courses taken and grades earned. At the time of this policy’s adoption, Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE) serves as Minnesota State Mankato’s preferred international credit evaluation agency. Information about the ECE evaluation process will be included in the letter of acceptance mailed with the I-20. Students may begin the ECE process prior to being accepted. There are other recognized credit evaluation agencies and their names will be supplied upon request. There is also a list of recognized and allowable evaluation services at: http://www.naces.org/. If a student uses one of the other recognized agencies the evaluation will be allowed unless the department of the student's program of study specifies ECE. As an example Minnesota State Mankato's College of Science, Engineering and Technology REQUIRES use of ECE. For more information concerning ECE, go to: http://www.ece.org.

Transfer Credit Appeal Process
Students may appeal transfer credit evaluations by contacting the University Registrar. The appeal process will encompass a re-evaluation of coursework by the academic program/department or its designee (Office of the Registrar). Students who appeal an equivalency are asked to submit a course syllabus, which provides more detailed information than a catalog listing. Students not satisfied with the final transfer credit evaluation may appeal the decision to the chairperson of the academic department relevant to the course(s) in question, and where necessary, to the relevant College Dean, University Provost, and Minnesota State Department of Transfer & Collaboration.

Final Transfer of Credits
Transferable credits are officially added to a student’s Minnesota State Mankato record upon receipt of the final college/university transcript and upon verification of enrollment (completed course registration) through the Office of the Registrar.

Rationale

Definitions

Articulation Agreement
Articulation Agreements are formal agreements between two or more colleges and universities to accept credits in transfer toward a specific academic program. Articulation Agreements are generally for specialized professional or technical programs offered at colleges (e.g., Associate of Science (AS), Associate of Fine Arts (AFA), Associate of Applied Science (AAS), diplomas, and certificates) that can be applied to a specific program/major at the receiving university, and the entire associate degree or program needs to be completed before transfer. The associate degree, diploma or certificate program is complementary with the baccalaureate degree. Each institution is responsible for developing articulation agreements with other institutions.

Minnesota State system procedure requires that any Associate in Science (AS) and Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) degree must articulate to at least one system four-year university, and all courses from the AS and AFA must transfer. Not all of the courses in an Associate in Applied Science (AAS), diploma or certificate will necessarily transfer and apply toward the baccalaureate degree, even when articulation agreements exist, and this usually requires additional courses to be taken at the university. There are also articulation agreements with universities outside of the Minnesota State system. A searchable database of articulation agreements is available at http://www.mntransfer.org/students/plan/s_agreements.php.

It is very important to speak with academic advisors when choosing the type of associate degree to pursue as early as possible to maximize transfer. Transfer frequently occurs without articulation agreements. See

Transferology for course-by-course transfer information. Although transfer is possible without an articulation agreement, some of the courses in a technical/specialized program may not transfer without one. (Reference: http://www.minnstate.edu/system/cte/programs/Articulation.html)

Consortium Agreement
Occasionally, students may need to take a course for their degree or certificate program through another college or university. The Consortium Agreement is a process where a student can add credits from another institution (Host School) to the credits or enrollment at Minnesota State Mankato (Home School) in an effort to increase their credit load and possibly the amount of financial aid. Credits completed at another institution(s) through a consortium agreement will be considered as resident (local) and reflected on the transcript along with the name of the institution where the courses were completed. Procedures for requesting a consortium agreement can be found at: https://www.mnsu.edu/campushub/programs/special/consortium/

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC)
Each institution within the Minnesota State Colleges and University certifies the courses for the ten goal areas within the MnTC. Students choose courses in each goal area as required by the institution where they are intending to complete the MnTC. To complete the entire MnTC, students must earn a minimum of 40 credits in the ten goal areas, as well as the requirements for each of the goal areas. Passing grades (A to D-) for MnTC courses apply including transfer courses; however, a cumulative MnTC GPA of 2.0 is required to complete the entire 40 credit package. There may be specific MnTC courses that require a minimum grade. Note: Beginning January 1, 2002, all MnTC courses, goal areas, and completed MnTC (40 credits) offered by Minnesota State system institutions must transfer to other Minnesota State system institutions into the goal areas as designated by the original sending institution. (Reference: http://www.mntransfer.org/transfer/mntc/t_mntc.php)

Reverse Transfer
The Minnesota State system periodically audits students for reverse transfer eligibility. Once a student has met all of the following criteria, an Associate of Arts (AA) degree can be conferred:
Completed the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC)
Completed at least 12 credits at a community college
Transferred to a university
Completed at least 60 overall college level credits
(Reference: http://www.minnstate.edu/admissions/reversetransfer.html)

Transferology
Transferology is a nation-wide network designed to help students answer the question "Will my courses transfer?" Students enter their coursework, exams, and/or military learning experiences, and then discover how many colleges in the Transferology network have matching courses that may be awarded when the student transfers. Details of how those courses will count are available, and students can inform colleges of their interest in transferring by asking about specific programs, campus visits, and/or coursework that has not yet been evaluated by the college. (Reference: http://www.mntransfer.org/students/plan/s_mncas.php)