Transfer Credit – Evaluation and Acceptance

Standard Operating Procedure

Procedure Details

Procedure Title: Transfer Credit – Evaluation and Acceptance
Procedure #: RO.004
Revision #: 005

Unit Responsible: Registrar’s Office
Individual Responsible: Registrar

Effective Date: 03/15/2024
Initial Approval Date: 01/25/2019
Last Review/Update Date: 03/15/2024
Next Review Date: 03/01/2027

*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 3.100 – Credit for Previously Acquired Knowledge and Learning Experience

Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page

*Does this procedure support HLC criteria? Yes
If yes, identify: 2B, 3A, 4A

HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria

*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A

*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Transfer Credit – Evaluation and Acceptance, BP 3.100

1. Purpose

To ensure that the College evaluates transfer credit in accordance with Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices.

2. Scope

Applies to all Registrar’s staff involved with evaluating transfer credits for a determination of their acceptance.

3. Prerequisites

Student must be admitted to Lansing Community College (LCC).
Submission of an official transcript sent directly from another institution to LCC via U.S.
Mail or electronically using the issuing institution’s electronic transcript exchange program.
- If mailed, the transcript must be unopened, be untampered with, and contain the institution’s seal, and the signature of the institution’s Registrar.
  
  Mailing Address:
  Registrar's Office
  Lansing Community College
  411 N Grand Ave
  Lansing, MI 48933-1215

Transfer credit will be accepted at full value in transfer if:

A grade of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is earned in a program, college, or university which offers courses that are comparable to courses offered by LCC, and the program or institution is either accredited or a candidate for accreditation by an accrediting association which is a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Earned from institutions with professional accreditation but lacking regional accreditation, with attainment of a grade of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, providing an evaluation has been completed by appropriate program officials at LCC.
A grade of “Pass” can be documented to represent competency at a 2.0 level or higher. The course will be recorded as P-Z course credits. With departmental approval, the limitation of the use of P-Z credits are directly related to the degree or certificate in a course of study.
Earned in courses, programs and other learning experiences with comparable learning outcomes and valid evaluation measures, including third-party expert review.

General Provisos:

Only official transcripts will be evaluated for transfer credits. Credits that appear on an incoming transcript will be considered for transfer only if they represent coursework that was completed at the transcript’s issuing institution.

If coursework was completed at several institutions, an official transcript must be received from each institution.
The College will accept as official transcripts only incoming transcripts that have appropriate signatures and/or official college seals and that are sent directly to the Registrar’s Office or other LCC office from an issuing institution.
- Transcripts or copies of transcripts carried by individuals may be used for academic advising or counseling, placement levels and/or prerequisite waivers, but will not be evaluated for transfer credit.
The Registrar’s Office will verify the official status of all incoming transcripts prior to the evaluation and posting of transfer credit.
All transcripts submitted for evaluation become the property of LCC, and will be processed accordingly.
Credits will be accepted regardless of the mode of delivery of the course.
Credits only, not grades, are transferred.
Quarter credits will be converted to semester credits (quarter credits x 2/3 = semester credits) rounding up to the nearest hundredth.
LCC retains the right to grant no credit if coursework is not similar in nature, content, and/or level to that offered by LCC.
Developmental courses are not considered college level and do not transfer.
LCC reserves the right to assess transcripts and award credit as they see fit.

Courses that have previously been evaluated:

If LCC has previously evaluated a course that appears on an incoming transcript, that evaluation will be used. A course that was previously evaluated and posted to the student account will remain on the record except in a situation where an incorrect course was posted to a student record. Equivalences have been established for the most commonly transferred courses from a number of colleges and universities in Michigan. To access those equivalencies, please go to the Transfer Equivalencies webpage. LCC Registrar’s Office maintains records of evaluation of transfer credits or other approved equivalencies (e.g., AP, CLEP, Prior Learning Assessments) and applies evaluation criteria consistently.

4. Responsibilities

Transcript and Academic Record Coordinator (TARC) – Responsible for completing all procedures and adhering to the guidelines as they relate to the acceptance and evaluation of transfer credit.

Registrar – Responsible for the oversight of the acceptance and evaluation of transfer credit procedure.

Academic Departments – Assist in reviewing outside course information or syllabi to verify course equivalency.

5. Procedure

This procedure is initiated when an official transcript is received in the Registrar’s Office.

The TARC verifies issuing institutions accreditation using Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP) or published institutional information.
The TARC will complete the transcript evaluation within 6 weeks of receipt.
- Transcripts are evaluated using transfer tables that are maintained by the Registrar’s Office or by using course descriptions found on the institution’s website.
If an equivalency could not be determined, or was denied, student may request a reevaluation of the course by submitting a copy of the course syllabus. The TARC will forward this information to the academic department. Academic departments may review the Evaluating Courses for Incoming Transfer Guide. The department will return any/all documents along with a decision as to whether or not credit will be awarded.
If credits are accepted in transfer, they will be either:
- Awarded equivalence to an LCC course. Credits that are awarded course equivalence may be used to satisfy LCC degree and certificate requirements in the same way as the equivalent LCC course.
  - A transfer course which equates to an LCC course, and is lacking 1 credit or less, will be designated as the equivalent LCC course.
- Awarded as general credits in a corresponding LCC subject (See Transfer Credit - General Credit).
  - A course that is awarded general credits in an LCC subject and meets LCC General Education guidelines may, upon College approval, be used to satisfy LCC General Education requirements. For details, please see “Additional Information” on the LCC General Education webpage.
The TARC will then evaluate to determine placement scores. This allows the student to register for courses without having to take the placement test before their transcript is evaluated for credit.
The student will be notified via LCC email when the evaluation is complete.

6. Reference

Additional Transfer Information is located in the College Catalog in the student records – transfer section.

7. Definitions

DAPIP – Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs

Transfer Tables – A listing of previously determined equivalencies from other institutions