Transfer FAQ Guide

Transferring to a 4-year college or university typically involves the following foundational steps:

• Choose the specific bachelor degree program you wish to pursue.

Choosing a specific degree program allows you to plan accordingly to maximize transfer equivalencies and requirements. Student agency and initiative is important during the entire process. Take charge of your academic path and spend time self-reflecting.

• What do you want to study?
• What job opportunities are you looking for?
• What profession or field are you trying to enter? Is this profession or field growing?
• Every student has different educational interests. Make sure you pick a degree program that fits you and your goals.

• Research which colleges and universities offer the specific program and experience you are looking for.

Not all colleges and universities offer the same degrees, programs, and experience. Search for colleges or universities that offer the specific program you wish to study. Once you find the bachelors program or curriculum guide at the school of your choice, book mark it, study it, and reference it often. 

• Apply to the college or university of your choice.

Once you have decided on a specific school and a specific degree program, it's time to complete an application to the college or university that you chose. Most college applications can be completed in less than an hour and are designed to be completed one step at a time. Make sure to Include all required materials for admission. Typical application materials include but are not limited to:

• Identity cards and Social Security Number.
• Your high school and / or college transcripts
• Letters, essays, or any other reference material
• Placement test scores, levels, awards, or achievements
• Application Fees
• Completing FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
• Follow the directions during the application process.

• If your application is accepted, please check your 4-year institution's email inbox for the next steps.

After being accepted at the 4-year college or university that you applied to, your next steps typically include attending orientation, meeting with advisors, registering for classes, and utilizing their departmental resources. At this point, you have successfully transferred to your destination. Work with the different departments at your new college or university and embark on the next part of your academic journey!

Transfer Planning:

LCC offers a wide array of services. If you have transfer related academic questions, LCC Academic advisors, Success Coaches, Career and Employment office, Adult Resource Center, and the LCC Transfer Center are here to help!

Use all of the resources available, ask questions, and explore your options!

Please also reach out to the 4-year college or university that you are interested in to speak with their admission team, registrar's office, and recruiters. Creating relationships with representatives at LCC and at your transfer destination is important.

Still have transfer questions? Keep reading this transfer FAQ guide to learn more!

To access your unofficial transcript:

• Log into Self Service Banner
• Click on Student
• Click on Student Records
• Click on Unofficial Academic Transcript

To request your official transcript be sent to a college or university:

Lansing Community College has partnered with the National Student Clearinghouse to offer electronic transcripts through an online ordering system. Please carefully read LCC's Requesting Official Transcripts page and then place the order through the National Student Clearinghouse Transcript Ordering Center.

There are limited options for 3+1 programming. A 3+1 program allows students to earn their bachelor's degree by completing three years' worth of equivalent credits (up to 90) at a community college and one years' worth of credits (30 or more) at a four-year institution.

Each institution has a credit residency requirement which can be defined as the specific amount of credits required to be completed through that institution in order to be eligible to be awarded a degree. Please do not confuse credit residency with geographical or tuition based residency. Tuition based residency is a separate financial topic. Please reference your transfer destination's applicable tuition or financial aid web pages for tuition residency requirements.

Exploration Phase:

Each institution either hosts their own transfer equivalency webpage or refers students to utilize transfer equivalency databases such as the Michigan Transfer Network or Transferology. These resources allow students a preliminary view as to how their credits may transfer into their institution. Please consult with advisors from both LCC and your transfer destination.

When exploring how your credits transfer, it is important to take in to consideration the transfer destinations credit residency requirement, transfer credit policy, as well as the curriculum of the specific program you want to pursue in order to determine how your credits will transfer.

Action Phase:

During the application process, most colleges and universities will require that you send an official transcript to their registrar's office. Work with the 4-year college or university during this process to decide when to send your transcripts and make sure to follow the instructions during the application process.

Sending, receiving, and evaluating transcripts can take several business days. Once you send your official transcript, the receiving institution's registrar office will evaluate it. The 4-year institution will then apply the applicable credits to your new transcript. If you have questions about how your credits are applied, you will need to contact the registrar's office at the 4-year college or university that you transferred to.

Each college or university is different. Completing the application depends on various factors:

• Type of admissions processes: strict deadline, open or multiple deadlines (rolling), or secondary admissions (specific programs)
• Visit your desired transfer destination's admissions page to find out when application deadlines are to determine when it is best for you to apply. 
• Transfer Credit Policy: the number of credits the receiving institution will accept from LCC
• Credit Residency Requirement: the number of specific credits that you are required to complete through that college or university to be eligible to be awarded a degree
• Curriculum Alignment/Degree Sequencing: the number of equivalent courses that LCC offers which align with the curriculum and sequencing recommendations of the degree program you are pursuing

It is never too early to start transfer planning so please take the time now to understand how these factors above will impact or influence when you need to apply and begin the transfer process. This will help ensure you are utilizing your time and money here at LCC as efficiently as possible and that you have a smooth transition to your next institution.

• Each school has a different transfer credit policy which determines how many credits will be accepted from a 2-year college like LCC. Every institution also has differing credit residency requirements as well. These are the number of specific credits required to be completed through the college or university for eligibility to be awarded a degree.
• Some schools offer pathways that are designed to allow students to complete and transfer up to 60 or even 90 credits.
• All schools transfer credit differently, so it is important to understand how the school you wish to attend accepts LCC credits and whether or not our courses will align with the degree/curriculum requirements for that specific program. 

*The sooner you start the transfer planning process the less likely for credit loss.

Degree Works is a powerful tool to help you and your advisor(s) monitor and plan your pathway toward completion of your LCC certificate(s) and/or degree(s). Degree Works compares your coursework against the requirements for your declared LCC major/program to produce an easy-to-read audit divided into blocks (Degree/Certificate, Major/Program, Michigan Transfer Agreement, General Education, Career Community, etc.).

Please visit LCC's Degree Works page to watch a demonstration video, learn how to access Degree works within myLCC, view the Degree Works FAQ, and more!

The Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) is designed to help students transfer from one of Michigan's community colleges to a four-year college or university in the state. The MTA replaced the previous Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRAO) Transfer Agreement beginning in the fall of 2014.

The MTA consists of at least 30 semester credits of coursework in six defined areas with a grade of at least 2.0 in each course. Subjects included in the MTA are English Composition, Communication, Social Sciences, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics.

• For additional information and MTA course list at LCC, please visit the General Education MTA web page.
• For a complete list of participating MTA schools, student responsibilities, the history, and additional detail, please visit the official MACRAO MTA web page.
• To request an MTA audit to receive an MTA stamp and for additional questions, please contact LCC Academic Advising.
• Be sure to review how your transfer destination accepts the Michigan Transfer Agreement to understand which courses are best to select when fulfilling the MTA requirements.
• The MTA is not required for transferring to another institution, but it may be beneficial depending on the institution and degree program. Students should consult their academic advisors and representatives from their target college or university to determine if completing the MTA will contribute to their transfer.

Envision Green is a partnership between Lansing Community College (LCC) and Michigan State University (MSU) that helps students navigate between the institutions and maximize their opportunities at both. Envision Green provides strong support for students who want to transfer from LCC to MSU.

Please visit the LCC Envision Green page for full details including next steps, events, details on academic advising, booking an appointment, and how to join the Envision Green mailing list!

To learn what classes MSU will take, you should plan on meeting with an MSU academic advisor to determine academic options at MSU based on transferable credits. However, we encourage students to utilize msu.transfer.edu. You can utilize this tool to view LCC to MSU course equivalencies. Simply select LCC as the institution, your subject, course code, and timeframe and click search!

1. MSU students do not need to meet with an LCC Advisor to apply and/or enroll at LCC
2. LCC Advisors cannot advise students on which courses to take as that is determined by a student's MSU Academic Progress and Unmet Degree Requirements, which can be viewed in MSU's Student Information System (SIS) ( https://student.msu.edu/). If students are still unsure what to take after reviewing their account, they should meet with their MSU Academic Advisor.
3. Once students know the MSU course(s) they want to take, they can go to www.transfer.msu.edu to determine if the course(s) is offered at LCC.
4. If the course is offered at LCC, they can see when it has been scheduled by Browsing Classes
5. Once a student finds classes:
   Apply as a Guest Student:  The website takes students through all of the steps to get to enrollment. To expedite enrollment at LCC, we recommend for students to complete the Placement, Prerequisite, and Orientation Waiver Form, which waives orientation and starts to establish placement levels.
   • If an LCC student account already exists from prior enrollment, students should update their status to ‘Guest Student’ through the Program and Catalog Year Update Request Form.
6. If you have additional questions about enrollment, please reach out to the LCC StarZone at 517-483-1200 (option 2). Students can also visit the StarZone in person at LCC's Downtown Campus (parking is free: 600 N Grand Ave, Lansing, MI 48933). See the StarZone's hours and online chat options.

A restricted major is a major that has additional admission requirements, including the successful completion of specific prerequisite coursework, a competitive grade point average or a required number of credits.

Michigan State is comprised of over 17 degree-granting colleges. Examples of colleges with restricted majors at Michigan State University include but are not limited to Broad College of Business, College of Engineering, and the College of Nursing. Please review MSU's admissions page for a full list of restricted majors. For a complete list of majors, visit MSU's Majors, degrees and programs page.

Great question! We are here to help. Please complete a Transfer Success Form to get started. Thank you for reading our Transfer FAQ!