Transfer Credit Information

A violation of the academic integrity policy more than once within the same course may result in a failure for the course. If a student commits a violation of academic integrity in multiple courses, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, in consultation with the student’s program director and/or dean may convene an ad hoc “academic integrity committee” of at least three faculty members to review the incidents and submit a recommended course of action. Sanctions may vary from simple warning, to grade reductions, to dismissal. The VP of Academic Affairs must approve the Committee’s decision before the University acts on it. If a student is dismissed, he/she is not able to return for one entire semester following the dismissal.

TRANSFER CREDIT EVALUATION PROCESS

Registrar’s Office staff will evaluate transcripts and communicate the results to accepted students within 14 business days. Questions regarding transcript evaluation should be directed to the Registrar’s Office. Upon completion of courses, official transcripts should be sent to: North Central University Attn: Registrar’s Office 910 Elliot Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55404

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS In order to graduate from North Central University, 27 of a student's final 33 credits must be taken in residence at NCU. This allows flexibility for students to transfer six of their last 33 credits if necessary. Advanced Standing credit is also included in this 6 credit limit if an exception to policy is approved and AS credit is processed after the first two semesters of enrollment at the university.

In addition, NCU requires that students in all degree programs complete a minimum of 50% of program-specific credits within that program through North Central University. The 50% program-specific residency requirement applies to credits within the major, minor, Interdisciplinary Field 1 and Field 2, as well as certificates.

The one exception to this policy is the Christian Studies Minor earned by all students at North Central University. Students can transfer in a maximum of 15 credits towards this minor, with the exception that at least one Worldview Theology elective must be taken at the university.

Credits will be transferred to NCU in the order that the official transcripts are received in the Registrar’s Office. Credits that do not meet Residency Requirements will not be transferred to NCU. Approval of transfer requests on the Transfer Credit Request Form does not guarantee acceptance of credits.

The purpose of this notification is to promote a more standardized approach to the usage of these terms within our Institution by publishing the meanings that the Registrar’s Office is currently associating with this terminology. The terms under consideration are: "Exempt," "Transfer," and “Portfolio Review”. The distinguishing features of each term are as follows:

"Exempt"

Exempt implies that one has met the requirements of a given program via placement exam or other criteria. Passing a placement exam (music theory or ASL language procifiency) allows a student to move into the next course, but does not earn credit towards a degree. Students must take major electives or general electives to make up for this credit deficiency, as approved by their advisor.

"Transfer"

To transfer credit means "to accept the qualified academic semester credits (Carnegie units) from another educational entity;" it also implies academic compatibility and equivalency of academic quality standards and competencies that are synonymous with at least "C-" (70%) at NCU. All courses transferred in from two year colleges transfer in as 100 or 200 level courses according to North Central University’s numbering system. On the transcript, transfer credits appear as "TR" and do not affect GPA.

Please note that once transfer credit has been awarded based on receipt of an official transcript, it will not be removed or waived by a request from the student. Transcripts will be reviewed upon request when a student changes majors to evaluate additional credits that could be transferred to NCU. At no time will any processed transfer credits be deleted or removed from the student record.

Transfer credits come from accredited academic sources such as: • Qualified Colleges or Universities • CLEP (College Level Examination Proficiency) exam* • AP (Advanced Placement) exam* • IBE (International Baccalaureate Exams)* • DSST/DANTES Exams* *Please note that a maximum of 30 credits will be accepted for transfer from CLEP, AP,IB DANTES and Advanced Standing combined.

UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REVIEWS

In order to facilitate registration and aid awarding for incoming students with transfer credits earned at other accredited institutions, transfer credit will be temporarily applied to the student’s record and visible on the audit sheet for a limited time. Students who fail to submit an official transcript prior to the start of the term will be notified that their transfer credits will

no longer be associated with their student record. This may result in a change to the financial aid award for that term.

Once an official transcript has been received, the transfer credits will be reviewed and awarded according to degree requirements and the transfer credit policies in place at the time the official transcript is received. A delay in submission of the official transcript until after the initial term of enrollment may impact the awarding of credit.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY

1) Credit will be transferrable from institutions approved by one of the regional accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Higher

Education Accreditation (CHEA). These are: ❖ Higher Learning Commission (HLC); ❖ Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE); ❖ New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC-CIHE); ❖ Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU); ❖ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC); ❖ Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) - Western Association of Schools and Colleges; ❖ WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) - Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

2) CHEA (Council on Higher Education) recognized accrediting agencies will be accepted for transfer. All courses will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis.

3) Only courses with a grade of “C-“ or better will be accepted for transfer. Transfer credit will be not awarded for courses graded on a pass/fail (P/F) or satisfactory (S) basis unless the transcript documents that the “P” or “S” grade is the equivalent of a “C-“ or higher.

4) Transferable credits are accepted to North Central University to the extent that they apply to a student’s declared program of study. Some programs, like Applied Studies,

Education and Social Work, have program specific limitations on transfer credits based on accreditation standards or licensure requirements. Evaluation is done by the

Registrar’s Office- in collaboration with the Deans and School Directors, if necessary- and relevant credits are articulated upon payment of the enrollment deposit and declaration of a major. The relevancy of general education courses are determined by course content and will be accepted for transfer corresponding to the equivalency requirements for the

General Education Courses document.

a. Transfer limitations for Applied Studies majors are set at a maximum of 30 credits of General Education and upper-level general elective credits. This is limited to ensure that Residency Policy is met and all accreditation

5) Current students must complete a Transfer Credit Petition and submit the form to the

Registrar’s Office for evaluation prior to registration for those classes at another institution. Approval from the Dean or Director is required for transfer requests to the major core.

6) Residency requirements for an Associate of Arts degree requires a minimum of 30 credits taken at NCU. For a Bachelors degree, a minimum of 50% of the major core must be taken at NCU. Residency policy permits a maximum of 6 credits that can be transferred within the final 33 credits towards an Associate or Bachelor’s degree, including both transfer and any advanced standing credit approved for acceptance outside of policy.

7) Advanced Standing credits are restricted to document learning prior to matriculation to

NCU. Credits will be accepted for transfer so long as official documentation is submitted to the Registrar’s Office within the first two semesters of enrollment at North Central. A maximum of 30 combined credits will be accepted from the following sources: a. CLEP (College Level Exam Proficiency) tests b. AP (Advanced Placement) exams c. IBE (International Baccalaureate Exams) d. DSST/DANTES Exams e. Advanced Standing Credit

8) Transfer credit accepted from another institution is reflected on the North Central transcript with a grade of “TR”. Advanced Standing awarded for prior learning will be noted on the transcript with a grade of “AS”. Neither TR or AS grades will be included in

North Central GPA calculations.

9) Transfer implies the recognition of academic merit of a course or program of study.

Advanced standing is not justified on the basis of the academic merit of a course or program, but rather the education achieved by the active, supervised participation of the individual in an applied or real-world setting. In some cases, advanced standing may be justified for education received in an unaccredited setting, where transfer credit would not be justified. Credits pre-approved for advanced standing from unaccredited discipleship programs will be awarded upon the successful completion of one semester at NCU where the student is in good academic standing (GPA 2.0 or higher).

10) All determinations regarding advanced standing will be made by North Central

University. It should be understood that advanced standing credits from other institutions will not automatically be awarded or transferred to North Central University.

11) Continuing Education (CEU) Credits and StraighterLine exam scores are not accepted for transfer at NCU.