How to Transfer Academic Credits to Online Programs

When Kim Blackham, a licensed marriage and family therapist, began searching for online universities to earn her doctorate, she knew she wanted to transfer in credits for several classes she had previously taken at Atlanta's Richmont Graduate University.

"Not being able to transfer in credits was a deal breaker," says Blackham, who spoke with people from several schools before she chose Northcentral University's online doctoral program in marriage and family therapy. "I had already invested a lot of time and money and I didn't want to retake the classes."

Blackham's priorities are likely familiar to many online students. About 80 percent of online undergraduates have earned credit elsewhere, according to a 2014 report by Aslanian Market Research and Learning House, an online learning company. The same percentage of students say it's important that they get quick, clear information about the credit transfer process.

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"Believe it or not, the average student will have attended three institutions before they graduate college," says Cathy Sandeen, vice president of education attainment and innovation for the American Council on Education.

The good news, she says, is that many online institutions readily accept transfer credits from other schools.

What Students Need to Know

While every school has a different credit transfer policy, most programs have the same criteria for their online and on-campus students, says Carol Smith, assistant provost for the online division at New York City's Berkeley College. The first step for students, she says, is to speak to a transfer adviser at the school so they can review their credits.

Students should keep in mind that transferring credits to an online program is easier if they previously attended schools with regional accreditation, says Donna Devine, a preadmissions adviser for University of Massachusetts--Amherst's University Without Walls, a bachelor's program that allows adult students to choose from a wide range of online courses. Regional accreditation is the highest level of accreditation for public and private two and four-year universities, she says, and helps to show if the course is comparable in content.

For example, trade schools offering training for health care aide or information technology usually aren't regionally accredited, so their courses don't typically transfer, says Elizabeth Brinkerhoff, instructor and admissions chair of the program.

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Students should also realize that if they hope to receive transfer credit for previous courses, it's important to keep all documents. "I kept all of my syllabi and assignments for the courses and asked NCU to compare class requirements," says Blackham, who plans to earn her doctorate in August 2016.

Experts say students should also pay attention to the grades they receive. Most universities will only transfer a grade of C or better. Although a D is a passing grade, it is not transferable grade, Brinkerhoff says.

Students should also note that they may lose credit if the classes they are trying to get credit for come from a quarter system instead of the semester system. Since quarter system classes don't meet for as many hours, students may have a four-credit course that will transfer in as three credits at school that is on semesters, Brinkerhoff says.

Students should be aware that some universities will cap the number of transfer credits they accept and require students to take a minimum number of credit hours at their institution. For example, UMass Amherst will only take up to 75 transfer credits, so students must take at least 45 credits online with the university, Brinkerhoff says.

Experts say students usually have more success if they work toward a specific degree, instead of randomly taking classes they hope to transfer. "Students will do better if they complete their associate degree first instead of cobbling a bunch of courses together and transferring," says Demaree Michelau, director of policy analysis for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, a nonprofit organization of Western states that promotes innovation and cooperation in higher education.

What to Ask

If online students have a hard time getting credit for their previous courses, many experts say it's important be persistent and ask about other options.

Many universities will award credit for work and life experiences, Brinkerhoff says. Some will give credit to students who take a College-Level Examination Program exam in a certain subject or allow online students to audit a course or create a portfolio for additional transfer credit.

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"If a class is rejected, ask for reconsideration," says Blackham, who ran into hurdles when she first tried to get transfer credit. "If you can't transfer the class in, a lot of times they will allow you to take something similar that isn't exactly the same class again."

In Blackham's case, her decision to keep pressing for transfer credits paid off.

After a month of discussions, Northcentral University eventually agreed that her previous courses were the same as current classes and could transfer in credits.

"I wish I would have known then that they really wanted to help me, but they have the university's integrity to protect, too," Blackham says. "They want to make sure they are turning out students that are well-prepared."

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Dawn Reiss is a Chicago-based freelance education reporter for U.S. News, covering online education. You can follow her on Twitter.