North Dakota State University

Evaluation of Transfer Credit

The Office of Registration and Records administers the NDSU policies governing the acceptance of credit from outside institutions. These requirements apply to returning students who have attended other institutions, as well as new transfer students. Before credits may be evaluated for specific NDSU course equivalency or application to departmental programs, transfer courses must be accepted for university credit according to the following guidelines:

1. College-level coursework from regionally accredited colleges or universities (or equivalent for international institutions) is eligible for acceptance in transfer.
   
   
2. Courses accepted in transfer will not replace any grades or credits earned at NDSU. If a course is completed at NDSU and an attempt is made to repeat that course elsewhere, the credit is considered duplication and is not eligible for transfer.
   
   
3. Credit for a remedial course is not accepted for transfer if the course is remedial by definition of the transferring institution or if it is equivalent to a remedial course at NDSU. It may, however, fulfill prerequisite requirements.
   
   
4. Technical or vocational coursework from regionally accredited institutions may be accepted as free elective credit only.
   
   
5. Credit will be evaluated not only as it appears on the transcript, but also on the basis by which the credit was initially awarded by the sending institution. Credit by examination or life experience is not accepted for transfer.
   
   
6. The Office of Registration and Records determines the applicability of transfer credit toward NDSU general education requirements according to institutional and North Dakota University System guidelines, where applicable.
   
   
7. College-level credits that do not have course equivalents at NDSU will be accepted as free electives and may count only toward total credits. The academic department may determine whether these transfer electives may satisfy specific curricular requirements through a course substitution process. (See also General Education Administrative Policies.)
   
   
8. NDSU requires that a minimum of 37 credits toward a baccalaureate degree be earned at the junior or senior (300- and 400-level) level. Therefore, while a freshman- or sophomore-level (100- or 200-level) course transferred from another institution may satisfy a specific upper-level program requirement at NDSU, that course will not be counted toward the 37- credit upper-division degree requirement.
   
   
9. Transferable courses with 'D' grades or above will be accepted by the university; however, colleges and departments may have higher standards to determine course applicability toward their respective majors and programs.
   
   
10. The name of transfer institutions and total credits accepted by NDSU will be indicated on the official NDSU transcript. Individual transfer courses are not detailed on the academic record, but will be provided in a Transfer Equivalency Worksheet after admission to the university.
    
    
11. Total transfer credits are converted to semester credits, if applicable.
    
    
12. Transfer grades are not recorded nor computed in the institutional cumulative GPA. They are used only for purposes of admission to the University and to certain programs, as well as for determining eligibility to graduate with honor.

Repeated Courses Policy

If students wish to take advantage of the repeated course opportunity to improve a grade, then that course must be repeated at NDSU, with one exception only. NDSU students may register for a Tri-College course to repeat a course previously taken at NDSU. If a course is completed at NDSU and an attempt is made to repeat that course elsewhere, the credit is considered duplicate and is not eligible for transfer. When a course is repeated at NDSU, all attempts remain on the academic record but only the credits, grades, and related honor points for the most recent attempt will be used in calculating the cumulative grade-point average and counted toward credits for graduation. However, all credits attempted and grades received will be used in computing graduation with honor. Students forfeit the previous grade no matter what grade is earned when the course is repeated.

All repeated courses are noted on the transcript to indicate the course was repeated in a following term and excluded from cumulative totals. In courses that are repeatable for credit, students must notify the Office of Registration and Records if they re-enroll for purposes of grade improvement.

Courses taken for regular 'A'-'F' grades may not be repeated for pass-fail grades.

The course-repeat option to improve one's academic record is available to students who have not graduated.

Resident Credits Policy

Resident credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU while attending courses offered on campus, in Tri-College, or via distance education. The last 30 credits must be earned in residence.

A transfer student must earn a minimum of 60 semester credits from a four-year institution. Of these, at least 36 must be NDSU resident credits as defined above. Within these 36 resident credits, minimum requirements include 15 semester credits in courses numbered 300 or above (37 upper-level credits must still be earned in total) and 15 semester credits in the major field of study.