Transfer Students

Transfer Credit Policies

An overview of transfer students policies affecting general university requirements and skill requirements is shown below. For additional policies and procedures, view the academic catalog.

Transfer Students and General University Requirements

1. Transfer credit is generally awarded for college level course work completed at institutions accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Credits may be granted for post-secondary course work at a foreign institution if the institution is recognized by the Ministry of Education or the equivalent authority who supervises tertiary education in that country. Students seeking transfer from an international post-secondary institution will be referred to a foreign credential service to determine U.S. credit equivalents for academic work completed at an institution of higher learning in another country (ECE, WES, One Earth).

2. Transfer courses which are the substantial equivalent of approved UW-Parkside general university requirements (skills, general education, foreign language*, and ethnic diversity requirements) courses will be counted toward general education requirements.

3. Transfer students with less than 54 transferable credits will be required to meet UW-Parkside skills, general education, foreign language*, and ethnic diversity requirements.

4. Transfer students with 54 or more transferable credits will be required to meet the general education requirement by categories, NOT the specific distribution by subcategories. The distribution by categories is as follows:

Humanities and the Arts – 12 credits

Social and Behavioral Science – 12 credits

Natural Science – 12 credits

These students must also complete UW-Parkside’s skills, foreign language*, and ethnic diversity requirements.

5. Students transferring to UW-Parkside from a UW System institution (the four-year universities and two-year colleges) may follow the UW-Parkside general university requirements that were in effect at the time they entered the previous institution. Transfer students should contact the Advising and Career Center for detailed information on general education requirements.

6. Transfer students with bachelor’s degree from an accredited liberal arts, baccalaureate degree-granting college or university, or an associate of arts or science degree (with at least 45 transferable credits) from an accredited college parallel liberal arts program will be considered to have completed the UW-Parkside general education and skills requirements. Students must still meet the foreign language* and ethnic diversity requirements.

7. Transfer students who complete 90 transferable credits (as outlined above), a bachelor’s degree from an accredited liberal arts, baccalaureate degree-granting college or university, or an associate of arts or science degree (as outlined above) at another institution after enrollment at UW-Parkside are exempt from UW-Parkside general education and skills requirements only if the 90 transferable credits or the degree is awarded within one year of initial enrollment at UW-Parkside. Students must still meet the foreign language* and ethnic diversity requirements.

8. Students may transfer a maximum of 72 transferable degree credits earned at a non-baccalaureate accredited liberal arts/collegiate transfer program. Occupational/ technical courses may also be considered for transfer if the quality and content of the course work is judged to be comparable to course work at UW-Parkside. UW-Parkside may accept additional credits toward the degree where appropriate. This does not alter university policies related to program completion, residency or graduation requirements.

9. College level credits completed at institutions accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization earned more than 10 years prior to admission will be accepted in transfer but may not fulfill a program or degree requirement.

10. Transfer, degree seeking student must earn a minimum of 30 of their last 60 credits at UW-Parkside toward their degree to fulfill the residency requirement. Individual departments and programs may require that certain courses be taken at UW-Parkside.

11. If a student earns transfer credits via a transfer or articulation agreement and subsequently changes his/ her academic major or program, all transfer credits may be reevaluated to determine if, and how they apply to the new major or program.

12. Students may appeal any course transfer determination by contacting UW-Parkside in writing. Students will be required to supply a course syllabus used during the term and year the course was completed.

* Transfer students in business management online and sustainable management and health information management and technology collaborative, online degree-completion programs will be exempt from the university’s foreign language requirement. See the appropriate academic section for further information.

Certification of Transfer Students in Skills Requirements

While transfer students are expected to complete the skills requirements within the deadlines stated in the policy, the university recognizes that transfer students may have met the reading, writing, computational, and/or information literacy skills requirements at a previous college or university. Therefore, the faculty has created guidelines for evaluating the applicability of previous course work for certification in these areas; this evaluation is completed when the student is first accepted to UW-Parkside.

Reading and Writing Competencies: Transfer students will be certified in the reading and writing competencies if they have successfully completed a course equivalent to English 101 at another college or university with a grade of C-minus or better. Students who have not completed such a course should take the English placement test to determine which course to take. Placement beyond English 101 fulfills the reading and writing competency for graduation.

Computational Skills: Transfer students will be certified in computational skills if they have completed a course equivalent to Mathematics 111 or Mathematics 102 with a grade of C-minus or better, or passed any higher level mathematics course at a previous college or university. Students who have not completed such course work should take the mathematics placement test. Placement into Mathematics 112 or beyond on the UW-Parkside placement test fulfills the computational skills requirement for general education; however, some majors may require additional mathematics courses.

90+ Acceptable Credits: Transfer students with 90 or more acceptable credits of multidisciplinary course work from an accredited liberal arts, baccalaureate degree-granting college or university will be considered to have completed UW-Parkside skills requirements.

The same policy shall apply to transfer students holding acceptable associate degrees, provided they have completed 45 or more transferable credits.