Transfer Credit

Transfer Credit

Undergraduate students are required to complete a minimum of 45 credit hours through Springfield College in order to fulfill the residency requirement. The remaining semester hours required to complete their undergraduate degree may be transferred in from other institutions or completed at the College.

In order to be accepted for transfer credit, courses must be:

1. completed at a regionally accredited institution of higher education. (Regional accrediting bodies are NECHE, MSACS, NCACS, NWASC, SACS, and WASC);

2. graded as a C- or better (grades of P (pass) will only be accepted if there is documentation that the P is equivalent to a C- or better);

3. courses completed 10 or more years before the student’s matriculation at Springfield College may be subject to further review by appropriate academic faculty prior to final approval.

In addition, a course accepted for transfer credit must satisfy one of the following conditions:

1. To meet General Education requirements: Transfer courses must be equivalent to a specific SC course that fulfills a general education category requirement. General Education competencies that are embedded cannot be satisfied with transfer credit.

2. To meet Major requirements: Transfer courses must be equivalent to a specific SC course that fulfills a major requirement. These courses must be approved by the chairperson of the major department. The chairperson may accept coursework not offered by the College if it is judged applicable to major requirements.

3. To meet elective requirements: Courses used for general elective credit need not be equivalent to Springfield College courses, and will be applied as elective requirements permit. In the case of minors or teacher preparation courses, they must be approved by the chairperson of the relevant departments.

• Springfield College does not grant transfer credit for the following work completed at or assessed by other colleges: college-based credit by exam or challenge, correspondence courses, portfolio assessment, independent study, fieldwork, or cooperative education experience.

• Credit for CLEP, AP, IB and DANTES examinations are assessed consistent with relevant College policy. Credit for armed services experience or employer training programs is assessed by the Registrar’s Office based on American Council on Education (ACE) guidelines. Original documentation related to such coursework must be presented.

• Courses accepted for transfer credit will be listed on the student’s transcript with a designation of “TR,” the number of semester hours awarded, the name of the institution where the course was taken, and the number and title of the equivalent Springfield College course. For direct equivalencies, courses will be transferred in with the Springfield College credit value. If there is no direct equivalent, it will be designated as an elective with the most closely associated academic program prefix. Grades received for transfer courses are not indicated on the Springfield College record, and the grades and related quality points are not calculated in the semester or cumulative grade point averages. However, transfer credits awarded do contribute toward students’ totals of cumulative earned and attempted hours.

• If a student with transfer credit changes his/her major or minor after enrolling at the College, their transfer credits and previous transcripts will be reevaluated by the Registrar’s Office to determine if any adjustment is necessary.

• For incoming transfer students 0.5 credit hours of required activity courses will be waived for every 15 credit hours of accepted transfer credit.

• Students who matriculate into Springfield College with an A.A. or A.S. degree earned within the previous 10 years from an accredited institution that required a sequence of General Education courses will be considered to have fulfilled all Springfield College General Education requirements, excluding the embedded competencies. Such students will receive a minimum of 60 transfer credits from Springfield College. The transcripts of students who earned A.A. or A.S. degrees prior to 10 years from their matriculation into Springfield College will be reviewed to determine if credits will be awarded.

Transfer Credit for continuing students 

1. Currently enrolled students wishing to transfer credits to the College should submit the completed Transfer Credit Approval Form to the Academic Advising Office for approval, prior to taking courses at another institution. This form is available in the Office of the Registrar or on-line at the SC homepage of the Registrar. Requests for approval may also be submitted via fax or e-mail, if necessary. A course catalog, official course description, or course syllabus may be needed to appropriately assess the course.  

• Courses intended to fulfill major or minor requirements require the approval of the chairperson of the major or minor department and the Academic Advising Office. The chairperson of that department may also require the student to obtain the approval of the chairperson of the department in which the course is offered.
• Courses intended to fulfill electives or General Education Requirements require approval of the Academic Advising Office; in some cases that office may need to consult with relevant department chairs or faculty before granting approval.
• Failure to obtain appropriate approvals, in writing, prior to taking a course at another institution may preclude awarding of credit.

2. Courses accepted for transfer credit will be listed on a student’s transcript with a designation of “TR,” the number of credit hours awarded, the name of the institution where the course was taken, and the number and title of the equivalent Springfield College course.

3. Grades received for transfer courses are not indicated on the Springfield College record, and the grades and related quality points are not calculated in the semester or cumulative grade point averages. However, transfer credits awarded do contribute toward students’ totals of cumulative earned and attempted hours.
4. If the approved transfer course is a repeat of a previously taken course, and it has now been passed with a C- or better, credit will be awarded. The original grade for the course will remain on the record but it is removed from the calculation of the cumulative grade point average. The new grade is not recorded and will not otherwise impact the grade point average.

Graduate and Doctoral Programs

Normally, all work for a master’s degree is done at Springfield College. No more than six semester hours of graduate credit may be transferred from one or more other institutions toward the master’s degree in programs requiring less than 48 semester hours of credit. However, students who are enrolled in a master’s degree program requiring a minimum of 48 credit toward the master’s degree may transfer nine semester hours of graduate credit toward the master’s degree. Courses accepted for transfer credit must be completed during the five-year period of candidacy, have a grade of B or better, and be applicable to the individual’s program of study pursued at Springfield College. Additionally, such courses must carry graduate credit at an accredited institution with a notation to that effect on the official transcript. In exceptional cases, the time limit (the five year period of candidacy) may be extended by the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs following a petition by the graduate student and with the recommendation of the dean of the student’s program, prior to the end of the five year period.

Extension credit from another accredited institution will be acceptable for transfer only where such extension work is accepted toward a master’s degree at that other institution.

Correspondence courses will not be accepted for graduate credit. Also, no credit is granted for prior experiential learning.

For transfer credit policies in the School of Social Work, see the Social Work  program section of the catalog.

For transfer credit policies in the Doctor of Psychology program, see the Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology   program section of the catalog.