|
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff records all courses and grades transferred from regionally accredited four-year colleges and/or universities as received. A maximum of 78 hours is accepted from regionally accredited two-year colleges.
Transfer credits are calculated in the hours attempted and earned. The University maintains a transfer grade point average and an institutional (UAPB) grade point average in calculating the overall cumulative grade point average. The cumulative grade point average is used for undergraduate honor distinctions upon graduation, athletic eligibility, and membership requirements for joining a sorority, fraternity and other social or service organizations.
Grades earned at UAPB may be used to replace a grade deficiency acquired at a former institution based upon similarity of course content and comparability. All attempts at the course will remain on the transcript, but only the highest grade will be used to calculate both credit and GPA. The first attempt(s) and the grade earned will be recorded on the transcript with a notation indicating “same as (Course name) and term repeated”.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff participates in the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS) provided by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. The ACTS system is a post-secondary education resource service that provides comparable course information to facilitate student transfer within Arkansas public colleges and universities. Comparable courses within ACTS are guaranteed to transfer for full credit to any Arkansas public institution. Students may use the ACTS database to obtain faculty-generated comparable course information for a number of courses offered at public institutions in Arkansas. Follow the instructions given.
- If the report lists a course, the course is guaranteed to transfer if UAPB has a comparable course.
- If the report states “No Comparable Course,” the course is not guaranteed to transfer. Contact the Registrar’s Office for further information as it is possible that the course will not transfer.
- Transferability of courses taken prior to January 1, 2007 is at the discretion of UAPB per the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
Any course taken for credit at another regionally accredited institution while a student is enrolled at UAPB must have prior written permission of the student’s advisor, department chair, and dean in order for that credit to be accepted toward the fulfillment of degree requirements. A student cannot transfer credit earned at a junior or community college beyond the sophomore year. An exception may be granted if a student lacked a subject in the freshman or sophomore year. Permission from the advisor, department chairperson and dean will be required.
The Request for Concurrent Enrollment or Transfer of College Credits form (AA Form 12) must be completed by academic departments and submitted to the Registrar’s Office for acceptance and awarding of credits. Concurrent transfer credits must not exceed university course load limitations in accordance with academic load standards per term.
Act 182 of 2009 was repealed and incorporated in Act 747 of 2011. Under Act 747, a student may complete a generic Associate of Arts degree, or a 60-semester credit hour state minimum core curriculum that will transfer fully to the bachelor’s degree. To facilitate transfer, the Academic Affairs Officers and ADHE agreed that the Associate of Arts degree and the 60-credit hour state minimum core would be the same curriculum. Associate (transfer) degrees earned prior to January 2010 do not come under the direction of ACT 182 of 2009 or ACT 747; therefore, institutional discretion will be used in considering the comprehensive transfer of these degrees. Guidelines for associate degrees that are fully transferable can be found at www.adhe.edu.
In accordance with ACT 747, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will not require additional general education and institutional required courses beyond the state minimum core. To compensate for the differential in the minimum hours (3 to 10 hours) required for degrees, the University will require junior/senior level electives at the discretion of the department in which the student is majoring and in consultation with the student. The electives must be entered on the student’s official degree plan at least two semesters prior to the anticipated date of graduation. Students may elect to take the lower level courses at their discretion.
Transferability, Equivalency, and Applicability
- Transferability refers to the conditions under which the University accepts credit from other post-secondary institutions for inclusion in the student’s record. The Office of Registrar is responsible for determining transferability.
- Equivalency entails equating transfer credit, both in hours and content, to University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff course requirements. Lower level equivalencies are generally determined by the Registrar’s Office, upper level equivalencies are generally determined by the departmental major.
- Applicability of credit toward a degree refers to the prerogative of the academic divisions to count specific credit toward the fulfillment of a student’s degree requirements. The student’s major department is responsible for determining applicability within University policies in conjunction with the Registrar’s Office.
Undergraduate Process:
Transfer credits are posted and equated by the Registrar’s Office in conjunction with academic departments. Generally, the Registrar’s Office equates by assigning course-to course equivalencies, general education equivalencies, and core/elective courses that are equivalent to UAPB courses. This initial equate is done to facilitate timely advisement and the applicability of transfer credits to the degree audit. This process helps to ensure that students do not repeat courses unnecessarily. Departments also submit transfer equivalencies on substitution forms to the Registrar’s Office. For courses that cross academic disciplines, both departmental approvals are required to award the course equivalent substitution. It is important to note that UAPB will give no more credit for a transfer course than is given at UAPB for the equivalent course. All work transferred from two-year institutions is considered lower division. However, some two-year college courses may meet the intent of specific upper division courses at UAPB.
Graduate Process:
For graduate programs, the appropriate school has the responsibility for the evaluation and awarding of transfer credits within transfer credit hour guidelines per program.
|
