The University of St. Thomas

School of Education

School of Education Policies 2007-2008

Waivers and Transfer Credits

 

Note: Please read ALL transfer policy information cited below. A complete familiarity with these policies may prevent you from taking a course elsewhere that will not be transferable.

Waivers

A department may waive specific program requirements if a student has completed equivalent work within the last seven years; however, a course waiver does not reduce the total minimum number of credits needed to complete a degree. Students seeking a waiver should discuss this with their advisers.

CLEP Exams

SoE graduate programs do not accept CLEP or CLEP type exams in lieu of graduate course work.

Transfer Credits / Transfer Maximum

Transfer credits are graduate level credits and typically reduce the number of credits required to complete a degree. A maximum of nine semester hours of graduate credit, for which a grade of B or above is indicated, may be approved for transfer into a degree program by the dean.

Transfer Credits Requirements

While individual programs may have additional requirements, transfer credits must meet the following minimum conditions. Transfer credits must be:

  • from a regionally accredited institution
  • earned at the graduate level
  • indicated by a letter grade of A or B (Pass/Fail courses are not accepted)
  • earned no earlier than five-years prior to admission to a program

Note: Transfer credits may not have been used as part of another earned degree. The federal government prohibits such “double-dipping”.

Credit Transfer Time Limits

Credits transferred into School of Education graduate degree or certificate programs cannot be more than five (5) years old at the time of program admission or eight (8) years old at the time of program completion.

International Transcript Review

International transcripts will be reviewed by an appropriate outside agency to determine degree equivalency.

Continuing Education (CE) Course Transfer

Continuing Education credits differ significantly from regular credits. Most Schools of Education offer “Continuing Education” courses. Continuing Education courses are designed primarily for the “continuing” professional development of teachers and administrators. As such they typically cover niche areas of interest relevant to individuals after they graduate and are working in their licensure field. Continuing Education courses have an alternative curricular approval process, and as such they generally are not accepted into degree programs.

Students are advised to be vigilant when seeking courses at other institutions since many schools do not overtly distinguish between regular and continuing education classes. Sometimes a helpful test is to investigate whether a course in question is accepted for credit within programs in that institution.

The School of Education will accept no more than 6 credits of CE Transfer and ONLY IF they have been OFFICIALLY pre-approved by an adviser and an associate dean. CE courses presented for transfer that do not have official pre-approval paperwork on file will not be accepted. Obviously pre-approval cannot be granted after a course has been taken. No Continuing Education courses will be accepted toward doctoral degrees.

Transfer Credit Caution

Students are advised to be extremely careful about taking courses they intend to transfer into their programs following their initial program advisement and admission. A few of the cautions involve 1) Time Limitations, 2) Continuing Education courses, and 3) Adviser Pre-Approval.

Time Limitations apply to all transfer coursework. Be aware of how transfer timelines might impact you in terms of your program completion timeline.

Continuing Education coursework is not automatically transferable. Continuing Education coursework that has not been pre-approved CANNOT be transferred into a program.

Advise Pre-Approval is highly recommended before actually taking any course intended for transfer. The formal pre-approval process requires signed paperwork filed with the SoE.  Coursework that has not been pre-approved runs the very real risk of not being transferable in a program.