TRANSFER CREDIT

In order to meet a particular educational objective, a student may find it necessary to earn credit for work done through other academic experiences. When it seems advisable to do so, the university may grant credit for the completed work provided that:

1. the undergraduate course is completed through an institutionally accredited college or university (or through a recognized college or university in another country with transcripts officially evaluated by an NACES or AICE member organization), 
2. the course is comparable to courses listed in the Linfield University Catalog,
3. the course is determined to be college-level, which often means that it is numbered 100 or above, 
4. the grade in the transferable course is C or higher, 
5. the course content does not overlap or duplicate the content for course(s) for which the student has already earned or been awarded credit, or is not a lower level course taken after a more advanced course in the same discipline,
6. the student has received authorization from the Office of the Registrar.

The university is under no obligation to award academic credit for instances not covered by these provisions. Transfer credit from institutions on the quarter system will transfer as 1 quarter credit = .67 semester credit. 

Transfer credit will be summarized on the academic record, and is not used to compute a student’s Linfield GPA. A grade for a transfer course may not be used to replace a grade for an equivalent Linfield course.

Up to the limits imposed by Linfield University’s Residency Requirements, full credit is awarded for work completed at a four-year college or university, and up to 72 credits can be granted for work taken at a two-year college. A student may not receive transfer credit when the combination of transfer credits and Linfield credits would exceed the 18 semester credit maximum in one semester or 5 semester credit maximum for January Term (or combination thereof).

Courses designated as Capstone, CWE (Cooperative Work Experience), Independent Study, and Internship are transferable only upon approval by a Linfield academic department. Approval will only be given upon review of a syllabus submitted by a student. These courses cannot carry any LC designation or be eligible to be used towards any General Education Requirement.

Courses designated as Special Studies/Topics/Projects are transferable only upon approval by a Linfield academic department. Approval will only be given upon review of a syllabus submitted by a student. These courses may only carry an LC designation if approved by the Curriculum Committee.

Program-Specific Information

Students who matriculate into Linfield’s R.N. to B.S.N. program having earned an Associate Degree in Nursing and who hold an unencumbered R.N. license will be considered to have met the equivalent of all Linfield Curriculum requirements except the Writing-Intensive course within the major (MWI).

Students who matriculate into an undergraduate Education degree program and who have earned an associate degree designed for transfer (e.g., the AAOT (Oregon Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer), AA-DTA or AS-DTA (Washington Direct Transfer Agreement), or IGETC (California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum)) before matriculation will have completed the Linfield Curriculum (LC) requirements. A full transcript evaluation will be completed for applicants for degree planning and enrollment purposes. Students will be required to complete the upper-division course requirement from any of the six Modes of Inquiry and take the Writing-Intensive Course(s) in the major (MWI). All students must also meet the requirements for a bachelor's degree.

Associate Degrees Designed for Transfer

Students who have earned the Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree (AAOT; OR), the Associate of Science Oregon Transfer Degree in Business (ASOT-B; OR), the Associate in Arts--Direct Transfer Agreement (AA-DTA; WA) degree, or who have received a certificate of completion for the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC; CA) prior to matriculation, may be required to take additional courses upon entering Linfield to satisfy Linfield Curriculum requirements, depending on their transfer courses. In particular, students will be required to take at most two Linfield Curriculum courses from two of four categories (as stipulated by the registrar in consultation with the Curriculum Committee): Ultimate Questions (UQ), Vital Past (VP), Global Pluralisms (GP), and U.S. Pluralisms (US). In addition, students must complete the upper-division course requirement from any of the six Modes of Inquiry and take the Writing-Intensive Course(s) within the Major (MWI).

Core Transfer Map

Students who have completed a Core Transfer Map prior to matriculation at Linfield will have met at least 5 Linfield Curriculum (General Education) requirements (as stipulated by the registrar in consultation with the Curriculum Committee). Depending on their transfer courses, students may be required to take additional courses upon entering Linfield to satisfy Linfield Curriculum requirements. In particular, students will be required to take at most four lower division Linfield Curriculum Courses. In addition, students must complete the upper-division course requirement from any of the six Modes of Inquiry and take the Writing-Intensive Course(s) within the Major (MWI). All requirements are described in the Degrees and Requirements section.

Degree and Linfield Curriculum Requirements

Any single course transferred from an outside institution and applied toward the B.S. requirement must be at least 3 semester or 3 quarter credits. The B.S. requirement may be completely satisfied with three 3-quarter credit classes, two 4-quarter credit classes, or with combinations of quarter and semester credits that equate to at least 5.33 semester credits.

The following policies operate in relation to transfer credit awarded for general education in the Linfield Curriculum:

• The use of transfer courses toward Linfield Curriculum Requirements will be limited such that no more than 2 LCs can be met by courses from a single department including both Linfield courses and transfer courses.
• Any transfer course applied to a Linfield Curriculum requirement must be at least 3 semester credits or 3 quarter credits.
  • A minimum of 3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits is required to complete each Mode of Inquiry or Diversity Studies requirement.
  • A minimum of 3 semester credits is required to complete the INQS requirement. A student entering Linfield with fewer than 30 transferable semester credits (not including Credit for Prior Learning) must complete INQS at Linfield. A student entering Linfield with 30 or more transferable semester credits must either take INQS at Linfield or transfer in approved equivalent course(s). A student entering Linfield with an earned Associate Transfer Degree (see above) will be considered to have met the INQS requirement.
  • A student who transfers in a class earning 3 quarter credits or 2 semester credits will need to complete 2 additional semester credits to satisfy any single Linfield Curriculum requirement.

Courses Taken After Matriculation

• For transfer courses taken after matriculation, including courses completed in other countries, the student must also electronically submit a course syllabus and exemplars of his or her work from the course that demonstrate meeting the relevant learning outcomes. These submissions should be made as soon as possible, but no later than the end of finals week of the next semester the student is on campus.

CREDIT FOR PRIOR LEARNING (CPL) NON-COURSE CREDIT 

The university recognizes that college-level learning may take place outside the classroom environment. Students may be awarded academic credit for this learning by demonstrating knowledge and skills through the methods described below. However, it is inherent in the educational philosophy of the university that a student earning a degree from Linfield University will have participated in the learning process through various encounters with students and faculty afforded by the university’s academic programs. Therefore, the university will recognize no more than a total of 31 credits earned through all CPL and non-course means. A student may not earn more than one type of CPL/Non-Course Credit or university credit for the same content. Credit awarded is subject to revision and possible reduction of credits if academic content is repeated. Credits awarded through CPL and Non-Course credits do not count toward residency requirements.

Credit by Linfield Challenge Examination

Students may be awarded credit for a Linfield course by successfully passing an examination composed and administered by a faculty member who is or has been directly involved in teaching the course. A fee will be charged for the examination and must be paid before the exam is administered.

A student may not receive credit for a course the content of which is, in the judgment of the appropriate department chair and the registrar, largely contained within, or assumed by, one or more courses already completed by the student. Under this principle, for example, credit by challenge examination is not available for a course that is a prerequisite for a course already completed.

The decision to give an examination is the prerogative of the instructor who normally teaches the course. In addition to the approval of the instructor, the department head and the Curriculum Committee must also approve the request. Forms for requesting credit by examination may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. Since credit by examination is a departmental matter, the examination will be prepared, administered, and graded by the examining instructor in consultation with the other members of the department.

The amount of credit will be that specified in the university catalog. Credit will be listed on the student’s academic record as Credit by Examination (CE). No credit will be awarded, and no notation will appear on the academic record for a grade lower than a B.

A maximum of 15 credits may be awarded in a student’s major field. Some major programs have required courses which are exempt from consideration for challenge examination.

Credit by International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, and CLEP Examinations

Linfield University awards credits for International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) examinations when official score reports are received by the Office of the Registrar. Credits are awarded on a course-by-course basis in academic areas taught at Linfield. For IB, students will receive 4 semester credits for each standard-level exam passed with a score of 5, 6, or 7 and 8 semester credits for each higher-level exam passed with a score of 5, 6, or 7. Students earning the full IB Diploma with a score of 30 or higher will be awarded an additional 4 semester credits. For AP, students will receive 4 semester credits for each exam passed with a score of 4 or 5. For CLEP, scores vary by subject; please consult the Office of the Registrar. CLEP exams must be taken no later than one year after matriculation at Linfield University. Credits from CLEP may not be used to satisfy Linfield Curriculum Requirements.

Professional and Technical Courses

Linfield University does not generally accept professional or technical courses for transfer. However, a maximum of 8 semester credits will be awarded as elective credit for college-level professional or technical courses when they would be allowed as electives within the 90 credits comprising an associate degree designed for transfer. These courses must be taken prior to matriculation to Linfield University.

Nursing Credit for Prior Learning

Credit for prior learning will be awarded to Students in the R.N. to B.S.N. program, upon completion of RN-BSN TRANSITION TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE (NURS 308) with a grade of C or better. Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) fees apply. 31 credits will be awarded as follows:

• INTEGRATED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING I (NURS 335)

• NURSING CARE: CLIENTS & FAMILIES ACROSS LIFESPAN LIVING W/CHRONIC COND (NURS 355)

• CLINICAL PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY FOR NURSING PRACTICE (NURS 365)

• INTEGRATED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING II (NURS 375)

• NURSING IN MENTAL HEALTH AND ILLNESS ACROSS THE LIFESPAN (NURS 395)

• TRANSITIONS IN HEALTH AND ILLNESS (NURS 425)

• INTEGRATED EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING III (NURS 435)

• NURSING CARE OF CLIENTS AND FAMILIES ACROSS THE LIFESPAN WITH ACUTE CONDITIONS (NURS 455). 

Linfield Prior Learning Degree Portfolio

Students admitted to an Online and Continuing Education Program, other than R.N. to B.S.N., may take WRITING THE PORTFOLIO (IDST 250) which is designed to teach them how to prepare a portfolio which carefully analyzes and documents their prior learning. Submittal fees and Evaluation fees apply to Portfolios.

Credit by American Council on Education (ACE) Recommendation

Students other than R.N. to B.S.N. may earn credit from specific training offered through the military or from business and industry, if such training has been reviewed by the American Council on Education (ACE) and received a credit recommendation. Linfield generally accepts the ACE recommendations for credit that is consistent with a liberal arts undergraduate education. All ACE transcripts are reviewed by the faculty. Evaluation fees apply.

Paracurricular Credit for Non-Linfield Activities

Paracurricular credit is intended to encourage students to participate in university-sponsored skill and activities courses. In this sense, the granting of paracurricular credit for non-university experiences is contrary to the intended purpose of the paracurriculum. However, in special cases when it seems to meet an appropriate educational need, paracurricular credit may be granted upon successful Petition for Exception to Policy prior to engaging in the activity.