VI.07 Transfer Credit

Please see Chapter VII.2.2 for additional policies and procedures pertaining to transfer courses and the Linfield Curriculum.

VI.7.1 General Policies

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 a college or university that is/was accredited by one of the following institutional accrediting bodies at the time the course was taken:
    1. Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) - Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
    2. Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
    3. Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
    4. New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
    5. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
    6. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
    7. WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)

or through an officially recognized college or university in another country with transcripts officially evaluated by a NACES or AICE member organization.

  1. The course is comparable to courses listed in the Linfield University Catalog,
  2. The course is determined to be college-level, which often means that it is numbered 100 or above, 
  3. The grade in the transferable course is C- or higher. A grade of D can be considered on a case-by-case basis, with faculty approval. A grade of C or better may be required for some majors, minors, or pre-requisites—see specific requirements., 
  4. 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,
  5. 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.

VI.7.2 Transfer Credit Articulation Procedures: Departmental Courses

The following procedures apply transfer equivalency determinations for departmental courses. Detailed information regarding transfer credit policies and procedures related to the Linfield Curriculum can be found in Chapter VII.2.2.

VI.7.3 Registrar’s Office Evaluation of Courses (Domestic Courses from Regionally Accredited Institutions)

  • Academic Records Specialist receives college transcript.
  • For any course on the transcript that does not have an existing articulation, consult catalog of sending institution to obtain course description.
  • If course description is substantially similar to a current Linfield course, propose an equivalency in Transfer Evaluation System (TES) and assign evaluation task to appropriate department chair.
  • If course description does not seem equivalent to any Linfield course, Academic Records Specialist will assign an evaluation task to the Associate Registrar of Transfer and Academic Policies, who will evaluate course for meeting LC MOIs and/or Diversity Studies learning outcomes.

VI.7.3.1 Faculty Evaluation of Courses

  • For proposed equivalencies, the chair of the academic department will have one week to evaluate the course and make a decision.
  • If no decision is rendered in one week, the Provost or relevant dean will remind the chair via email that a proposed equivalency requires their immediate action.
  • If no decision has been made two weeks from the initial creation of the evaluation task in TES or relevant program, and no confounding circumstances exist (e.g., the department chair is not available due to emergency), the Registrar’s Office, in consultation with the relevant Curriculum Committee chair, will make a determination on the equivalency.
  • The decision of the department chair for equivalencies is final. If a student wants to contest the decision, they will work directly with the department.