VII.2.1 General Policies

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, will be required to take additional courses upon entering Linfield to satisfy Linfield Curriculum requirements. 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 College of Arts and Sciences 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 (as described on page 6) and take the Writing- Intensive Course(s) within the Major (MWI).

Students who have completed a Core Transfer Map prior to matriculation at Linfield will have met at least five Linfield Curriculum (General Education) requirements (as stipulated by the Registrar in consultation with the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee). Depending on the 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.

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 two LCs can be met by courses from a single department including both Linfield courses and transfer courses.
• A minimum of three semester credits or four 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.
• Any transfer course applied to a Linfield Curriculum requirement must be at least three semester credits or three quarter credits.
• A student who transfers in a class earning two semester credits will need to complete 2 additional semester credits to satisfy any single Linfield Curriculum requirement.
• For transfer courses taken after matriculation, including courses completed in other countries, the student must also electronically submit a course syllabus and exemplars of their 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.

VII.2.2 Linfield Curriculum Transfer Credit Articulation Policies and Procedures

VII.2.2.1 Policies

In keeping with best practices regarding transfer credit evaluation at institutions similar to Linfield, the Registrar’s Office will render decisions on Linfield Curriculum (LC) designations for Modes of Inquiry (MOI) and Diversity Studies in accordance with the following guidelines:

Equivalent Courses

If the course appears to be equivalent to a Linfield course, the Registrar’s Office will forward the proposed equivalency to be evaluated by the chair of the relevant department through the Transfer Evaluation System (TES).

• If the department chair approves the equivalency to a Linfield course, the transfer course will carry whichever LC designation(s), if any, that the Linfield course carries.
• If the chair does not approve the equivalency, the “Non-Equivalent Courses” policy would apply.
• Department chairs shall make a determination on equivalency no later than one week after the initial evaluation task is created. If a determination has not been made in that period of time, the Provost or relevant dean will contact the department chair to prompt a decision. If a determination has not been made one week after the Provost or relevant dean prompts a decision, the Registrar’s Office will make the equivalency determination. This timeline is subject to change if the department chair requests supporting documentation (e.g., syllabus).

Non-Equivalent Courses

• If the course description from the sending-institution’s catalog very clearly meets the learning outcomes of one or more MOI or Diversity Studies, the Registrar’s Office will designate that course to carry that/those LC designation(s). “Very clearly meets” in this context means that there is no doubt that the required learning objectives are met by completion of the course.
• If the course description from the sending-institution’s catalog does not clearly meet the learning outcomes of one or more MOI or Diversity Studies, the Registrar’s Office will articulate the course as elective credit with no LC designation. “Does not clearly meet” in this context means that it could be obvious that learning outcomes are not met, or that it is not obvious whether learning outcomes were met.

Request for Review of LC Designation

If the Registrar’s Office has determined a transfer course does not clearly meet the learning outcomes of one or more MOI or Diversity Studies, and a student wishes to request a review of this decision, they may do so through the “Request to Review Transfer Credit for Linfield Curriculum Designation” process (detailed in “Proposed Procedure” section below). The “Request to Review Transfer Credit for LC Designation” form and supporting documentation will be reviewed by the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chair, who will consult with appropriate faculty as needed to render a decision.

• The decision of the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chair is final.
• The decision will determine the credit articulation for that particular course from that particular catalog year for all students who have transferred that course into Linfield (i.e. the decision does not pertain only to the student who requested the review).
• The Registrar’s Office will perform an audit of all students who may be eligible for a change to their credit articulation based on the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chair’s approval of the review.

VII.2.2.2 Procedures

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 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.
• If the catalog description clearly meets learning outcomes of LC MOI or Diversity Studies, an equivalency of transfer credit with appropriate LC designations will be created.
• If the catalog description does not clearly meet the LC learning outcomes, subject-specific or general elective credit will be granted.
• If the student provides a syllabus, the Registrar’s Office will use that information to make a determination.
• International courses for Linfield Study Abroad programs:
• Evaluation for LC designation for Study Abroad courses will be done on a case-by-case basis upon student request.
• The Registrar’s Office will coordinate with the chair of Global Languages to evaluate Study Abroad courses for the following LC designations: Creative Studies (CS); Individuals, Systems, and Societies (IS); Vital Past (VP); Global Pluralisms (GP). For all other LC designations, the Registrar’s Office will consult with the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chair.

Faculty Evaluation of Courses

Please see Chapter VI.7.2.2.

Student Request for Review of Transfer Credit for LC Designation

• If a student believes that a course they took at another institution meets the learning outcomes of one or more LC MOI or Diversity Studies, they may request that the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chairperson review the course.
• The student will submit the “Request to Review Transfer Credit for LC Designation” form, along with course syllabus, and statements addressing the necessary learning outcomes of the particular LC requirement. The statements must give concrete examples of assignments, readings, or other educational activities and explain clearly how those served to meet the learning outcome.
• The College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chair will then determine whether the student has met the LC requirement. If they need other points of view to help make a decision, they may call upon other faculty members to give insight.
• The decision of the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chair will be communicated to the Registrar’s Office, who will then communicate the decision to the student. The College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee chair’s decision is final.

VII.2.2.3 Appeals Process

Students who wish to appeal an LC designation decision must submit the following, in English, to the associate registrar for academic policies and transfer:

• A written request of appeal and justification based on the specified LC designation goals.
• A course syllabus and an exemplar or detailed description of an exemplar demonstrating the appeal’s claims.

The appeal goes to the entire working group, which considers the appeal in consultation with the LC leader who made the initial LC designation decision.