2011 - 2012 Transfer Credit

AP | CLEP | Challenge Exam | IB

A maximum of 72 credit hours may be awarded from two-year institutions. A maximum of 88 credit hours transferred from all collegiate institutions (two-year and four-year) attended may be applied toward meeting the total number of hours required for graduation.

Courses transferred from other academic institutions count for credit hours and requirements only; grades from transfer course work are not calculated into the Westminster College GPA.

Note: It is not possible to earn upper division hours from a two-year school.

External Credit

Only 88 credit hours may be earned from non-institutional credit. External credit is defined as any credits applied to a degree that are earned by external means, such as transfer, CLEP, AP, or other sources.

Criteria for the Acceptance of Transfer Credit

Westminster College awards transfer credit for coursework that meets the following criteria:

• The transfer institution is regionally accredited;
• The credit awarded is for non-remedial coursework taken in general academic areas that are part of the Westminster curriculum;
• The credit awarded is for coursework with grades of C- or better. Marks of credit (CR) or pass (P) are not accepted unless verified as equivalent to a C- or above. (Except physical education classes which are offered only for grades of CR or P.)

Foreign Transfer Credit

All foreign transcripts are evaluated by external services such as Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI) or World Education Services (WES), which determines the level of coursework taken and the semester hour and grade equivalents. Only coursework that is determined to be equivalent to college-level academic work that meets the criteria noted above will be considered for transfer. Equivalencies to Westminster courses will be determined as outlined below. Transfer acceptance of hours from foreign institutions does not guarantee fulfillment of like courses in majors and minors at Westminster unless approved by the faculty.

Determination of Liberal Education and Major Course Equivalencies

Liberal Education Requirements

Transfer courses fulfill Westminster liberal education course requirements on a course-by-course basis when the transfer courses are deemed equivalent to the corresponding Westminster courses. The Transfer Coordinator makes this determination in accordance with guidelines established by faculty.

Major and Minor Course Requirements

An advisor in the major or minor program of study determines whether transfer credit fulfills specific requirements in the major or minor. A student who receives elective transfer credit for a course may not necessarily be able to apply that course to the major or minor. In addition, some programs have minimum grade requirements.

Transfer Credit and Prerequisite Knowledge

Although the college accepts transfer credit for courses with a C- grade or higher, individual programs may require verification of prerequisite knowledge and may require students to repeat coursework.

Upper Division Transfer Credit

By definition, it is not possible to earn upper division credit from a two-year institution. In certain cases, lower division coursework will be accepted as meeting upper division program requirements; however, these hours will not count toward the 30 upper division hours required for graduation.

Converting Quarter Credit Hours to Semester Credit Hours

A quarter hour is equal to two-thirds of a semester hour, so one quarter hour transfers as 0.67 credit hours. Students transferring from institutions using the quarter system do not lose credit, because semesters are longer than quarters.

Quarter Hours and Westminster Hour Requirements

To be accepted as meeting Westminster College requirements, courses must not only have equivalent academic content, they must also equal at least two-thirds of the Westminster required hours, e.g., a language class must be 2.68 credit hours or more.

Waiver of Liberal Education Requirements

Associate Degrees--Utah and Out-of-State Institutions and Letters of Completion (Utah Schools only)

Students who have Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees from regionally accredited institutions or have official letters verifying completion of liberal education requirements from a Utah institution are considered to have completed the following LE requirements:

• All Humanities liberal education requirements
• All Arts liberal education requirements
• All Science and Mathematics liberal education requirements.
• All Social Sciences liberal education requirements
• The Learning Community liberal education requirement
• The Living Arts liberal education requirement

The A.A. or A.S. degree does not exempt students from completing the following liberal education requirements:

• All Writing and Communication Skills liberal education course work
  • ENGL 110 equivalent
  • SPCH 111 Public Presentations equivalent and
  • Information Literacy Workshop required of all transfer students who transfer in the equivalent to ENGL 110
• One course to meet the Diversity liberal education requirement (see the liberal education section for individual courses approved for this category).

Students who have Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees are not eligible for waivers.

Students should note that certain liberal education courses also serve as prerequisites or are required courses in their academic programs and would not be waived, even if a previous A.A. or A.S. degree has been attained. All students are advised to check the catalog for individual program requirements.

Credit by Examination

Students may earn a maximum of 40 credit hours under credit by examination programs: Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Challenge Examinations, Nursing Examinations, and International Baccalaureate. Credit by examination is not counted as in-residence credit.

Advanced Placement

Advanced Placement (AP) examinations in most subjects cover a full-year college course equivalent to eight credit hours. Some subject areas such as Computer Science A, Economics (Macro and Micro), Environmental Science, Comparative Government and Politics, U.S. Government and Politics, Physics C, Psychology, Statistics, and Human Geography, are equivalent to one semester of college-level coursework and are awarded credit based on the credit hours for the equivalent course at Westminster.

A score of 3 is the minimum score accepted by the college; however, individual departments may require a minimum score of 4 to award credit for the equivalent course and/or liberal education requirement. Individual departments determine how they will apply AP credits toward specific major or minor requirements. Students may receive a maximum of 40 hours of Advanced Placement credit. Listed below are the AP tests that fulfill Westminster LE requirements and the required scores.

*Designates AP examinations equivalent to only one semester of college-level work.

For a complete listing of the AP examinations, the required scores, and equivalent courses at Westminster, contact the START Center or the Registrar's Office.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

CLEP is a national program of examination to evaluate, confirm, and assess the academic achievement of individuals who have reached a college level of education through either traditional or non-traditional means of study.

Note: The CLEP program is currently under review by Westminster College faculty. Acceptance of CLEP testing for specific Westminster courses as listed below is subject to change. For a complete listing of currently honored CLEP examinations, please contact the START Center or the Registrar's Office.

CLEP includes General Examinations in three basic liberal arts areas and Subject Examinations in widely-taught undergraduate courses.

Credit is not awarded if duplicated by previous coursework.

Important Note: The College Level Examination Program prohibits candidates from repeating a CLEP exam of the same title within six months. Scores of exams repeated earlier than six months will be cancelled and test fees forfeited.

CLEP candidates are awarded credit as follows:

Subject Examinations

For CLEP exams taken since June 2001, a minimum score of 50 is required. A higher score is required for the full 12 hours of Language credit. For more information about CLEP, contact the START Center at 801.832.2282.

Challenge Examinations

Students may earn credit for independent learning in certain academic areas by means of the Challenge Examination. This is a comprehensive examination covering a given course according to the following conditions:

1. The course challenged must be offered by Westminster College, and the student requesting the examination must be currently enrolled as a degree-seeking student in the college.
2. The student must pay a non-refundable fee of $50 per credit hour prior to taking the examination.
3. Permission to take the Challenge Examination must be secured from the dean of the school under which the course falls and the instructor who teaches the course. The instructor prepares, administers, and grades the examination. Permission to take the examination must be secured 30 days prior to examination, and reasonable assurance of the student's ability to pass the examination must be provided when the request is made.
4. The course being challenged must not be a course for which the student has previously received credit, a course in which the student is enrolled, or a course in which the student was previously enrolled and dropped later than the first week of class.
5. When students successfully pass the Challenge Examination, they receive a letter grade of A, B, C, or D and the appropriate number of credit hours. Students not passing their examinations receive no grade or credit.
6. A course may be challenged only once.
7. Seminars, directed studies, laboratory portions of a course, or activity courses may not be challenged.
8. No more than 30 credit hours by Challenge Examination may be offered toward graduation. Credit received through Challenge Examination is not counted as in-residence credit.
9. The Challenge Examination for the basic speech requirement must be taken at least one semester prior to the semester in which the student plans to graduate.

International Baccalaureate

Credit may be given for selected higher level (HL) and standard level (SL) International Baccalaureate examinations. Students are required to submit official transcripts from the International Baccalaureate Organization upon admission to the college. International Baccalaureate examinations currently accepted at Westminster, along with the minimum required score and examination level, appear below.