The following three guidelines are used to determine the general acceptability of transfer credit:
The educational quality of the institution;
The equivalency of the nature, content, and level of course;
The direct appropriateness and applicability of the credits earned to the programs offered by Patrick Henry College.
The following specific criteria govern the transfer of credit:
An official transcript from each institution attended must be submitted to the Office of Admissions prior to acceptance. Upon admission as a degree-seeking student, the Registrar will evaluate the transcript(s) submitted and issue a transfer credit evaluation to the prospective student. Transfer credits are applied to the student's transcript upon enrollment.
Transfer students who are enrolled in courses during or after their acceptance must submit their transcript within 30 days of enrollment at PHC or the end of the course (whichever is later). Once enrolled, transfer credit may not be awarded unless transient student status is approved. See "Transient Student Status" in the College Catalog for complete information.
The Registrar evaluates credit for transfer from institutions accredited by agencies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. PHC may choose to accept transfer credits from institutions that, as a matter of principle, have not sought accreditation, if their graduates have a high acceptance rate in graduate schools and law schools and if their courses are taught by faculty with terminal degrees. In some cases, these credits may be conditionally accepted for transfer based upon earning a 2.0 cumulative PHC GPA at the completion of the first semester (or 12 credits).
PHC may accept up to 50 transfer credits through transfer and Advanced Placement, of which up to 9 credits may be major courses and 19 credits may be core curriculum courses. Transferred courses that do not apply to core courses or major courses are transferred as open electives.
The Registrar serves as the final authority in evaluating credit for transfer. In special instances, students may submit supplemental course material (syllabi, catalog descriptions, etc.) to the Registrar to be reviewed. Supplemental information must be received prior to the beginning of the following semester. Upon evaluating this information, additional credit may be awarded.
Vocational, technical, developmental, remedial, and military courses or courses graded on a pass/fail scale are generally not eligible for transfer. Credits awarded on the basis of institutional or competency exams are not eligible for transfer. No credit will be awarded on the basis of life experience. No credit will be awarded for CLEP (College Level Examination Program).
Only courses with grades of "C-" and above will be considered. Grades and Grade Point Averages do not transfer.
Credits transferred from institutions on the quarter system will transfer on the following scale: 5 and 4 quarter hours = 3 semester hours; 3 quarter hours = 2 semester hours; 2 and 1 quarter hour = 1 semester hour.
