Transfer Policies for Undergraduate Degree and Certificate Programs

Transfer Credit Toward Undergraduate Programs from Institutions, Programs, and by Special Means

Transfer Credit from Nationally Accredited Post-Secondary Institutions

Credits earned at nationally accredited institutions are evaluated by the same criteria as those applied to credits transferred from regionally accredited institutions.

Transfer Credit from Technical and Vocational Institutions

Credits may be transferred from technical and vocational institutes that are not regionally accredited. Similar specialized institutions that have been recognized by CityU are evaluated on the basis of a 16.5-to-1 ratio for lecture/theory classes taken after 1/1/1996, and on a 90-to-1 ratio for laboratory classes and practica. A maximum of 90 lower-division credits may be attained in this way.

Transfer Credit from Accredited, Associate Degree-Granting Institutions

CityU accepts up to 135 undergraduate transfer credits, and/or associate degrees from regionally or nationally accredited institutions. Students transferring associate degrees from accredited institutions are accepted for upper-division studies.

For all Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree programs, students are required to meet the following general education requirements.

*College Mathematic minimum level varies by program.

Upper-division credit may be used to fulfill general education requirements if these have not already been fulfilled through lower-division/associate degree coursework.

Note: In order to fulfill the college composition requirement, students must achieve a minimum grade of 2.0 in the designated college composition course.

Credit from Non-Accredited, State Approved/Authorized/Licensed Institutions

Credits earned from state-approved, authorized, or licensed institutions that are not accredited by any recognized accrediting body will be evaluated for transfer on a case-by-case basis.

Credit for Directly Equivalent Courses

Direct equivalency refers to a course successfully completed at another recognized institution, judged to be the same as a City University of Seattle course in terms of content, duration, level and credit value. If the University’s credentials evaluation team cannot determine direct equivalency for a course, the student must petition to receive transfer credit.

If a course is approved as a direct equivalent, credit is granted and the student need not take the corresponding CityU course. Students may petition to receive transfer credit for any course.

Credit for Non-collegiate Sponsored Instruction

In awarding credit for non-collegiate sponsored instruction, City University of Seattle follows the recommendations of the Office of Educational Credit of the American Council on Education (ACE) and of various state education departments’ programs on non-collegiate sponsored instruction. Upon request, the University may also do an internal evaluation of non-collegiate sponsored instruction undertaken through local businesses, public agencies, health care and hospital facilities, and by any organizations that regularly conduct formal, evaluated, in-house courses relevant to CityU degree programs.

Credit from Military Service Schools and Training

Education acquired through military service schools that offer college-level work, as evaluated by the ACE Office of Educational Credit, is credited toward undergraduate programs. Other types of military training evaluated by ACE may also be accepted for credit.

Military credits are not evaluated until a student has applied. All military credit requests should be submitted on a Joint Services Transcript (JST) or Community College of the Airforce Transcript, and must be sent directly to CityU. Joint Services transcripts are requested through https://jst.doded.mil/smart/sign.in.do.

Credit from Diploma Nursing Schools

Registered nurses applying to City University of Seattle bachelor’s degree programs may be awarded up to 90 lower-division credits based on an evaluation of their diploma school records, or for satisfactory scores on standardized examinations such as the Nursing Mobility Profile II and EC exams.

Credit from Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

City University of Seattle recognizes that learning occurs in many different ways and under varied circumstances. As a result, the University has designed its PLA program to enable students to earn credit for knowledge acquired through documented experiential learning. The main principle underlying the assessment of prior learning is the belief that the knowledge acquired is more important than the location or the manner in which it has been learned.

City University of Seattle awards credit to undergraduate students who demonstrate the attainment of skills and knowledge equivalent to that of individuals who have satisfactorily completed specified portions of degree programs. These credits may be obtained in ways other than classroom instruction or supervised, outside-the-classroom learning.

Students who have been away from formal education for a time may find that the PLA program assists them in re-entering academic life. Researching and writing a PLA portfolio directs self-assessment to where one is educationally and where one needs to focus.

Associate degree candidates may earn up to 20 quarter credits via a PLA portfolio. Bachelor’s degree candidates may earn up to 45 quarter credits via a PLA portfolio. Students may earn credit for a wide variety of courses in the PLA process, but some courses are not eligible for PLA, and others require the permission of the appropriate program director.

City University of Seattle will allow transfer of prior learning assessment portfolio credits from other higher education institutions which meet the accreditation standards and have clearly marked the prior learning assessment on official transcripts awarding credit for specific coursework. Only 25% of any degree or certificate may constitute prior learning assessment portfolios, no matter where the source of the credit (whether internal to CityU or from another school). Therefore, students who have prior learning assessment portfolios from more than one source or a large amount from a single course need to be aware of this 25% limitation. No exceptions may be made to this 25% rule.