Acceptance of Transfer Credit
Georgia College & State University accepts transfer credit in accordance with the polices, rules, and practices of the University System of Georgia, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS), and its mission as a public liberal arts institution. The GCSU course equivalency for each transfer course is determined by the faculty of the respective department and is based on criteria such as course content, course outcomes, system-wide agreements and the level at which the course is taught. The Registrar’s Office processes transfer credit based on these faculty decisions.
General Transfer Policies
- GCSU only accepts credit hours transferred from regionally accredited institutions.
- GCSU uses the University System of Georgia uniform grading scale and does not accept plus/minus grades. When courses with plus/minus grades are transferred to GCSU, these grades are equated to standard grades of A, B, C, D, or F on a 4.0 scale. Therefore, a grade of B- earned at an institution with plus/minus grades would become a B at GCSU; a grade of B+ would also become a B.
- All courses attempted at previous institutions will be listed on the GCSU transcript, along with the grade earned at the previous institution equated to a standard A-F grade. If a course is not accepted in transfer, it will be listed as “No Credit Given.”
- Course work transferred from another institution will transfer to GCSU with the same number of semester credit hours the student received at the previous institution.
- Quarter hours are converted to semester hours with a ratio of .667 quarter hours per semester hour. Therefore, a 5 quarter hour course will receive 3.33 semester hours at GCSU.
- Learning support, developmental, and remedial courses will not transfer to GCSU.
- GCSU does not accept transfer work granted through other institutions for life experience, work experience, or portfolios or credit granted by business or governmental agencies.
- Wellness, first-year seminar and orientation courses will be accepted in transfer, but will not count toward the hours required for graduation.
- Credit earned by examination, including but not limited to credit earned through Advanced Placement (AP), CLEP, and International Baccalaureate (IB), will be evaluated according to GCSU’s policy for exam credit. As a result, a student may not receive the same type or amount of credit for this work at GCSU that he or she received at a previous institution.
- Credit completed through the armed services will be evaluated according to GCSU’s policy for military credit. As a result, a student may not receive the same type or amount of credit for this work at GCSU that he or she received at a previous institution.
- Credit may not be earned from more than one institution or source (AP, CLEP, IB, military) for the same course.
- Transfer grade point average (GPA) is the average of the student’s grades in all transferable courses. The transfer GPA is used in the holistic process to determine admission to GCSU. Once the student has been admitted, the GCSU Registrar Office will evaluate students for academic standing using his or her institutional (GCSU) GPA only. However, a student’s cumulative GPA, which consists of his or her institutional and transfer GPA, will be one factor that determines whether the student is eligible for honors at graduation.
- If a student repeated a course at the same institution, only the last attempt is counted in the student’s transfer GPA.
Courses transferred from University System of Georgia Schools or Georgia Military College
Courses transferred from a USG system institution or Georgia Military College with a common course name and number are guaranteed to transfer if those same courses are included in the GCSU curriculum.
A student who transfers from a USG institution or Georgia Military College with an accredited transfer Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree will transfer into GCSU as core complete (Areas A-E); however, if the student changes his or her intended major or program of study from a non-science major to a science, computer science, mathematics or health professions major the requirements regarding math and science courses are subject to change.
A student who completes a non-transferable degree, such as an Associate of Applied Science or an Associate of Science in Nursing, from a USG institution or Georgia Military College will have his or her coursework evaluated on a course by course basis. Non-transferable degrees are “Career degrees that include the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) and Associate of Science in allied health areas (A.S. in designated fields). Career degrees are designed to prepare students for immediate employment.” BOR Policy 303.0602
For students who first matriculated at a USG school or Georgia Military College prior to Fall 2011
If the student completes an area of their core curriculum at his or her previous institution, the student is guaranteed full credit for that area as long as the student does not change from a non-science major to a science, computer science, mathematics or health professions major.
If the student has credit for core curriculum course from a University System of Georgia institution (USG) but does not complete the entire core area to which it applies, the student will receive credit for that course when it is transferred, and it will be applied to the most appropriate area of GCSU’s curriculum.
For students who first matriculated at a USG school or Georgia Military College in Fall 2011 or later
If the student completes a core curriculum course at his or her previous institution, that course will fulfill a core curriculum requirement at GCSU as long as the course is within the area hour limitations of the sending institution or GCSU, and the student does not change from a non-science major to a science, computer science, mathematics or health professions major.
Students who complete a course with the US Perspectives or Global Perspectives overlay will receive credit for that overlay in the GCSU curriculum. All GCSU students are also required to take a total of three courses that carry the Global Perspectives overlay. Transfer students should plan ahead and take additional courses in this area if possible.
Courses transferred from a Non-USG System School
Courses taken from a non-USG system institution are evaluated and applied to a student’s curriculum on a course by course basis.
Courses transferred from Technical College System of Georgia Institutions
GCSU complies with the USG statewide transfer agreement with Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) to accept the equivalent freshman English and Math courses, also known as “Mini-Core.” As such, GCSU accepts the following courses from TCSG institutions:
- ENG 1101 (TCSG) for ENGL 1101 English Composition I
- ENG 1102 (TCSG) for ENGL 1102 English Composition II
- (English 1101, 1102 with at least a grade of C)
- MAT 1101 (TCSG) for MATH 1101 Intro to Mathematical Modeling
- MAT 1111(TCSG) for MATH 1111 College Algebra
- MAT 1113 (TCSG) for MATH 1113 Pre-Calculus
If taken Fall 2016 or later:
- ECON 2105 for ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics
- ECON 2106 for ECON 2106 Principles of Microeconomics
The following courses were approved by the Board of Regents to be added to the “Mini Core” beginning in Fall 2011. Transfer credit will only be granted to students who take these courses at TCSG institutions in Fall 2011 or later semesters.
- ENGL 2130 (TCSG) for ENGL 2130 American Literature
- PSYC 1101 (TCSG) for PSYC 1101 Introduction to Psychology
- ECON 1101 (TCSG) for ECON 1101 Introduction to Economics
- SOCI 1101 (TCSG) for SOCI 1121 Introduction to Sociology
- SPCH 1101 (TCSG) for RHET 1110 Public Speaking
Starting Summer 2012 the following courses have been approved by the Board of Regents as acceptable transferable courses from any accredited TCSG institution.
- POLS 1101 (TCSG) American Government
- ARTS 1101 (TCSG) Art Appreciation
- BIOL 1111 w/Lab (TCSG) Biology Introduction I
- BIOL 1112 w/Lab (TCSG) Biology Introduction II
- MATH 1131 (TCSG) Calculus
- CHEM 1151 w/Lab (TCSG) Intro to Chemistry I
- CHEM 1152 w/Lab (TCSG) Intro to Chemistry II
- ECON 1199 (TCSG) Economics (Macro)
- ECON 1198 (TCSG) Economics (Micro)
- HUMN 1101 (TCSG) Intro Humanities
- PHYS 1111 w/Lab (TCSG) Intro to Physics I
- PHYS 1112 w/Lab (TCSG) Intro to Physics II
- MATH 1127 (TCSG) Intro to Statistics
- HIST 2111 (TCSG) US History I
- HIST 2112 (TCSG) US History II
- HIST 1111 (TCSG) World History I
- HIST 1112 (TCSG) World History II
Additional courses outside of the “Mini-Core” are not accepted for transfer unless permission is granted by the student’s departmental chair, dean of the student’s college and University Registrar.
Courses from International Institutions
Evaluation of credit from institutions outside the United States is processed by our Center of International Education.
Transfer Equivalency Information
Transfer Equivalency Information is a feature that allows students to see how courses taken at another institution transfer to Georgia College. Courses that do not have a direct GCSU equivalent are marked as electives; even though these courses are marked as electives, departments may give students permission to use these courses, as appropriate, in specific areas of their curriculum. If a course does not appear in the equivalency table, that course has not yet been evaluated by GCSU. The student may contact the Registrar’s Office for more information on possible course transferability.
The information in the equivalency tables are for reference only. Equivalencies are subject to change without notice by Georgia College as a result of changes in the curriculum at either the sending institution or GCSU.
Questions
Additional questions about transfer credit may be directed to the Registrar’s Office, registrar@gcsu.edu or 478-445-6286.