Office Of The Registrar

Transfer Guide

Students transferring from one college to another are concerned about how their courses will be accepted. The transfer evaluation team at Austin Peay State University works hard to make the transition smooth and easy. This guide is designed to answer most frequently asked transfer questions.Click here for an explanation sheet of the Student Transfer Credit Evaluation.

Who receives a transfer evaluation?

  • Students who apply, submit official transcripts, clear APSU admission criteria, and who have declared a major. Students with post secondary work from foreign institutions must submit a course by course evaluations from the Educational credentialing agency.

Who does not receive a transfer evaluation?

  • Students who have earned a baccalaureate degree and are now seeking TEACHER CERTIFICATION. Contact the Teacher Certification office at (931) 221-7553.
  • Students who have earned a baccalaureate degree and are undecided as to a second degree.
  • Transient students who have submitted an official transcript or letter of good standing from their home institution.
  • Students who are not interested in earning a degree from APSU. They may apply for admission as a Special student by indicating with their application for admission. All students are required to complete the assessment test unless they have prior credit in English and mathematics. These students will be limited to a maximum of 24 semester hours of APSU credit. Special students who later decide to seek a degree from APSU must submit credentials for full admission.

Which colleges do not receive a transfer evaluation?

What Non-traditional credit transfers to APSU?

  • Students may earn college credit with grades of 'P' for acceptable scores on:
    • ACT PEP
    • Advance Placement
    • CLEP
    • Correspondence
    • CPS Exam
    • CYBIS
    • DANTES
    • Law Enforcement and Correction Training Credit
    • Military Service
    • PONSI
  • The total amount of credit earned by a non-traditional method, including correspondence and extension credit, which is acceptable to apply toward a degree is limited to one-half the total number of credits required for the degree sought. Students are to submit a Coursework Approval form available from the reception area in the Ellington Student Services Building or at APSU Center at Fort Campbell (Enrollment Services Student Assistance Window, Building 202 Army Education Center) PRIORto earning additional credit.
  • Official test scores must be sent from the testing center to APSU. Required documentation for Military Service experience must be either a DD214 (member copy 4), DD295, or an AARTS transcript.

What if I have an Associate Degree already?

  • The completion of an Associate of Arts or Science in a university parallel (transfer) program from a Tennessee Board of Regents two-year college, as stated in their 1988 or later bulletin, will satisfy the Liberal Arts core requirements for the BBA and BS and all core requirements for the BA except for Humanities foreign language (6 hours). This policy also applies to Hopkinsville Community Collegeif six semester hours of American History have been included and if their core has been met without exception. An official transcript with the degree posted must be submitted to the Office of Admissions.

How are my courses evaluated?

  • After you have cleared the admissions process, your complete admissions file is forwarded to the Office of the Registrar's transfer team for evaluation. Each file is processed individually reviewing institutional catalogs using Microfiche, CDRom and conferring with the Academic Departments for specific course equivalencies.

How will my grades transfer?

  • All transfer Hours Attempted, Hours Earned, Quality Points, and Grade Point averages earned at other colleges and universities are included in the APSU academic record. Courses earned with grades of A, B, C, or D will be considered for applicability toward the APSU degree; only grades of A, B, C, or P will be accepted for remedial and developmental courses. Grades of F will be posted on the APSU academic record. A grade of incomplete (I) will be treated as a grade of F until an updated official transcript is received from the previous institution with a change of grade. Grades of WF, NC (No Credit), UW (Unofficial Withdrawal), or any institutional amnesty grade will be posted as a grade of F and calculated in the APSU GPA. Only FRESH START from other Tennessee Board of Regents institutions will be honored in evaluating transfer credit and grades. Transfer credit with a +/- notation or combination of grades will be truncated strictly to the preceding letter grade.

    If the previous institution uses a different symbol such as X or Y or any other alpha character or symbol, but the meaning is the same as I, F, or WF at APSU, it is treated the same and calculated in the GPA.

What if some or all of my grades were not good, is there any recourse?

  • Fresh Start
    Students who have been out of higher education a minimum of four years and return completing 15 semester hours credit with a GPA of at least 2.0 at APSU may remove the calculation of all credit earned prior to their reentry into APSU. The courses and grades will remain on the transcript, noted appropriately, but will not be used in the cumulative GPA.
  • Care Policy

    Students who have been out of college a minimum of two years may apply upon their return to APSU through their academic dean for consideration of the CARE (Credentials Analysis and Re-Evaluation) Policy. A maximum of 18 semester credits or equivalent of 'D'or 'F', along with the grades and credit of all other courses taken in no more than two consecutive terms at APSU or another institution prior to the separation may be removed from the GPA calculation. If the number of 'D'and 'F'creditsexceeds 18 semester credits over the two consecutive terms, the policy will then be limited to all coursework in a single term. The course and grades will remain on the transcript, noted appropriately, and removed from the GPA calculation. If a student earned an associate or baccalaureate degree, the CARE Policy cannot be applied to those prior credits.
  • Course Repetition

    Students who are repeating a course with grades other than A or B for which they enrolled at APSU prior to Fall 1979 or any transfer courses must complete and file with the Office of the Registrar a Course Repeat Card. Cards are available in the reception area in the Ellington Student Services Building. Students must file the cards the first week of classes. Approval to repeat courses with grades of A or B may only be done with approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

    The last grade received in a repeated course will be used in the computation of the grade point average. However, in cases where the course in attempted three times, including transfer work, the third and all future grades for the course will be included in the computation of the grade point average. Repeating a course already passed will result in the last grade received and credits earned from the last grade.

What if a course is offered at the freshman or sophomore level at my college and is similar to a senior level course at APSU and vice versa?

  • A course may be equal in content but taken at a different level. An example of this would be HIST 3015 World History I at APSU. It may be taught at your previous institution at the freshman or sophomore level, but here it is at the Junior level. The course is equal in content but cross level. If a course is equal in content but cross level and is a Liberal Arts Core requirement, a Core Substitution must be obtained from the Dean of the College in which the student is majoring. The Dean's office will have the Liberal Arts Core Substitution form. If the course is cross level and in the Major/Minor area of study, the advisor and Department Chair must sign a Major/Minor Substitution form. The Department secretary will have the form. Note: Substitution of a lower division (freshman or sophomore) course for an upper division (junior or senior) course does not affect the number of upper division hours required for graduation.

I am a transfer student, do I have to take the COMPASS?

  • Transfer students who have fewer than 60 semester hours of acceptable traditional transferable credit, and who have not earned college level composition-based English or algebra-based mathematics credits must undergo Compass assessment in the appropriate area(s). Transfer students with fewer than 60 semester hours of acceptable traditional transferable credit deficient in required high school English or mathematics units (regardless of ACT scores) must complete these Compass subject-area tests.