Transfer of Credit

The following policies control the granting of credit for course work taken at other institutions:

  1. Transfer credits are subject to a two-stage evaluation process. First, the eligibility of the hours for transfer is evaluated by the Office of the Registrar based upon decisions of appropriate faculty, the Arkansas Course Transfer System, and the Transfer Course Equivalency Guide. Credits found to be eligible for general transfer may not count toward the minimum requirements for every degree at the University of Arkansas. The second step in the evaluation, performed by the academic dean’s office or department responsible for the program of study, determines which hours evaluated will satisfy degree program requirements.
  2. Grades earned at other institutions are not calculated in the student’s grade-point average earned at the university.
  3. General transfer credit is awarded for courses in which a grade of “C” or higher has been earned. Course work must be applicable to a baccalaureate degree; credit is not granted for course work that is remedial or technical in nature.
  4. Students can petition to have up to six hours of “D” grades transfer for degree credit to the University of Arkansas. Students must have a 2.00 GPA on a 4.00 scale to be considered, and courses must meet core or elective requirements in the student’s degree program. Courses outside the degree program and courses in the major cannot be considered for transfer. The Admissions and Appellate Committee makes all decisions regarding “D” transfers. Petitions can be obtained from the Office of the Registrar.
  5. In the case of course work taken at institutions not fully accredited by a regional accrediting agency, transfer credit may be denied altogether or may be granted provisionally subject to successful completion of specified courses at the university. Normally, credit is provisionally granted only if the institution is a candidate for regional accreditation.
  6. The State Minimum Core (SMC): Act 98 of 1989 requires each institution of higher learning in Arkansas to identify a minimum core of general education courses that shall be fully transferable between state-supported institutions. Under guidelines from the State Board of Higher Education, the SMC consists of 35 hours distributed among the following education areas: English, U.S. history or government, mathematics, science, fine arts and humanities, and social sciences. Students transferring credit with grades of “C” or better from the approved SMC of another state-supported institution in Arkansas may expect to have all these hours applied toward their degree at the University of Arkansas.
  7. Transfer credit policy under Arkansas Act 182 from 2009 requires a four-year public institution of higher education in Arkansas to accept all credits earned from students earning an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science or Associate of Arts in Teaching degree from a state-supported public institution in Arkansas.

Major stipulations of Act 182 are outlined below:

  • The transfer degree contains the curriculum that is approved by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
  • The four-year public institution of higher education is to admit a transfer student to junior status in a baccalaureate degree program at the four-year public institution of higher education.
  • A four-year public institution of higher education receiving a transfer student shall not require additional lower division coursework if the additional course is considered a general education lower division course.
  • The receiving four-year public institution of higher education may only require the additional lower division course if the additional lower division course is:
    • A prerequisite for courses in the transfer student’s baccalaureate degree program;
    • A discipline-specific course that is required by the transfer student’s baccalaureate degree program and the student has not completed a course at the two-year public institution of higher education that is comparable to the discipline-specific course at the four-year public institution of higher education in the Arkansas Course Transfer System;
    • A requirement of an independent licensing or accrediting body
  • Act 182 does not remove the requirement that a transfer student must meet total baccalaureate degree program credit hour and course requirements in order to be eligible for a baccalaureate degree.
  • The receiving four-year public institution of higher education shall determine whether to accept a grade of “D” for academic course credit for a student transferring from a two-year public institution of higher.

Students should be prepared to submit course descriptions and syllabi of transfer work if there is any question concerning acceptance of credit toward a degree program. The university reserves the right to revise credit for advanced standing after the student has been in residence.

Please refer to the appropriate college or school section of this catalog for additional information concerning acceptance into specific degree programs.

Military Transfer Credit

The University of Arkansas accepts transfer credit based upon completed military training as evaluated by the American Council of Education (ACE) guidelines and recommendations. The evaluation must be presented to the university on an official transcript from ACE, or a Joint Services Transcript (JST).  Equivalencies for military credit as recommended by ACE are evaluated by departmental faculty and may not be exactly the same as ACE. University of Arkansas equivalencies for ACE credit are displayed on the website of the Office of the Registrar in the Transfer Credit section. Students may elect to receive 6 hours of general military science credit for basic training as evaluated by presentation of the military DD214 with honorable discharge. Officer training would qualify the student for 6 additional hours of general military science credit. The same training may not be presented for both general military science credit and ACE credit.

More information on transfer credit can be found online by going to the Office of the Registrar website.