3.21 Undergraduate Course and Credit Transfer and the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum

Board Policies
Chapter 3 - Educational Policies

Part 1. Purpose
To establish consistent, equitable practices among all colleges and universities for evaluating, transferring, accepting, and applying undergraduate courses to programs, and for transfer of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, its courses, and completed goal areas. This policy should be read in conjunction with Board Policy 3.39 Transfer Rights and Responsibilities.

Part 2. Definitions
For purposes of this policy only, the following words and terms are defined as follows:

Course outline
A document approved by the college or university curriculum committee that communicates information about a college or university course. See System Procedure 3.22.1, Part 2, Subp. C for course outline content.

Credit
A unit of measurement assigned to a college or university course offering or alternative learning experience.

Degree audit reporting system
A database that:

serves as the official repository of course relationships, and

produces a report reflecting a student’s progress toward completion of an academic program and/or Minnesota Transfer Curriculum including MnTC courses, goal areas, and/or the entire MnTC.

Electives
Courses accepted in transfer that do not meet a course equivalency are electives applied to graduation credit requirements. Electives may or may not apply as a major or program elective.

Equivalent Courses
A course from a sending college or university that is at least 75% comparable in learning outcomes and content to a course at the receiving college or university.

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC)
Curriculum consisting of general education courses and goal area definitions and competencies designed for transfer among Minnesota public colleges and universities.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
See Board Policy 1A.11 College and University Names and Permanent Locations.

Non-system colleges or universities
Colleges and universities that are not part of Minnesota State.

Receiving college or university
The college or university to which courses or credits are transferred.

Sending college or university
The college or university from which courses or credits are transferred.

Transfer
The process of evaluating course(s) and credit(s) awarded by a college, university, or other education provider and applying them toward an academic program and/or degree requirements at a college or university.

Transfer appeal
A student’s written request submitted to a college, university, or system-level transfer review process to appeal decisions regarding how courses or credits were or were not accepted for transfer to meet program/major requirements or electives.

Transfer information system
A web resource that provides course equivalency and course relationship information, and identifies how courses transfer to specific programs at Minnesota State colleges and universities.

Part 3. College and University Transfer Policies
Each college or university shall implement a policy to address the transfer of courses and credit in compliance with the requirements of this policy and system procedures.

Part 4. Course Equivalencies
The faculty at receiving colleges and universities determine course equivalencies. Faculty at Minnesota State colleges and universities are encouraged to collaborate to support transfer through increased course equivalencies. Upon request by the sending faculty at a Minnesota State college or university, the receiving college or university faculty shall provide a rationale to explain why a course is not deemed equivalent.

Part 5. Ongoing Evaluation of Courses
All colleges and universities shall evaluate other Minnesota State colleges and university courses for specific transfer eligibility and record the determination into the degree audit reporting system on an ongoing basis.

Part 6. Transfer of Undergraduate Courses and Credits
Once a student has been admitted to a college or university, the college or university shall in a timely manner evaluate developmental and college-level courses and credits earned, as submitted on an official transcript, to determine the courses accepted in transfer and entered into the degree audit reporting system. Once a course has been deemed equivalent, the college or university shall not require additional documentation from the student if a course is entered in the degree audit reporting system as an equivalent course.

Subpart A. Transfer of courses that are equivalent
A receiving college or university shall accept courses in transfer that it determines to be equivalent to specific courses it offers, and shall enter them into the degree audit reporting system.

Subpart B. Transfer of courses that are not equivalent
College-level courses accepted in transfer by a college or university that are determined not to be equivalent to specific courses taught at the receiving college or university must be designated as electives and entered into the degree audit reporting system.

Subpart C. Applying courses accepted in transfer
When courses or credits are accepted in transfer, each college or university shall determine how the courses or credits apply to program and graduation requirements.

Subpart D. Transfer Pathway Associate Degrees
Minnesota State universities shall accept and apply the transfer pathway associate degrees from Minnesota State colleges toward designated baccalaureate degrees.

Subpart E. Documents used for the evaluation of courses
Course outlines are the official Minnesota State documents used for evaluation of courses. Other related documents may be used to supplement the course outline. For non-Minnesota State courses, syllabi, or other comparable documents may be used for the evaluation of courses.

Subpart F. Official repository of course relationships
The degree audit reporting system is the official repository of course relationships between both Minnesota State and non-system colleges and universities including, but not limited to, national exams and military credit offered by that college or university.

Part 7. Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC)
The Minnesota Transfer Curriculum is a collaborative effort among all Minnesota two and four year public colleges and universities to help students transfer their work in general education. Completion of a defined transfer curriculum at one college or university enables a student to receive credit for all lower-division general education courses upon admission to any other Minnesota public college or university.

Subpart A. Implementation
Each college and university shall implement the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum for its academic certificates, diplomas, and degrees consistent with criteria in board policy and system procedure.

Subpart B. Acceptance of Minnesota Transfer Curriculum
Each receiving college and university shall accept:

a Minnesota Transfer Curriculum course, goal area, or the entire completed curriculum as determined and documented by the sending college or university transcript and/or MnTC Audit, or

the entire completed Minnesota Transfer Curriculum as determined and documented by the completion of liberal education requirements at the University of Minnesota.

Part 8. Transfer Appeals
Each college or university shall establish an appeal process titled “Transfer Appeal” in its transfer policy for students to appeal course and credit transfer decisions. When providing students with a transfer evaluation, colleges and universities shall also provide information about a student’s right to appeal, including next steps to continue the appeal. Each college and university shall retain records of all transfer appeals.

Part 9. Disseminating Information
Each college and university shall communicate current transfer-related information through a dedicated transfer webpage. Each college or university homepage must display a direct link entitled “Transfer” to the dedicated transfer webpage with other prominently displayed links. Transfer appeal information must be made available on each college and university website, in course catalogs, and transfer-related media.

Policy History:

Date of Adoption: 4/29/98
Date of Implementation: 8/01/07
Date of Last Review: 6/22/22

Date & Subject of Amendments:

06/22/2022 – Reviewed as part of the 5 year review process. In Part 1, added the word “equitable”. In Part 2, updated several definitions, added “electives” and along with its definitions, deleted comparable from “comparable and equivalent courses”. In Part 6, added “Once a course has been deemed equivalent, the college or university shall not require additional documentation from the student if a course is entered in the degree audit reporting system as an equivalent course.” In Part 7, added the introductory paragraph. In Parts 8 and 9, updated the language for clarity purposes.

Additional HISTORY

3.21 Undergraduate Course and Credit Transfer and the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum

Related Documents:

Policy History: