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Reference

Board of Regents Policy RP 5.214 Student and Credit Transfer within the University

Executive Policies E5.209 University of Hawaii System Student Transfer and InterCampus Articulation, July 2020

Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA), the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers (AACRAO), and the American Council of Education (ACE), Joint Statement of Transfer and Award of Academic Credit, December 15, 2021.

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)

UHCCP 5.206 Reverse Transfer

UHCCP 5.205 Notation of Academic Credentials

UHCCP 5.208 Residency for Graduation

UHCCP 5.302 Prior Learning Assessment Program

Background and purpose:

The purpose of this policy is to state the guidelines for the Acceptance of Credits in Transfer to Windward Community College (WCC). E5.209 has set general parameters for the UH System to follow and this policy is intended to further clarify E5.209 as it relates to Windward Community College. This document will also serve to consolidate the information from the various documents.

Authority

Counselors and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.

Definitions/categories:

Official Transcript – Transcript that is sent from originating campus to Windward Community College’s Admissions & Records Office.

Procedures

  1. Students who have taken courses and earned credits at other institutions are not obligated or required to submit transcripts or seek evaluation of their credits for transfer to Windward Community College. In general, only degree-seeking students will choose to have prior work evaluated. Note: While Windward Community College does not require students to have all prior transcripts to be evaluated, certain financial assistance programs may require this as a requirement (e.g. Veterans Administration Benefits, Financial Aid)
  2. It is the student’s responsibility to have official transcripts of previous work sent to the Admissions and Records Office for all non-UH System campuses. Although Windward Community College has many resources available, including many of the catalogs of colleges and universities across the nation, the student will remain ultimately responsible for providing catalogs, course syllabi, and other supporting documentation if the College is not able to make course evaluation. Letters of inquiry to other institutions remain the responsibility of the students.
  3. Windward Community College will generally accept credits only from institutions accredited by regional accrediting commissions. This excludes many business colleges, technical schools, Bible colleges, and similar institutions, even though these institutions may be accredited by specialized or professional associations. Students from these latter excluded institutions may seek credit for their work through the College’s Credit-by-Examination and/or Prior Learning Assessment policies or by recommendation of the department chairperson after a review of the course syllabus and applicability of the course to the student’s program at the College
    • Windward Community College will generally accept credits only from institutions accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to be applied to the Certificate of Achievement in Veterinary Assisting and the Associate in Science in Veterinary Technology. A faculty member in the department may be consulted to determine the suitability of courses for transfer. Although credits may be granted for skills-intensive classes, WCC will require that the student provide documentation of the completed skills. 
  4. Credits earned within the University of Hawaii with course or class designations related to degree requirements such as “Writing Intensive” will transfer when such designations have been determined according to the articulation established in the University of Hawaii Executive Policy E5.209. No WI courses will transfer from outside the UH System.
  5. Windward Community College will accept credits in transfer if the student earned a grade of D (not D-) or better (CR or similar “PASS” grades are acceptable if the awarding institution indicates the work is of D level or better).
    • If a transfer student has earned a “D” in a course that serves as a program or course prerequisite and the Windward Community College program/course requires the completion of the prerequisite course at the “C” or higher level, the student will have to take and complete the Windward Community College prerequisite course and earn the required grade before proceeding to the next stage of the course/program.
    • The acceptance of all letter grades, except CR (Credit), for which credit was earned from regionally accredited universities and colleges, and when accepted must be averaged so that a 2.0 GPA is maintained for graduation.
  6. The acceptance of transfer credits at Windward Community College applies only to degrees and certificates at Windward Community College. Other institutions, even within the University of Hawaii, have different policies for accepting transfer credits. The granting of transfer credits at Windward Community College in no way obligates another institution to apply those credits in the same manner.
  7. Windward Community College will accept credits in transfer under the following conditions:
    • If Windward Community College has the same, or a very similar course, the transferred credit will be applied specifically toward the Windward Community College course. (For example, EN 102 Expository Writing from Chaminade University will be credited as ENG 100- Composition I for Windward Community College.)
    • If Windward Community College does not teach the same course, transfer credit will be approved whenever possible to fulfill related degree “core” (Foundation/Diversification) requirements or elective options. Whenever the “core” area can be identified, transfer credits will be applied to the “core” requirements in that area. Those credits in excess of the “core requirements,” or which cannot be identified as to “core” area, will be treated as electives.
    • Not all accepted credits will necessarily apply to every degree/certificate program at Windward Community College. If the student later changes programs at Windward Community College, the transfer credits accepted earlier may not fulfill the requirements in the newly selected program.
    • All credits earned from each sending institution on a transcript will be evaluated. If the sending institution has evaluated transcripts from another post-secondary institution, these credits will not be evaluated by Windward Community College. The student is required to send original transcripts from each post-secondary school.
      • If more than 48 credits are accepted, the student is not excused from the policy of completing a minimum of 12 credits at Windward Community College that are applicable to the Associate degree and at least 20% of the required courses for the certificates.
  8. Windward Community College will officially evaluate credits only for students granted admission to the College. It is the intent of the College to inform the student in as timely a manner as possible after receiving the official transcript(s) regarding which courses and how many credits are acceptable at Windward Community College. The Request for Transcript Evaluation form can also be submitted. The student will be informed of the evaluation.
    • When necessary, the counselors will consult a faculty member in the discipline for a recommendation before completing the evaluation. 
  9. Windward Community College requires official copies of all transcripts be submitted for evaluation and will not officially evaluate transcripts that have been issued to the student.
  10. The length of time that has passed since the credits were earned is not relevant to the acceptability of the transfer credits to Windward Community College. In some programs, however, where the passing of time may have caused the student’s competency to become outdated, the student may be advised to repeat courses that will update and strengthen the competency. This is particularly important if enrolling in classes requiring prerequisite skills.
  11. Quarter credits will be granted in a course-by-course basis using fractional units as indicated in Appendix A. (For example, a course of 5 quarter hours will receive 3.33 semester hours credits). The total credits earned, however, will be reduced to the whole unit of semester hours. (For example, 25.67 credits will be accepted at WCC as 25 semester hours).
    • The Written Communication, Symbolic Reasoning, Oral Communication, requirement at Windward Community College may be fulfilled with a minimum of 3 quarter hours which is the equivalent to 2 semester hours in each area. (Comment: This would be a rarity on transcripts in quarter hours. More common would be the 4 quarter hours course which transfers as 2.66 credits.)
    • The Global & Multicultural Perspectives; Arts, Humanities, & Literature; Natural Sciences; and Social Sciences credit requirements must be fulfilled. (For example, 8 quarter credits in humanities accepted at Windward Community College as 5.33 semester hours will not fulfill the 6 credit requirement in that area. The student must take another humanities course.)
    • For the Certificate of Achievement in Veterinary Assisting and the Associate in Science in Veterinary Technology deficits in credit hours earned for similar classes offered through Windward Community College may require repeating a course at the discretion of a faculty member in the department.
  12. Exceptions to degree requirements at Windward Community College may be made only by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, in consultation with appropriate faculty and must be in writing. (For example, waiving of the lab requirement in science.) (Memo Subject: Change in Policy, “Acceptance of Credits in Transfer,” dated February 2, 2016)
  13. If a student successfully completes a course at Windward Community College for which he or she has received a transfer credit, the Windward Community College credits and grade points will apply, and the transfer credit will not be applied toward the Windward Community College degree.
  14. Upper Division Credits:
    • Allow the use of upper division elective credits to fulfill associate degree electives. The use will be consistent for all associate degrees. (UHCCP 5.206 IV.D)
    • Allow substitution of appropriate upper and lower level courses taken elsewhere as meeting the requirement of the associate degree. The use will be consistent for all associate degrees. (UHCCP 5.206 IV.E) 
  15. Evaluation resources such as the American Council on Education (ACE) guides will be consulted, but the College reserves the right to reject recommendations from such sources.

Timeline: Processing of transcripts may take 2-5 weeks once the evaluator receives the transcripts.

Exclusion: None.

Responsibilities: Counselors, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Effective date: Fall 2017

Revised April 19, 2024

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