3.4.4 Acceptance of academic credit
The institution has a defined and published policy for evaluating, awarding, and accepting credit for transfer, experiential learning, advanced placement, and professional certificates that is consistent with its mission and ensures that course work and learning outcomes are at the collegiate level and comparable to the institution’s own degree programs. The institution assumes responsibility for the academic quality of any course work or credit recorded on the institution’s transcript.
Judgement of Compliance:
Compliance
Narrative:
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) has defined and published policies for evaluating, awarding, and accepting academic credit from other institutions or experiences. These policies are consistent with the UTC Mission as they allow UTC to meet the diverse needs of students in the region. They also ensure accepted credit is comparable to its degree programs. UTC accepts responsibility for the academic quality of any credit on a University transcript.
Transfer Credit
Defined and Published Policy
The policies governing the evaluation of credit for transfer include course equivalency, evaluation of transcripts, articulation agreements, and accreditation status. These policies are published on relevant web pages and the Undergraduate Catalog.
Equivalencies have been established for courses offered at institutions from which students frequently transfer, such as Chattanooga State Community College. Those equivalencies are listed on the Admissions web site by institution. Courses for which UTC does not offer an equivalent are accepted as an elective. Students may submit a written appeal of the evaluation of their transfer credits to the Registrar.
Comparable Quality
Course equivalency is determined by the head of the department that offers courses in the discipline of the course being considered.
To be accepted for transfer, coursework must be attempted at a regionally accredited institution. If an institution holds accreditation from a national accrediting body within the discipline, acceptance of coursework will be considered if UTC offers an equivalent. In such cases, however, a clear and documented justification must be filed with the student’s record.
Students will not be awarded credit for coursework not at the college level or that is not appropriate to the curriculum at UTC, such as vocational training. Upper level credit will not be awarded for coursework completed at a community college.
Students who transfer from another Tennessee public institution, whether UT or Tennessee Board of Regents, and have completed the general education requirements at that institution will be considered to have completed the general education requirements at UTC. However, specific general education courses may be required to satisfy the requirements of the major.
UTC has an articulation agreement with Tennessee Temple University (TTU) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which established course equivalencies and the courses required at both institutions to complete a Bachelor of Arts in English.
Experiential Learning (Non-traditional Credit)
Defined and Published Policy
The policies for awarding non-traditional credit are published in the Undergraduate Catalog. Non-traditional credit includes military service credit, College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and Credit for Practical Training (PTC). Students may earn no more than sixty (60) hours of non-traditional credit and no more than twenty-four (24) hours in each category.
- Military Service Credit (from the Undergraduate Catalog, Non-Traditional Credit)
“Students with six (6) or more months of honorable active service in the armed services of the United States or in a service academy may be granted up to thirty-(30) hours of elective credit from the Community College of the Air Force. University policy permits and encourages granting credit for appropriate educational experience in the armed services in accordance with their evaluation in the American Council on Education's 1986 Guide to the Evaluation of Education Experiences in the Armed Services or by the Commission on the Accreditation of Service Experiences evaluation service. Veterans requesting military service credit should submit a copy of their DD Form 214 to the Records Office for evaluation. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a member of Service Members Opportunity Colleges.”
- College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Generally, UTC accepts credit for successful completion of several subject area examinations of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). Participating individual departments determine the standards for the acceptance of CLEP credit. Test scores must be submitted directly to the Admissions Office from CLEP. Students may earn up to fifteen (15) elective hours, but cannot satisfy general education requirements with CLEP credit. Credit earned through the CLEP program will be entered on the transcript as satisfactory credit but will not be included in the calculation of the grade point average.
- Credit for Practical Training (PTC)
Students may receive credit for professional work experience, in-service training, and completion of certified professional programs through the Credit for Practical Training program (formerly Credit for Work Experience, or IEP). Credit is awarded for experiences for which there are university equivalencies. Application for such credit is made through the Office of Cooperative Education and International Programs.
Comparable Quality
Because these programs or experiences do not have automatic equivalencies within a degree program, each case must be handled individually. This individual attention, however, guarantees that scrutiny is applied to each proposal for credit by the appropriate discipline or office. Thus, these non-traditional experiences are held to high standards and are ensured to be of a quality comparable to the University coursework they seek to replace.
Advanced Placement
Defined and Published Policy
The University participates in the advanced placement program of the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). The policy regarding Advanced Placement is published in the Undergraduate Catalog. A table showing each department’s acceptance of Advanced Placement scores can be found on the UTC Freshman Admissions page.
Comparable Quality
Advanced placement credit may be awarded for test scores of 3 or higher, although some departments (see table link above) require a minimum score of 4. These scores indicate the student has attained an acceptable level of knowledge of the subject in question, which could be seen as a replacement for comparable collegiate coursework. Credit earned through the advanced placement program will be entered on the transcript as satisfactory credit but will not be included in the calculation of the grade point average.
Documentation:
- UTC Mission Statement
http://www.utc.edu/About/Mission.php - Undergraduate Catalog, Transfer Equivalency
http://catalog.utc.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=62#Transfer_Equivalency - Course Equivalencies, Chattanooga State
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/Records/tranartic_chattstate.php - Admission Web site, Transfer Equivalency
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/Records/transferequivalency.php - Undergraduate Catalog, Transfer (course) Equivalency
http://catalog.utc.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=62#Transfer_Equivalency - Tennessee Temple University articularion agreement, 2010
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/SACS/ComplianceReports/Documentation/CS344/TTUArticulationAgreementSupplement.pdf - Non-Traditional Credit
http://catalog.utc.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=62#Non-Traditional_Credit - Advanced Placement Acceptance Table
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/Admissions/documents/GuidelinesforAdvancedPlacementCredit2.pdf
