Transfer credit is awarded for college-level academic credit earned based on appropriateness for WSU’s academic programs and comparableness in nature, content, academic rigor, and quality to WSU’s curriculum.  One set of transfer course articulation tables will be used for course evaluation by all WSU campuses.  The transfer course search tool articulation tables for courses from approved domestic and international institutions is maintained and monitored by WSU Pullman Admissions transcript evaluators and the Transfer Center in consultation with academic units. Transfer credit equivalencies are subject to change.

a)  Transfer credit is awarded from nationally recognized postsecondary institutions with institutional accreditation from the following approved accreditation agencies (or equivalent for international institutions). 

• Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
• New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)

See Rule 14 for information on credit processes for postsecondary institutions with nationally recognized institutional accreditation that is not from an approved accreditation agency. 

b) Transfer credit awarded from approved institutions on the quarter system is converted to 0.67 semester credits.

c) Ninety semester hours shall be the maximum allowed by transfer toward a baccalaureate degree.

d) The maximum combined lower-division transfer credit allowed [from approved accredited institutions, CLEP (College Level Examination Program), AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate), Cambridge International, military, and any other source] shall be 73 semester credits toward a baccalaureate degree irrespective of when those credits were earned.

e) Junior status, 60 semester credits, and completion of lower-division University Common Requirements (UCOREs) normally will be granted to students who have been awarded the Direct Transfer Associate (DTA) degree from a Washington state public community and technical college. Additional courses, up to the 73-semester credit limit, will be reviewed for transfer on a course-by-course basis.   Certain approved associate degrees may also be considered to have fulfilled the lower-division UCORE for graduation, provided the degree’s general education curriculum approximates the disciplinary breadth of WSU’s UCORE curriculum, but do not guarantee junior status or 60 semester credits. Completion of lower-division UCORE will be granted to students who have been certified by their institution as having completed the University of California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or the California State University General Education Breadth Curriculum. For details on specific degrees consult the Office of Admissions and the Transfer Center.

f) Reverse transfer allows students to complete an associate’s degree after transfer to WSU.  Policy details and credit levels vary depending on the community or technical college.  Students who enter WSU with at least 30 transferable quarter credits (20 semester credits) from a Washington state public community college or technical college will receive the support of the Transfer Center to complete the steps for reverse transfer.  Students who enter WSU and later complete one of the associate degrees listed in Rule 6(d) or (f) will receive the benefits described in Rule 6(d) or (f).

g) Students who have completed the Associate of Science Transfer (AS-T) degree from a Washington state public community and technical college normally will receive the same priority consideration for admission as they would for completing the Direct Transfer Associate (DTA) and will be given junior status and 60 semester credits.  Completion of the AS-T degree satisfies UCORE WRTG, QUAN, BSCI, PSCI, and three of the following requirements: HUM, SSCI, ARTS, DIVR, ROOTS, EQJS.  Up to three additional lower-division UCORE may be satisfied via transfer credit, up to the 73-semester credit limit, or via in-residence credit prior to completion of a baccalaureate degree.  An individual course completed within the AS-T degree may not satisfy more than one UCORE category.

h) Completion of all UCORE and the University Writing Portfolio graduation requirement will be granted to students who have completed a baccalaureate degree from another approved accredited institution or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an international institution with approved accreditation (see 6a), provided that the general education curriculum approximates the disciplinary breadth of WSU’s UCORE curriculum.  Approved degrees will also provide senior standing and 90 semester credits. 

i) Completion of lower-division UCOREs will be granted to students who have been certified as having completed the lower-division general education curriculum from a baccalaureate institution with approved accreditation (see 6a), provided the degree’s general education curriculum approximates the disciplinary breadth of WSU’s UCORE curriculum.  Please consult the Office of Admissions or Transfer Center for more information.  

j) Other degrees will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis for fulfillment of requirements, in the absence of an approved articulation.  Higher degrees do not necessarily fulfill baccalaureate degree requirements.

k) Transfer credit follows WSU policy for repeat credit (see Rule 34), academic forgiveness (see Rule 43), and grades and grade points (see Rule 90). Transfer credit graded below D is considered failing. Transfer credit grades do not count in the WSU grade point average (see Rule 114). 

Subject to standards established in consultation with academic departments concerned, credit may be granted to entering or enrolled undergraduate or professional students via various means including external examinations.  Approved external examinations include:  Advanced Placement (AP) Program examinations of the College Entrance Examinations Board; the International Baccalaureate (IB) Examinations; and Cambridge International Examinations. 

WSU does not accept credit by examination as transcripted by other institutions.  Students must request official score reports to be sent directly to WSU.  Acceptable scores for receiving credit are published online at wsu.edu/advancedcredit.

Credits by examination shall yield no grade points. Such credits may partially fulfill University Common Requirements (UCOREs) for graduation. Duplicate credit for the same subject taken on different exams like Cambridge A-level or A-S level, AP, or IB will not be granted. Advanced credit policies are reviewed on a regular basis and are subject to change.

Students may request to take a course at WSU for which they have been awarded AP, IB, or Cambridge International credit.  Prompted by the request, all the credit earned from the applicable AP, IB, or Cambridge International examination credit is removed from the overall credits awarded by WSU.  Only the subsequent enrollment in the WSU course will contribute to the total credits earned and grade point average; the AP, IB, or Cambridge International credit cannot be reconsidered for credit for the same course.  Students submit the request to ask for the WSU course to be allowed and for the AP, IB, or Cambridge International credit to be omitted to the Registrar's Office.

(a)  Advanced Placement Program.  Credit for AP examinations will be granted at the lower-division for scores of 3 and above, as determined in consultation with the specific academic department. The acceptable score for receiving credit is published online at wsu.edu/advancedcredit.

(b) International Baccalaureate (IB) Examinations.  Credit is awarded for standard and higher-level examinations with a score of 4 or higher with the exception of non-English Language A exams.  See wsu.edu/advancedcredit for course-by-course equivalencies.  Please contact the Transfer Center for additional details.

(c) Cambridge International Examinations.  Credit is awarded for A- and AS-level examinations.

Pass, fail grading is a student-initiated option, whereby a student elects to take a letter-graded (A – F) course for a pass, fail (P, F) grade.

Pass, fail grading is available to students with the following provisions:  

Undergraduate Students:

The university allows up to 21 credits to be taken at WSU on a pass, fail basis by students completing a baccalaureate degree at Washington State University. However, departments and programs may deny their majors permission to take, on a pass, fail basis, courses in their major field or courses needed to meet departmental requirements.  

In addition, departments have the prerogative of requesting, from the Office of the Registrar, the letter grade for courses a prospective major has taken on a pass, fail basis. Departments and programs may refuse to accept courses needed to meet requirements if the courses were completed on a pass, fail basis before the student was accepted into the department or program.

In all cases, the advisor’s approval is required for an undergraduate to take an A – F graded course for a pass, fail (P, F) grade.  Requests for pass, fail grading are processed by the campus Registrar's Office.

Graduate Students:

Graduate students are eligible to take A – F graded courses for a pass, fail (P, F) grade with the approval of their committee chair or graduate advisor.  While there is no limit on the number of credits, courses taken pass, fail cannot count toward the required credits for graduation and cannot be used as part of the student’s Program of Study.  Pass, fail grades may not be used for removal of a specific undergraduate deficiency. Credits earned with pass, fail grades are counted toward assistantship minimum credit requirements. 

Professional Students:

Students in the professional careers of Medicine or Pharmacy are eligible for pass, fail (P, F) grading for courses graded A - F only with the consent of their academic department or college.  Students in the professional MBA and business career, or in the Veterinary Medicine (DVM) career are ineligible for the pass, fail grading option.

Grading:

The P (pass) grades earned by pass, fail enrollees will not be included in computing the grade point average; however, F grades earned by pass, fail enrollees will be included in grade point average computations. 

Information indicating which students are enrolled on a pass, fail basis will not appear on grade rosters transmitted to instructors. Instructors turn in regular letter grades for all students, and grades of A through D are converted to P for those students who are enrolled pass, fail.

Exclusions:

• Courses approved to be graded with one of the satisfactory, fail grading basis (S, F; or S, M, F; or H, S, F; or H, NH, S, F; or S, U) as described in Rule 90f or 90k are excluded from the pass, fail grading option. The grading basis for these courses are indicated in the catalog course description.

• Courses carrying a UCORE designation can be taken for a pass, fail (P, F) grade, but the pass, fail grade will not satisfy a UCORE requirement.

• No courses offered under the HONORS course prefix may be taken pass, fail.

Deadlines:

A student may change a regular letter-graded enrollment to a pass, fail enrollment, or vice versa, during the first three weeks of classes in a semester.  After the third week and through the last day of instruction in a semester (end of the 15th week), only a pass, fail enrollment can be changed to a letter-graded enrollment. 

a. The award of a baccalaureate degree requires the satisfactory completion of all University graduation requirements.  The degree grade point average will be posted to the official transcript at the time that the baccalaureate degree is conferred.

b. The award of a baccalaureate degree requires the completion of and posting to the official transcript of all outstanding incomplete work (including grades of I, X, and no/blank grades).

c. The award of a baccalaureate degree and/or diploma requires the student’s good standing in the university and satisfaction of all University graduation requirements.  “Good standing” means the student has resolved any acts of academic or behavioral misconduct, and complied with all sanctions imposed as a result of the misconduct.  (See Rule 45 and the Standards of Conduct for Students.)

1)      The University shall have the sole authority in determining whether to withhold the degree and/or diploma in cases where the student is not in good standing due to acts of misconduct, has not resolved any acts of academic or behavior misconduct, or has not complied with all sanctions imposed as a result of misconduct.  

2)      The University shall deny the award of a degree if the student is dismissed from the University based on his or her misconduct.

3)      A diploma will not be sent until the student has resolved any unpaid fees and resolved any acts of academic or behavioral misconduct and complied with all sanctions imposed as a result of misconduct. 

d.  The grades earned at other institutions do not count in the Washington State University grade point average.

e.  To complete a baccalaureate degree, students shall:

1) Earn a 2.0 cumulative grade point average or better in graded course work.

2) Earn a 2.0 cumulative grade point average or better in graded course work in the major.

3) Complete the departmental and college requirements for an active baccalaureate degree.  Baccalaureate degrees remain active for the purpose of degree completion for eight years following the last inclusion in the WSU catalog.

4) Earn a minimum of 120 semester hours of credit.  At least 30 must be WSU hours; see Rule 6.

5) Earn a minimum of 40 semester hours of credit in 300-400-level courses; 500-level courses will count toward the 300-400-level requirement, but an undergraduate may not be required to complete a 500-level course as a requirement for the baccalaureate degree.

6) Complete the University Common Requirements (UCOREs) for graduation.

7) Complete the university writing requirements, including two Writing in the Major courses and the Writing Portfolio.

One baccalaureate degree from WSU requires a minimum of 120 semester hours.  For each additional baccalaureate degree, the student must complete an additional 30 semester hours, as well as satisfy all requirements of the college and the second degree program.  For a second or subsequent baccalaureate degree, the first baccalaureate degree from WSU is understood to fulfill all University requirements for graduation, including the upper-division requirements, University Writing Portfolio, the minimum hours for the first degree (120), as well as the University Common Requirements (UCOREs).