Transfer Credit – Evaluation and Acceptance

Standard Operating Procedure

Procedure Details

Procedure Title: Transfer Credit – Evaluation and Acceptance
Procedure #: RO.004
Revision #: 007

Unit Responsible: Registrar’s Office
Individual Responsible: Registrar

Effective Date: 05/09/2025
Initial Approval Date: 01/25/2019
Last Review/Update Date: 05/09/2025
Next Review Date: 05/01/2028

*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 3.100 – Credit for Previously Acquired Knowledge and Learning Experience

Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page

*Does this procedure support HLC criteria and/or Assumed Practices? Yes
If yes, identify: 2B, 3A, 4A

HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria
HLC Assumed Practices can be found at: HLC Assumed Practices

*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A

*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Transfer Credit – Evaluation and Acceptance, BP 3.100

1. Purpose

To ensure that the College evaluates transfer credit in accordance with Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices.

2. Scope

Applies to the evaluation of all official transcripts received by the Registrar’s Office.

3. Prerequisites

Student must be admitted to Lansing Community College (LCC).
An official transcript must be sent directly from another institution to LCC via U.S. Mail or electronically via the issuing institution’s electronic transcript exchange program.
- If mailed, the transcript must be unopened, be untampered with, and contain the institution’s seal and the signature of the institution’s Registrar.
  
  Mailing Address:
  Registrar's Office
  Lansing Community College
  411 N. Grand Ave.
  Lansing, MI 48933-1215

Transfer credit will be accepted as equivalent to LCC course(s) if:

A grade of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is earned in course(s) comparable to those offered by LCC, when the course was offered by a program, college, or university that either is accredited or is a candidate for accreditation by an accrediting association which is a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
A grade of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is earned in course(s) comparable to those offered by LCC, when the course was offered by an institution with professional accreditation but lacking national accreditation, providing an evaluation has been completed by appropriate program officials at LCC.
A grade of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is earned in examination(s) and/or training(s) comparable to course(s) offered by LCC, as recommended by the American Council on Education.
A grade of “Pass” is earned in course(s) comparable to those offered by LCC when that grade can be documented to represent competency at a 2.0 level or higher.
Earned in comparable courses or other learning experiences.
- A comparable course or other learning experience is one that is not more than 1 credit smaller than a particular LCC course, and which matches at least 70% of the particular LCC course, with course title and, if necessary, course description being the primary, though not always sole, criteria for evaluation.

General Stipulations:

Only official transcripts will be evaluated for transfer credit.
- The College will accept as official transcripts only incoming transcripts that have appropriate signatures and official college seals and that are sent directly to the Registrar’s Office or other LCC office from an issuing institution.
  - Transcripts or copies of transcripts carried by individuals may be used for academic advising or counseling, placement levels, and/or prerequisite waivers, but will not be evaluated for transfer credit.
  - Official transcripts issued to any person or entity other than LCC will be considered unofficial.
- The Registrar’s Office will verify the official status of all incoming transcripts prior to evaluating and posting transfer credit.
- All transcripts submitted for evaluation become the property of LCC, and will be processed accordingly.
Credit that appears on an incoming transcript will be considered for transfer only if it represents coursework that was completed at the institution issuing the transcript.
- Credit transferred to another institution can be evaluated for potential transfer to LCC only if an official transcript is received from the institution where the credit was earned.
Credit will be accepted regardless of the mode of delivery of the course.
Credit only, not grades, are transferred.
- Transferred standard-graded courses will receive grades of TR on the LCC transcript, and transferred courses graded Pass-Fail will receive grades of TRP on the LCC transcript. Neither TR grades nor TRP grades are used in calculating the LCC grade point average (GPA).
Quarter credits will be converted to semester credits (quarter credits x 2/3 = semester credits), rounding up to the nearest hundredth.
LCC retains the right to grant no credit if coursework is not similar in nature, content, and/or level to that offered by LCC.
Developmental courses are not considered college level and do not transfer.
LCC reserves the right to assess transcripts and award credit as it deems appropriate.

Courses that previously have been evaluated:

LCC Registrar’s Office on its Transfer Equivalencies webpage maintains transfer tables for the most commonly transferred courses from a number of colleges and universities in Michigan, and from other sources such as Advanced Placement Examination (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES Subject Standardized Test (DSST), International Baccalaureate Program (IB), etc.
- When applicable, these transfer tables are used in evaluating incoming official transcripts.
- If Academic Departments recommend removal of an existing transfer equivalency, removal can be done only with approval from Academic Affairs. Approval will be given only if it is demonstrated that the course is not “comparable,” meaning not “match[ing] at least 70% of the particular LCC course.”
Credit that previously was evaluated and posted to the student’s LCC transcript will remain on the transcript except in a situation where an incorrect course was posted.

4. Responsibilities

Transcript and Academic Record Coordinator (TARC) – Responsible for completing all procedures and adhering to the guidelines related to evaluating and accepting transfer credit.
Registrar – Responsible for the oversight of the acceptance and evaluation of transfer credit procedure.
Academic Departments – Responsible for assisting in reviewing outside course information or syllabi to verify course equivalency when requested.
Academic Affairs Project Manager (AAPM) – Responsible, as designee for the Provost, for deciding on any recommendation for removal of an existing transfer equivalency, and deciding any other matters of procedure and/or evaluation requested by TARC or Registrar.

5. Procedure

Upon receiving an incoming official transcript, the TARC verifies the issuing institution’s accreditation using Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP) or other published institutional information.

The TARC will complete the transcript evaluation within 6 weeks of receipt.
- Transcripts are evaluated using transfer tables that are maintained by the Registrar’s Office or by using course title(s) and, if necessary, course description(s) from the other institution.
If an equivalency could not be determined based on course title(s) and, if necessary, course description(s), or if equivalency was denied, the student may request a reevaluation of the course by submitting a copy of the course syllabus. The TARC will forward this information to the academic department. Academic departments may review the Evaluating Courses for Incoming Transfer Guide for guidance. The department will return any/all documents along with a decision as to whether or not credit will be awarded.
If credit is accepted in transfer, it will be awarded to the student’s official LCC transcript as one of the following:
- Equivalent LCC course(s). Credit that is awarded course equivalence may be used to satisfy LCC degree and certificate requirements in the same way as the equivalent LCC course.
  - A transfer course that is comparable to an LCC course will be designated as the equivalent LCC course.
- General credit in a corresponding LCC subject (See Transfer Credit - General Credit).
  - A course that is awarded general credit in an LCC subject and meets LCC General Education guidelines may, upon College approval, be used to satisfy LCC General Education requirements. For details, please see “Additional Information” on the LCC General Education webpage.
The TARC will evaluate the incoming official transcript to determine placement levels and will award any appropriate placement scores to the student’s record in the LCC student information system. This allows the student to register for courses without having to take the placement test before their transcript is evaluated for credit.
The TARC will notify the student via LCC email when the evaluation is complete.

6. Reference

Additional Transfer Information is located in the College Catalog in the student records – transfer section.

7. Definitions

Comparable course or other learning experience – One that is not more than 1 credit smaller than a particular LCC course, and which matches at least 70% of the particular LCC course, with course title and, if necessary, course description being the primary, though not always sole, criteria for evaluation.
DAPIP – Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs
Transfer Tables – A listing of previously determined equivalencies from other institutions