Lansing Community College
Procedure Details

Procedure Title: Transfer Credit – General Credit
Procedure #: RO.019
Revision #: 003

Unit Responsible: Registrar’s Office
Individual Responsible: Registrar

Effective Date: 04/25/2025
Initial Approval Date: 04/03/2020
Last Review/Update Date: 04/25/2025
Next Review Date: 04/01/2028

*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: 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 – General Credit, BP 3.100

1. Purpose

To authorize the award of general credits (non-equivalent 000) when appropriate.


2. Scope

Applies to personnel who evaluate the transfer of general credit. Requests for exceptions can be made under certain circumstances outlined in this standard operating procedure (SOP). 


3. Prerequisites

 Requests for awarding general credits are allowable only for the following purposes:

  • General Associate degree elective(s) which can be requested by a general academic advisor, a program advisor, or the Academic Affairs Project Manager (AAPM). 
  • Specific program requirement(s) which can be requested only by a program advisor or the AAPM.
    • AA or AS Electives can be requested only by the AAPM.
  • General education requirement(s) which can be requested only by the AAPM.

In addition, please note the following provisos:

  • With the exception of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), general credits must be from an accredited institution and must be college-level (non-developmental).
  • Only general credits can used for program substitutions for a maximum of 12 credits unless approved by Academic Affairs or if the credits are being applied to programs that allow more than 12 general credits, such as General Associate GA, Agricultural Technology AAS, Veterinary Technology AAS, Nursing – RN Option AAS, etc.


4. Responsibilities

  • Academic Advisor and/or Program Advisor – Responsible for evaluating student program requirements for potential benefit from general credits from incoming transcripts.
  • Academic Affairs Project Manager (AAPM) – Responsible for evaluating student program and institutional requirements for potential benefit from general credits from incoming transcripts.
  • Transcript and Academic Record Coordinator (TARC) –   Responsible for awarding general credits from incoming transcripts upon request from an Academic Advisor, a Program Advisor, or the AAPM.


5. Procedure

  1. An Academic Advisor, a Program Advisor, or the AAPM determining the need for general credits to complete a student’s program and/or institutional requirements may initiate the transfer process by submitting a request to the TARC.
    1. Requests for awarding general credits must be made electronically via Lansing Community College (LCC) email and must specify the following:
      1. The specific course(s) to be used from the student’s incoming official transcript.
      2. The alpha code to be used for the general credit.
  2. The TARC will award general credit as detailed in the request from the Academic Advisor, Program Advisor, or AAPM.
  3. The TARC will notify the Academic Advisor, Program Advisor, or AAPM via LCC email that general credit has been awarded.
  4. For programs other than the General Associate degree, substitution(s) also will be needed per SOP Course Substitutions and Waivers - Program Level, RO.007-BP 3.100.


6. Reference

SOP - Transfer Credit – Evaluation and Acceptance, RO.004


7. Definitions

n/a