St. Cloud State University Policies & Procedures

Graduate Studies - Transfer Link☍

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Current Status: Approved

Policy Type: Academic

Department/Division: School of Graduate Studies

Effective Date: 07/01/2013

Last Updated: 09/07/2021

Applies To: Students, Faculty, Staff

Responsible University Officer: Interim Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs

Policy Owner: Associate Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies

Policy Contact: Director of Graduate Student Services

Rationale

St. Cloud State University desires to facilitate the transfer of students and credits to aid in the completion of degrees.

Policy

A maximum of 9 semester credits of graduate work completed at other accredited universities, or extension credit earned from this University, may be considered for application to a graduate degree program. In addition to this policy, doctoral students should also refer to the Doctoral Program Credit Policy and the doctoral program guidelines.

Criteria

For credits to be accepted as transfer credit and apply toward an SCSU graduate degree, the following conditions must be met:

  • Credits must be from a regionally accredited educational institution, approved to offer graduate degree programs in the major field where the credit was earned, at the time the credit was earned.
  • Credits transferred into an accredited program may need to come from an accredited program or university as appropriate for the discipline.
  • Credits must be appropriate to the student's program. Course evaluation and approval by the student's major advisor and the School of Graduate Studies is required.
  • The grade recorded for transfer credits must be B or above or an S or P in S/U or P/F grading systems.
  • Credits that are transferrable must be earned no more than seven years prior to completion of the degree.
  • At time of transfer, credits must be officially recorded on the approved program form.
  • When transferring credits to a specialist degree program, a minimum of 20 of the last 30 credits must be taken at this institution.

After the student's program of study has been approved, no additional transfer credits will be accepted unless the student has received prior approval via the petition process.

 The following will not be accepted as transfer credit:

  • Credit for courses conducted by proprietary groups.
  • Credit applied towards another degree.
  • Extended campus credit from a university that does not accept that credit for its own on-campus graduate programs.
  • Workshops, continuing education courses and in-service training credits.

Exceptions

With the prior approval of the graduate advisor and the graduate dean, a maximum of 15 semester credits of appropriate graduate credit may be transferred from other universities of the Minnesota State System or from accredited universities through bilateral or international agreements and applied to a program at St. Cloud State University.

Procedure

Any questions or concerns about the transferability of credit earned at other institutions should be directed to the School of Graduate Studies before a student enrolls for that credit. Transfer credits are requested through submission of a Program of Study Form (See Supporting URLs). The student must request that an official transcript, not a copy, be sent directly to the School of Graduate Studies by the institution awarding the credit. The official transcript should not be sent to the student, nor should it be sent through a third party.  The School of Graduate Studies will only accept official transcripts sent directly by the awarding institution.

Keywords

grad Studies, grad credits, grad school, graduate school

Related St. Cloud State University Policies

Transfer - Undergraduate Courses and Credits

Supporting URLs

Websites, Related External Documents, Statutes

Definitions

Student

All Persons or group of persons who:

  1. Are enrolled in one or more courses, either credit or non-credit, through a college or university; or
  2. Withdraw, transfer, or graduate after an alleged violation of the code of student conduct; or
  3. Are not officially enrolled for a particular term but who have a continuing relationship with the college or university; or
  4. Have been notified of their acceptance for admission or have initiated the process of application for admission or financial aid; or
  5. Are not college or university employees and are not enrolled in the institution but live in a college or university owned or controlled residence hall.

Active Student:

   Criteria 1: 

  1. A degree-seeking student who has completed the enrollment process and has been admitted into the University, an undergraduate major or a graduate program of study; or
  2. A degree-seeking student who has completed the enrollment process and has not yet been admitted into the University, and undergraduate major or a graduate program of study; or
  3. A student seeking a graduate certificate

  Criteria 2:

 

         The student must have registered into and successfully completed at least one credit in a semester in the previous two years. 

 

A student who fulfills Criteria 1, will cease to be an active student at the University if they do not register for and successfully complete at least one credit in a semester within two years, will be administratively removed from the University and be categorized as inactive.

 

The credits that the student accumulates as an active student will not expire upon becoming an inactive student, unless the student has been admitted to a graduate program, refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for the program completion timeframe guidelines.

 

Graduate Studies at SCSU has procedures for an admitted student to request a leave or absence, please see the Graduate Student Handbook for information on that process.

 

An inactive student intending to return to the University will not have to reapply for admission to the University, but will need to reapply for admission into a current program of study. 

Contacts

Responsible University Officer
   Pattit, Katherina G.
   Interim Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs 		 
katherina.pattit@stcloudstate.edu
320-308-3213
Owner
   Tomany, Maria-Claudia C.
   Associate Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies 		 
claudia.tomany@stcloudstate.edu
320-308-2126
Contact
   Guentzel, Melanie J.
   Director of Graduate Student Services 		 
mjguentzel@stcloudstate.edu
320-308-2194

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