Transfer Credit

Information presented on this web page is intended for both incoming transfer students and our continuing students.  Please know that all decisions on curricular matters are governed by institutional policy which can be found in the Lewis & Clark Catalog in the policies and procedures section. Full information regarding Transfer Credit can be found in the Transfer Credit section of the Catalog.  It is the student’s responsibility to obtain clarification of those policies and to obtain preapproval of transfer credit before you enroll in courses at another college or university.

Transfer credit is evaluated by the Registrar’s Office. To have courses at another institution prescreened for transfer eligibility, please provide the information listed below, and contact:

LAST NAME BEGINNING WITH A - L
Tiffany Henning, Degree Audit and Transfer Credit Coordinator
503-768-7325
 thenning@lclark.edu

LAST NAME BEGINNING WITH M - Z
Caitlin Hansen, Degree Audit and Transfer Credit Coordinator
503-768-7332 
chansen@lclark.edu

Provide a detailed description of the course(s) you wish to transfer, including level and credit amount. Include your name, ID number, email, institution name, semester in which you wish to enroll in the course(s), and purpose for the course(s). In the case of a study abroad, fill out a Non-L&C Study Abroad Transfer Credit Application. Provide a detailed description of the program, describing who has oversight of the academic component and is responsible for course evaluation, and credentials of the instructors.

Allow at least 2 weeks for your evaluation to be complete.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Transfer students generally receive full credit for satisfactory work completed at other regionally accredited colleges and universities in courses judged to be equivalent to those offered at Lewis & Clark. Coursework is evaluated for transferability only on a course-by-course basis. Transfer credit is not granted for coursework with a grade below C (2.000), College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), life experience, credit by examination, or distance-learning courses, including online, correspondence, and televised courses.

In order to be awarded a Lewis & Clark degree, students must fulfill the institution’s academic residency requirement by completing at least 60 semester credits at Lewis & Clark out of the 128 semester credits required for the degree. At least 28 of the final 32 semester credits must be completed at Lewis & Clark. Thus, a maximum of 68 semester credits may be transferred from other institutions in general, and in the senior year (the final 32 credits), a maximum of 4 credits may be transferred from other institutions.

A maximum of 4 semester credits of physical education/activity may be transferred – and only if the maximum has not already been met at Lewis & Clark.

One quarter credit equals .67 semester credits.

Credit earned on an academic system that is not a standard quarter or semester system will be evaluated according to equivalents stated by that institution, accepted industry practice and/or AACRAO recommendations.

Transfer credit is generally awarded for coursework completed at other colleges or universities regionally accredited in the United States, provided the coursework:

• Is college-level and not remedial in nature.
• Is judged to be consistent with the Lewis & Clark curriculum.
• Is awarded a letter grade of C or better*.
• Is taken on the college or university campus (not online or distance learning).
• Does not duplicate credit already granted for completed coursework.
• Does not exceed the residency requirement, which states that 28 of the last 32 degree-applicable credits must be earned at Lewis & Clark.

Current students are encouraged to contact the Office of the Registrar to have courses prescreened for transfer eligibility. Credit earned at another institution that has not been preapproved may not be eligible for transfer to Lewis & Clark.

Grades earned for transfer credit are not used to calculate your Lewis & Clark grade point average and do not appear on the Lewis & Clark transcript. Transfer credit is summarized on the student’s transcript, listing only the name of the institution where the credit was completed and the total amount of transfer credit awarded. Individual course titles and credit amounts are not listed on the Lewis & Clark transcript. A transcript of that coursework can only be obtained from the institution where the work was completed.

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
The Office of the Registrar evaluates transcripts of all previous college work to determine credit that is transferable toward Lewis & Clark’s general education requirements. The course content must be judged to satisfy the spirit of the requirement at Lewis & Clark and must carry credit equal to a minimum of 75 percent of the normal LC credit requirement. That judgment is made by the registrar, in consultation with appropriate faculty if necessary.

Courses other than Physical Education/Athletics courses must be taken for a letter grade.

MAJOR/MINOR REQUIREMENTS
Transfer credit may be used to meet major or minor requirements at the discretion of the chair or program director of the major or minor. Students should first verify with the registrar’s office that the proposed course is transferable in general, then consult the department chair or program director with regard to major or minor requirements. An application to use Transfer Credit in the Major/Minor form is available in the Office of the Registrar.

OVERSEAS STUDY
Students planning to study abroad through another U.S. college or university program must obtain preapproval from the International Studies Coordinating Committee (ISCC). The Non-LC Study Abroad Transfer Application is available in the Office of the Registrar. Transfer credit is not granted for “stand alone” travel/study programs (e.g., programs where credit is not granted by an accredited U.S. college or university). Students wishing to enroll in programs where a foreign university is the credit-granting institution must provide further information about that institution. In some instances, credit can be transferred directly from well-established, nationally recognized tertiary institutions recognized by the country’s government as degree-granting universities. Credit is not transferred from language schools or institutes in other countries.

Lewis & Clark cannot give prior approval of transfer credit for independent study, internships, or practica coursework being completed at another school. In order to evaluate such coursework for transfer, the registrar must receive a detailed description of the project and list of required readings and assignments, along with a written narrative from the instructor or on-sight supervisor about the method of evaluation, the academic component of the project, and, after the project has been completed, the student’s performance in the course. In some instances, a student’s final project must be evaluated at Lewis & Clark College.

In keeping with the standard applied to Lewis & Clark overseas study programs, we recommend taking no more than 16 semester credits on a study abroad program, and the maximum transferable for a single semester is 19 credits.

* Courses taken for P/NP or CR/NC will not be accepted for transfer unless the awarding institution’s documented policy states that passing grades are considered to be C or better. Courses taken for P/NP or CR/NC are not eligible to fulfill general education requirements (except for physical education courses). Coursework intended to fulfill general education requirements must be taken for a letter grade (except for Physical education courses) and the student must earn a grade of C or better.