Transfer Credit

Information presented on this web page is intended for both incoming 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 enrolling in courses at another college or university.

Transfer credit is evaluated by the Registrar’s Office. To have courses at another institution pre-screened for transfer eligibility, use our on-line form: Request to Pre-screen Transfer Credit

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

If you are planning to study abroad, you must also 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. Send this separately to the appropriate Degree Audit and Transfer Credit Specialist below.

Again - please allow at least 2 weeks for your evaluation to be completed.

If you have other questions about transfer credit or how it is applied, you can contact the following Registrar’s Office staff: 

LAST NAME BEGINNING WITH A - K
Chris Ballard, Degree Audit and Transfer Credit Specialist
CONTACT: cballard@lclark.edu

LAST NAME BEGINNING WITH L - Z
Mary Tweddle, Degree Audit and Transfer Credit Specialist
CONTACT: mtweddle@lclark.edu

GENERAL INFORMATION

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, or credit by examination.

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. Only four credits of transfer coursework that is earned after the student reaches senior status (93 credits) may be applied to the degree. Thus, a maximum of 68 semester transfer credits may be applied to the degree, and in the senior year, 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 is equal to 2/3 of a semester credit.

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*.
  • Does not duplicate credit already granted for completed coursework.
  • Does not exceed the residency requirement, which states that only four credits of transfer coursework that is earned after the student reaches senior status (93 credits) may be applied to the degree.

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

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-site 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.

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 (be sure to use the catalog year under which you entered L&C). 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 activity 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 substitute transfer credit within the Major/Minor 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 Overseas and Off-Campus Programs director. The Non-L&C 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.

Credit issued directly by a non-US university or college must be evaluated by an outside agency prior to being considered for transfer by Lewis & Clark College. Students may have their courses pre-screened by the Office of the Registrar, but no official determination will be made regarding transfer eligibility or total credit award until the course has been completed and the evaluation agency has rendered its report.  The agency will evaluate the institution to verify that is equivalent to a regionally accredited US institution, and will evaluate the course(s) to determine the converted US equivalent credit and letter grade. Upon receipt of this evaluation Lewis & Clark College will evaluate the credit for transfer.  The cost for evaluation is borne by the student.

The agency that Lewis & Clark uses for all overseas credit evaluations is Educational Credential Evaluators. Please follow the agency’s directions to submit the required documents for review. The student is responsible for the cost of the evaluation.

Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)
https://www.ece.org/
414-289-3400
Students should choose the course-by-course evaluation.

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. Partial credit for courses will not be transferred.


* 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.