Transfer Credits

Where possible, transfer credit is equated with UAA courses by matching the content, level of instruction, course activities and student outcomes. Only coursework that clearly and demonstrably satisfies the intent of a UAA General Education Requirement (GER) or college or major requirement can be accepted as a substitute. When this is not possible, evaluators may grant discipline-specific elective credit at the appropriate level. UAA reserves the right to reject transfer credit or to require an examination before credit is allowed. An evaluation of transfer credit occurs after an applicant has submitted a certificate, associate or bachelor’s degree Application for Admission.

Transfer credit equivalents vary among semester, unit and quarter universities. Courses that differ from equivalent UAA courses by 1 credit or less are equated to UAA courses and meet UAA course requirements without requiring a petition. To complete credit requirements where transfer course credits differ from UAA credits by more than 1 credit, students can either take another UAA class or consult an academic advisor about the academic petition process.

Criteria for Acceptance of Transfer Credit

1. Transfer credits from United States institutions are accepted if those institutions are accredited by the higher education commission of one of the following institutional accrediting associations:
   • Higher Learning Commission
   • Middle States Commission on Higher Education
   • New England Commission of Higher Education
   • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
   • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
   • Western Association of Schools and Colleges
     • WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCC)
     • Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)
2. Only undergraduate college-level courses completed with grades equal to C or higher are considered for transfer.
3. Credits transferred for application to graduate certificates or degrees are subject to additional requirements noted in Graduate Degrees.
4. Students who plan to transfer credits from outside the U.S. must provide an official statement of educational equivalence from World Education Services (WES). See the Transfer Credit Evaluation page on the Office of the Registrar's website for additional information.
5. Transfer credits are not included in the student’s UAA grade point average (GPA) computation, except to determine eligibility for financial aid.
6. Challenge examinations, credit by examinations, credit awarded for massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other forms of nontraditional credit will not transfer from another university's transcript. Students wishing to receive credit at UAA for these must follow Nontraditional Credit Policies.
7. Courses from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) or the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) are transferred to UAA based on applicability toward degree requirements. They are considered nonresident credits.
8. Credits from institutions that are not accredited by one of the institutional associations listed above are only accepted under special arrangements that may be initiated upon student request. UAA academic departments determine unaccredited course equivalency (such as the Math Department for math courses). Students wishing to pursue such transfers must clearly establish equivalency to UAA courses using evidence obtained from course descriptions, syllabi, texts, assignments, examinations and direct communication between the departmental faculty at UAA and the originating institution.

Transfer of General Education Requirement Credits Within the University of Alaska System

The GERs for baccalaureate degrees from the University of Alaska system are required by university regulation to have a common core of coursework totaling a minimum of 34 credits. These include:

Credit for coursework successfully completed at one University of Alaska institution toward fulfillment of the GERs at that institution shall transfer toward fulfillment of the same categories at all other University of Alaska institutions. This applies even if there is no directly matching coursework at the institution to which the student transfers. It should be noted that the 34-credit common core is a minimum requirement for general education. An institution may require more than 34 general education credits for its baccalaureate degrees, and transfer students must meet the total requirement at the receiving institution. Transfer of GERs beyond the 34 credits described above will be determined on the basis of individual requirements specified by university catalogs.

In its catalog, each University of Alaska institution specifies the courses that meet the GER categories at that institution and can thus be guaranteed to transfer as described above. See General Education Requirements (GERs) for Baccalaureate Degrees for the table of GER substitutions.

Students who have received a baccalaureate degree from UAS or UAF will be considered as having met UAA’s GERs.