One of the most difficult aspects of enrolling in any university is transferring credits from advanced placement, dual enrollment classes or a previous institution. To help ease this transition, NSU’s Transfer Evaluation Services (TES) worked with education technology company CollegeSource, Inc. to create the Transfer Credit System, which shows students course equivalencies for credits they have earned.
The online tool has more than 1000,000 equivalencies from regionally-accredited institutions in the U.S. Using the tool, prospective students select their prior institution and see a list of courses that will transfer to NSU and their equivalent courses. Once students find an equivalency, they can also see the credits, departments and prerequisites associated with the course at NSU.
Randi Miletsky, associate director of TES, said the new system will make the transfer process faster and more efficient for prospective students.
“Because it’s web-based, and we have over 100,000 courses in the database already, if we have to add courses to it, it’ll enhance how we get the equivalencies done,” she said. “Anybody within the university can get into the website, and it’s much easier and convenient to use to find out course equivalency.”
Students can apply up to 90 degree-applicable transfer credits toward their degrees, including credits for College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), proficiency exams and experiential learning experiences. Only courses in which students earned a grade of “C” or higher will be transferred.
Although courses may be transferrable, the website states it is not guaranteed that credits for those courses will satisfy degree requirements. There also may be some courses and/or institutions that are not currently in the system but are transferrable.
TES formed in 2008, and, until now, only specific people within the department could access its internal database. After conducting research on other programs, they implemented the online tool, which is in place at other universities.
Miletsky said that the new system is expected to enhance undergraduate recruitment.
“You can have a person out in the Midwest who says, ‘Hey I want to go to NSU,’ and they’ll be able to [figure out course equivalencies] themselves, and then just contact the admissions office directly,” Miletsky said. “It’ll make students want to come to NSU.”
If students’ courses don’t transfer, they can contact TES at esstes@nova.edu. To see NSU’s transfer policy, visit nova.edu/tes.
For more information, visit the Transfer Evaluation Services website at nova.edu/tes. To access the tool, visit TES’s website and click on the link for Transfer Credit System.
