ACETS - Transfer Course Evaluation from CEG Schools
Guidelines for the Evaluation of Courses
Academic Transfer Articulation Office (ATAO)
(Revised February 2007)
The Academic Transfer Articulation Office (ATAO) will route for evaluation through ACETS, those courses that fall within a department's prefix areas and are not clearly remedial or solely vocational in nature. The evaluating department has the responsibility of recommending whether the course holds a direct equivalency, or is transferable for DEC or E credit. If the evaluating department believes the course is vocational/occupational or remedial in nature it should recommend an evaluation of NT.
Does the course have an ASU direct equivalent?
When processing courses for evaluation purposes, the main question should be:
Is the incoming course substantially equivalent to any course offered by my department?
If yes, indicate a one-to-one (direct) equivalency on the ACETS Form.
General Studies Values: Courses that have direct equivalencies to ASU courses will automatically inherit the General Studies designation of the ASU course. Courses that are not direct equivalencies can request General Studies designations by petitioning the General Studies Council (GSC). No action is required of the ACETS evaluator.
Course level: One-to-one equivalencies between lower division (100 and 200 level) courses and upper division (300- and 400-level) courses should be recommended only under special circumstances. Please consult with ATAO Director before doing so.
Credit Hours: When recommending one-to-one (direct) equivalencies, please make sure the incoming credits are equal to or higher than the ASU equivalent course.
If you wish to recommend one-to-one equivalency to an incoming course that is offered for fewer credits than the ASU equivalent course (A < B), the following considerations should be kept in mind:
ATAO strongly discourages this type of “less to more” transactions.
However, if you see the need for a direct equivalency to an "A<B" type of course evaluation, DARS will encode the direct equivalency while making sure the credits granted to the transfer student would be equal to the number of credits for which the community college course was offered. For example: A(2) = B(3), DARS will encode course A as being equivalent to ASU’s course B for “two” credits only.
If the ASU equivalent course carries a General Studies designation, you should not recommend a direct equivalency if the incoming course is offered for less than three credits or for less than four credits in the case of [SG] or [SQ] designations.
Excess Credits: If an equivalent course or course combination exists at ASU, any excess credits should be assigned a minimum value of E enabling other departments/programs the option of applying those credits to their programs even if they are not usable in the evaluating departments' programs.
DEC, E or NT?
A course that does not have a direct equivalency should receive an evaluation of DEC, E or NT. The credits should not be split among these three designations. In the event a student wishes to petition to apply credits designated as NT to their major , a rationale must be provided outlining the academic components of the courses which will be applied.
Departmental Elective Credit (DEC): If the course you are evaluating does not fall under the category of direct “one-to-one” equivalency, you may want to ask the following question:
Would my department accept this course as satisfying “major related” or “related field” electives?
If yes, indicate DEC(departmental prefix) on the ACETS Form. For example: DEC(POS).
Non Transferable (NT): If the incoming course falls under any of the following categories, indicate NT on the ACETS form.
Remedial credit is not transferable.
Courses that are vocational in nature are considered not transferable.
Credits awarded for life experience are not transferable.
Credits for active military service or courses that were taken through the military will be reviewed but are usually not transferable.
Elective (E): If the course is transferable but cannot be granted either direct equivalency or DEC status, then indicate Elective (E) credit on the ACETS Form.
More Information: If during the evaluation of a course there are any questions regarding the information provided on the ACETS form, please feel free to contact the person identified on the form as the submitter. Please note that ASU evaluators are discouraged from asking the community college for a course syllabus, since the CC is required to submit a course outline/description with their ACETS submission. If the outline/description is not thorough enough for a successful evaluation, it is okay to note that in your evaluation with your decision (elective, DEC, or NT).
Multiple Units: In some cases multiple units may evaluate a potential transfer course. If the recommended evaluations conflict, the ATAO office will be responsible for working with the units and considering both ASU and statewide transfer policies in order to determine the final evaluation. This is consistent with current practice.
For any questions, concerns, and/or suggestions regarding the evaluation of courses, please contact Dr. Kathy Wigal, Director, ASU, Academic Transfer Articulation Office, at kathy.wigal@asu.edu or call 965-8332.
Guidelines prepared by the Academic Transfer Articulation Office