Transfer Credit

Transfer students are welcome at Cottey College, and the College will make every effort to see that all transferable credit is accepted. Final determination of transfer credits to be accepted is made by the registrar, subject to approval by the vice president for academic affairs in consultation with the appropriate faculty. Transfer work from other institutions will not be officially credited to the Cottey College record until the student has enrolled at Cottey College. Official transcripts must be received directly from all colleges and universities attended. Credits may be accepted for transfer if these criteria are met:

  1. The institution at which the credits were earned is accredited by one of the following accrediting associations.
    • Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
    • Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
    • New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
    • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
    • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
    • WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
    • Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  2. Credit hours taken at another institution may be transferred to Cottey only if the grade earned is a C or above. Courses from another institution in which a grade of C- or lower was earned are not acceptable for transfer credit.
  3. Credits earned while enrolled in high school (dual enrollment) may be accepted in transfer and may be used for fulfilling degree requirements.
  4. There are additional circumstances surrounding transferring writing courses at Cottey:
    1. All incoming Cottey students are required to take FWS 101 First-Year Writing Seminar their first fall semester at Cottey (this class is offered only in the fall semester). This Cottey-specific first-year writing course focuses on more than writing skills; it also introduces students to the guiding themes of the College as well as the importance of a liberal arts and women’s-only education. This requirement cannot be fulfilled with transfer credit. Students who do not receive a passing grade in FWS 101 may take the course in the subsequent fall semester.
    2. Students may transfer an entry-level writing course (i.e., Freshman Composition, First-Year Writing, English Composition I, English 101, etc.) as elective credit.

Credit is transferred on a course-by-course basis, when the subject matter applies to Cottey’s degree programs. In some cases courses with subjects that do not match the curriculum for the degree may be transferred as elective credit.

Transfer students who have earned an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree from an accredited institution (listed above) prior to matriculation at Cottey will be exempt from the General Education Core Requirements, but must take one WGS course. 

Transfer students with other associate level degrees or college-level work from other accredited institutions will be considered on an individual basis. This policy does not replace individual program requirements or course prerequisites. Therefore, transfer students may still need to complete lower level coursework to meet program requirements for graduation.

Any student transferring in 30 or more credit hours from an accredited postsecondary institution will be exempt from Step Into Cottey, a General Education Core Foundations requirement. Students with transfer credit for a similar first-year seminar class will be exempt from this General Education Core Foundations requirement.

Transfer credits accepted by Cottey College are not calculated in the student’s Cottey College grade point average (GPA). Cottey College awards credits in semester credit hours. Quarter hours will be converted into semester credit hours at the rate of two-thirds of a semester credit hour per quarter hour.