Module 3: Transfer Advising
Understanding Transfer Credit

Discuss the transfer work and how the courses transferred will meet degree requirements.
If the student is fully admitted and all the transcripts posted, a Degree Audit is available on RaiderNet. The Degree Audit-Full Report will show how the transfer work fits with the general education and degree requirements.

After a student has been admitted, the student will be issued a “Transfer Credit Evaluation”.
This report illustrates how the transfer credits are being applied as indicated on RaiderNet. For more information on the report, download Reading Your MTSU Applicant Transfer Credit Evaluation (pdf).

If the student's transfer credits have not been posted on RaiderNet, you can go through the unofficial transcript(s) and give the student an “unofficial evaluation” using an Upper Division form, explaining that it won't be official until the transcripts are posted.

The TEAM (Transfer Equivalencies at Middle) web link is a helpful tool for transfer advisors.
This web site shows equivalent courses from hundreds of colleges and universities across the country. The link is www.mtsu.edu/admissn/team_admissn.shtml. Should faculty advisors have questions or comments regarding an existing equivalency they can contact either Lisa Johnson, lmjohnson@mtsu.edu or Sharon Thomas Kintzler, skintzler@mtsu.edu.

Assess transfer credits for possible course substitutions. Occasionally, the student will have transfer credits that will not be applied to requirements or given a MTSU equivalent course. If the student’s transfer credit evaluation has a MTSU EQUIVALENT COURSE that reads “LOWER DIV ELECTIVE’ or “UP DIV ELECTIVE”, this means that the initial step of evaluating the transcript did not find a direct equivalent at MTSU. This does not mean that the student will not receive credit, it usually means that the department chair or academic advisor must interpret the content of your past college credits. See MTSU Course Substitution Form (pdf).

Transfer credit hours need to be converted to semester hours for evaluation.
Below is a chart which indicates the conversion hours from quarter to semester.

Determining If A Transfer Course is Equivalent.
If a course from another institution appears to equivalent to a course in your academic department, see your department chair.

Transfer credit should be reconciled in the student’s first semester of enrollment.
Failure to get this done within this time frame can have negative consequences on the student’s progress to graduation.

Discuss any extra paperwork that may need to be completed.
If the transfer credit is from an institution that has no history with MTSU (i.e. no courses listed on TEAM), the student may obtain an Application for Acceptance of Credit Earned at Other Institutions (pdf) and present it to the appropriate department for acceptance or denial.

Transfer Advising	page 6 of 12