Transfer Credit

How to Transfer Credit

Students must provide official transcripts and/or certificates for evaluation before transfer credit can be awarded. Official transcripts must either come directly from the school via postal mail or electronically through an official transcript company like Parchment or the Clearinghouse, or physically from the student in a sealed, unopened envelope from the school. Electronic transcripts forwarded from student emails or physical transcripts in opened envelopes are considered unofficial and cannot be used to grant transfer credit. Transcripts in any language other than English must be accompanied by supporting official translation into English. Additional information may be required of the student.

Currently enrolled students should contact the Registrar’s Office at 508-588-9100 x1949
or registrar@massasoit.mass.edu.

Newly admitted students should contact the Admissions Office at 508-588-9100 x1411
or admoffice@massasoit.mass.edu.

The community colleges of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have created this common transfer policy to ease and clarify the process of transferring earned credit from one college to another, whether among themselves or from other public or private institutions.

For credits to transfer, the courses must have been taken at an institution accredited by one of the six regional accreditation agencies in the United States. Credit earned at international institutions not accredited by one of the six regional United States accreditation agencies may transfer after review and recommendation by the appropriate department chair. Massasoit requires official transcripts from the institutions where credit was earned for credit to transfer, and only college-level coursework will transfer.

Pre-college-level or developmental coursework credits, audited coursework, and grades do not transfer, although Massasoit may use developmental coursework for student placement purposes. Transfer credit grades are not used in calculating grade point averages.

Students must be admitted into a Massasoit degree or certificate program for credit to be transferred. At a minimum, credit will be granted for courses that apply to students’ current programs of study. Once credit is transferred, it becomes part of the student’s permanent record and may not be removed.

Credit will transfer to Massasoit as the course equivalent, if it exists; as an elective equivalent within a comparable department, if it exists; or as a general elective. Credits earned in a quarter-hour system will be converted to semester-hour equivalents. Credit will not be granted for duplicate coursework or for two courses that cover the same or similar content.

Minimum Grades

Massasoit will accept grades of C- (1.7 on a 4.0 scale) or higher for transfer credit.

Grades of D and D+ (1.0 and 1.3 on a 4.0 scale) may transfer if they are for courses that are part of the 34-credit MassTransfer block and students have completed the block with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher

Grades higher than C- (1.7) may be required for admission to certain programs, for use as pre-requisite courses, and for application of credit to certain program requirements. See admissions and/or program departments for requirements.

Grades of Pass (P), Satisfactory (S), or similar will transfer only when official transcripts indicate that such grades are equivalent to a C- or higher.

Residency Requirement/Maximum Transfer Credit Allowed

Massasoit requires students to complete at least one quarter (25%) of the credits of the first associate degree at Massasoit in order to graduate. The 25% minimum residency requirement can be superseded by individual program requirements (see the program’s academic map and www.massasoit.edu for more details). Requirements for a second and/or subsequent degree require at least 25% of the second degree be unique to the program. For certificate programs, at least 50% of the courses must be completed at Massasoit.

Alternative Sources of Credit

Credit by Examination will be granted for satisfactory scores on approved standardized college level examinations such as:

Advanced Placement (AP)
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
International Baccalaureate (IB) Standard level (SL) and
Higher-Level (HL) examinations.

Official score reports and/or an official transcript from the testing agency (such as the College Board or International Baccalaureate) are required in order to receive credit by examination; or

Satisfactory scores on Massasoit challenge examinations will be used for placement purposes; or
Students may additionally receive credit through Credit for Prior Learning; or
Credit may be granted for formal courses or examinations offered by various organizations, including businesses, unions, government, and military based on the recommendations of the American Council on Education (ACE) as found in its National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training, a resource of its College Credit Recommendation Service (CREDIT); or
Credit may also be granted for learning from experience at work, volunteering in the community, military service, job training, independent reading, open source courseware study, and hobbies based on the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) standards of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).

In accordance with the VALOR Act, Massasoit uses the American Council on Education (ACE) Guide to Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services as the primary method for evaluating credit earned for military education, training, experience, or coursework. Academic credits earned through the evaluation of military occupation, training, experience, and coursework are transferable within the Massachusetts public higher education system in accordance with the MassTransfer agreement.

Time Limits

Massasoit does not have a time limit for courses to transfer for credit. Selective-admissions programs may require courses to be taken within a specified time-period based on program policies.

Student Appeals

For course descriptions that do not match Massasoit’s offerings, course information will be sent to the appropriate department chair for evaluation and recommendation. For appeals regarding transfer policies, students can submit an appeal to the Academic Appeals Committee through the Registrar’s Office.

For clarifications regarding any transfer policies, procedures, or compliance, please contact the Registrar’s Office at x1949. For questions about the VALOR Act, contact a Veterans Service Representative at x1063 or x1477.