Credits Accepted in Transfer

Ms. Lisa Cox
Director, Articulation & Transfer Systems

Eastern Kentucky University accepts credit in transfer for undergraduate course completed at colleges and universities whose accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and other institutions/organizations with which the University has a recorded Academic Agreement.  Additionally, EKU awards credit earned by examinations that meet EKU standards, credits for certain types of military experiences, and credit based on portfolio review.

International transfer credits from institutions with which Eastern Kentucky University does not have an articulation or exchange agreement are recorded as free elective credits at the lower division level after they have been evaluated by an outside accrediting agency (e.g. World Education Services or Silney and Associates). Students may present supporting documents from transfer courses recorded as free electives to appeal to department chairpersons for departmental credit.

Kentucky General Education Transfer Agreement

In an effort to promote a seamless transfer between Kentucky two-year and four-year public institutions, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) developed a policy to facilitate the transfer of credits from one Kentucky public college or university to another. This policy, implemented in 1996, and revised in 2011, is called the General Education Transfer Agreement and allows for the automatic transfer of a block of courses to satisfy general education degree requirements, in addition to articulating individual courses as meeting statewide general education categories.

General Education Certification for Students Transferring to EKU from a Kentucky Public Institution

Students transferring to EKU from another Kentucky public college or university may be

1. category certified, or
2. core certified, or
3. general education certified in general education by the Registrar of the school where the course work was taken.

EKU will honor any of these designations and is guaranteed to apply the KY public school transferred general education courses into EKU’s General Education curriculum in a manner that best serves the transferring student.

Category Certified. Students who have completed one or more of the five general education categories of the General Education Transfer Agreement will be category certified.

Core Certified. Students who have satisfied all five general education categories of the General Education Transfer Agreement will be general education core certified.

General Education Certified. Students who have completed a general education program of 33 hours (minimum 15 hours completed with KCTCS) will be “fully general education certified” as required by the CPE General Education Transfer Agreement. Students who have earned an Associate of Science or Associate of Arts degree from a Kentucky public institution are also considered to be general education certified. Students, however, are subject to any specified general education courses required by the major and, in all cases, are required to complete the minimum number of credit hours established by the University to earn a degree.

Transfer students from Kentucky four-year institutions who complete the general education at their first institution may request the Registrar of that institution to document them as general education certified in general education, which EKU will accept. Students who transfer to EKU without a certified transfer module will have their course work at their previous institution evaluated by EKU on a course-by-course basis for general education equivalency.

The General Education Transfer Agreement also applies to students transferring from EKU to another Kentucky public university. For additional details regarding this agreement please refer to the .

Note: After initial transfer to EKU students may not transfer in further general education certifications unless they earn a subsequent AA or AS degree at a KCTCS institution. Students may transfer in further general education certifications after their initial enrollment at EKU, only if they return to a KCTCS institution for a period of at least one semester.

Transferring General Education Courses from a Private or Out-of-State School

EKU will honor transfer general education courses from regionally accredited out-of-state or Kentucky private colleges and universities. Students should complete and submit the Transfer General Education form, along with appropriate documentation (school catalog listings of courses with relevant general education designations), to the EKU Registrar’s Office. If approved, the transfer general education courses will be applied toward the student’s EKU general education requirements where needed and as appropriate.

Transfer Credit Evaluation Process

When an acceptable transfer course, which has never been evaluated before, is presented to EKU for consideration, EKU records the course as acceptable for credit but unevaluated. The Transfer Center contacts the student and requests course descriptions and syllabus information for review. The Transfer Center forwards the course description to the appropriate academic department for their review and consideration. The academic department determines whether an exact equivalency, a subject/discipline elective, or a generic free elective is appropriate depending on course content and learning objectives. In some instances the department will request that the student provide a syllabus in order to evaluate the course. The academic department or Transfer Center can recommend that a course be considered for general education applicability even if an exact equivalency is not awarded. Students wishing to appeal the evaluation of transfer credit should consult with the Student Outreach and Transition Office.

Some EKU programs have accreditation restrictions that dictate which transfer courses can be utilized to fulfill program requirements (e.g. School of Business, Paralegal, Social Work). Students considering transferring into an EKU program which has specific professional accreditation standards should refer to the webpage for that program to see details of any transfer course restrictions.

Transfer Credits/Courses

Currently enrolled students who desire to take courses elsewhere and transfer them back to Eastern Kentucky University should consult with the EKU Transfer Center and also obtain the approval of their college dean prior to enrolling. The University will not take responsibility for courses transferred without prior approval. Students should be aware that there are limits to the number of credit hours a student may earn in any one term (see Academic Load).

Eastern Kentucky University accepts credit in transfer from other institutions with regional accreditation status. EKU also participates in and subscribes to the principles of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education statewide transfer agreements. EKU accepts credits transferred from all public institutions in Kentucky accredited by SACS, or similar regional accreditation bodies, and will apply them to the general education and program requirements to the maximum extent specified in these agreements. Credits not identified in these agreements will be applied to degree requirements as deemed appropriate. Lower division courses taken at a community or junior college are accepted in transfer as the coursework is evaluated by the EKU content expert.

Eastern Kentucky University will also award credit to students for non-collegiate sponsored instruction and training programs provided an articulation agreement exists between the University and the institutions or organizations providing the instruction. Articulation agreements must be officially approved according to the University policy for such agreements and must be signed by both EKU and the collaborating institutions/organizations. A copy of the signed agreements must be on file in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academics and Provost (original), the Office of the Registrar, and the Dean’s office of the College which initiated the agreement. Articulation agreements must be in place prior to the non-collegiate instruction or training in order for credit to be considered. In all instances, consideration will only be given to those courses/training programs whose content provides competencies equivalent or comparable to courses and educational experiences offered by EKU.

Credit and grades earned in transfer are posted to the student’s EKU transcript. Students with transfer credit should note that they must successfully complete all their curriculum requirements as well as earn an institutional (EKU) GPA of 2.0 in order to graduate with a degree or University certificate from EKU.

Post-Baccalaureate Transfer Students

Degree-seeking transfer students who have already attained a post-secondary or graduate-level degree will have that earned degree noted in their EKU academic record.

Details of the academic work counting toward a baccalaureate or graduate degree earned at another institution will not be posted, course by course, onto the EKU transcript; only the earned degree is recorded from the official transfer school transcript. All General Education requirements are waived for post-baccalaureate students.

International Student Transfer Credit Pre-Approval

It is an institutional expectation that once international students are admitted into EKU they are expected to complete their program of study using credit earned only at EKU.

Each EKU international student may submit official transcripts and have recorded in transfer all previously earned appropriate credit from other institutions of higher education, at the time the student is admitted into EKU. After initial admission into EKU an international student, who subsequently wishes to enroll at another institution, for the purpose of earning additional transfer credit, must have prior approval from EKU before accumulating additional transfer coursework.

The Registrar will not record onto an existing international student’s EKU academic record any transfer credit for which the student has not secured prior approval. This prior-approval form serves to notify the College of the student’s major and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services of the international student’s intention to enroll at another institution, and to establish the applicability of the anticipated transfer credit toward the student’s major – before the student enrolls at the non-EKU institution.

A maximum of 21 credit hours may be earned by any EKU student, (through any means), in any fall or spring term; dean’s approval (secured on a different form) is required for a student to enroll in 19 through 21 credit hours. During the summer, 15 credit hours is the absolute maximum an EKU student may earn; dean’s approval (secured on a different form) is required to enroll in 13 through 15 credit hours. In winter term, no student may have more than 4 credit hours recorded onto EKU academic history.