Undergraduate Admission: ADMISSION OF TRANSFER APPLICANTS


NOTE: This document was generated from the 1995-1997 UIUC Programs of Study. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but be advised that requirements may have changed since this book was published. Errors may have also been introduced in the conversion to a WWW document. Thus for items of importance, it might be wise to seek confirmation from either the paper version or a live human being.


Transfer Students from the University of Illinois at Chicago

Undergraduate transfer students between the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Urbana-Champaign campus may be admitted to undergraduate programs on the other campus for which spaces are available for transfers from other colleges and universities, provided that they meet the requirements of the desired programs at the other campus for admission of on-campus transfers. Generally, admission opportunities are better in all curricula if applicants have junior standing (60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours). To be ensured consideration as intercampus transfers by the Urbana-Champaign campus, students currently enrolled at the Chicago campus should apply for transfer consideration for the spring term between September 25 and November 1, and for the summer or fall term between February 1 and March 15.

Applicants to the Urbana-Champaign campus are encouraged to go to the Chicago Office of Admissions and Records, where copies of official credentials will be enclosed with their application and where current enrollment can be verified to permit waiving of the application fee.

Transfer Applicants Previously Dropped or Placed on Probation for Disciplinary Reasons

A petition for admission of a transfer student who either is on disciplinary probation or has been dropped from another collegiate institution for disciplinary reasons must be approved by the appropriate subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Student Discipline.

Requirements for Admission

To assist prospective applicants in assessing their opportunities for admission, transfer grade-point average guidelines are published in the Undergraduate Admissions Information booklet available with application materials each September from the Office of Admissions and Records. These are guidelines only, and the final standards will depend on the number and qualifications of the applicants to each program.

Admission of a transfer applicant is based on a combination of the hours and content of transferable credit and the transfer grade-point average. The minimum transfer grade-point average is 3.25 (C = 3.0); most curricula require a higher grade-point average.

If the number of qualified applicants to a college or curriculum exceeds the admission quota, those best qualified will be admitted, and preference may be given to residents of Illinois. Lower-division transfer applicants may be restricted when campus space is limited.

Additional criteria may be considered in determining the admission of those applicants near the borderline of the competitive applicant pool; these additional factors are described in the Background Statement section. An applicant who has had a significant break in the pursuit of an education and can demonstrate an improved academic performance, or an applicant for whom relocation from the Urbana-Champaign community would present a major hardship, may wish to address such a factor in the Background Statement section of the application for admission.

Eligibility of a transfer applicant with fewer than 30 semester hours of graded transferable classroom credit is based on (1) high school percentile rank and ACT or SAT test score, and (2) grade-point average and content of transferable courses attempted.

Grade-Point Averages

Grade-point averages are calculated on the basis of all transferable courses attempted for which grades are assigned and for which grade-point values can be determined. When a course is repeated, the grade-point average is computed using both grades and all hours for the course. Incomplete grades are accepted as defined by the initiating institution. Grades in other course work completed, such as technical courses similar in content and level to courses taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, may be used in the evaluation for admission upon request of the college to which a student seeks admission.

Since the grade-point average used to establish admission qualifications is based on all transferable course work attempted, applicants from institutions with "forgiveness" grading policies (those that may delete grades for course work failed and/or repeated) may find their opportunities limited to special admission. If the applicants are admitted and subsequently register, transfer grade-point averages may not be recorded on their University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign records since the grading policies of the transfer institutions and this campus are not comparable.

Acceptance of Credit from Other Collegiate Institutions

Credit may be accepted for advanced standing from another accredited university or college. Accepted credit will be based on evaluation of the primary transcript of record of each institution attended. Duplicate credit will be counted in the grade-point average but excluded from hours earned. A student who has passed a course at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign may not be given credit for the same course taken elsewhere.

Acceptance of Traditional Transfer Credit

Admission of transfer students to the University of Illinois is based only on the transfer course work that is similar in nature, content, and level to that offered by the University of Illinois. Such courses are normally referred to as transfer or college-parallel work. Other course work completed, such as technical courses similar in content and level to courses taught at the University, will be used in evaluation for admission only upon the request of the dean of the college to which the student seeks admission.

Transfer credit, as defined, will be accepted at full value for admission purposes on transfer to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if earned at:

-- Colleges and universities that offer degree programs comparable to programs offered by the University of Illinois and (1) are members of or hold Candidate for Accreditation status from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools or another regional accrediting association, or (2) are accredited by another accrediting agency that is a member of the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation; or

-- Illinois public community colleges that are neither members of nor holders of Candidate for Accreditation status from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, but that are approved and recognized by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) for a period of time not to exceed five years from the date on which the college registers its first class after achieving ICCB recognition.

Certain colleges and universities do not meet the above specifications but have been assigned a status by the University Committee on Admissions that permits credit to be accepted on a provisional basis for admission purposes on transfer to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Transfer credit, as defined, from such colleges and universities is accepted only on a deferred basis, to be validated by satisfactory completion of additional work in residence. Validation through satisfactory work in residence may be accomplished by earning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, or another fully accredited\up5 1 college or university, at least a 3.0 (A = 5.0) grade-point average (higher if prescribed by the curriculum the student wishes to enter) in the first 12 to 30 semester (18 to 45 quarter) hours completed after transfer.

Credit transferred from an approved\up5 1 community or junior college is limited only by the provision that the student must earn at least 60 semester or 90 quarter hours required for the degree at the University or at any other approved\up5 1 four-year college or university after attaining junior standing, except that the student must meet the residence requirements that apply to all students for a degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When a school or college within the University requires three years of preprofessional college credit for admission, at least the last 30 semester or 45 quarter hours must be taken in an approved\up5 1 four-year collegiate institution.

1. Colleges and universities meeting one or more of the specifications as defined.

In all cases, the precise amount of transfer credit that is applicable toward a particular degree will be determined by the University college and department concerned.

Acceptance of Nontraditional Transfer Credit

Acceptance of credit awarded on bases other than collegiate classroom experiences will be considered for transfer admission purposes as follows:

Test credit for admission as transfer credit. Students presenting test credit awarded elsewhere, or test scores for admission or transfer credit purposes, will have that credit evaluated against cutoff scores established for those examinations on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Official score reports should be submitted to the Office of Admissions and Records along with the application for admission to the University. A student presenting test credit for which (1) no Urbana-Champaign campus policy exists, or (2) campus cutoff scores indicate no credit will be awarded, may still be granted transfer credit if the student (1) is transferring at least 12 graded classroom semester hours of acceptable college-level graded classroom course work from the institution or single campus in a multicampus institution that awarded the credit by examination; and (2) has successfully completed advanced classroom course work at the institution awarding the test credit in a course that is acceptable under University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign transfer credit policies and that can be considered as a sequential continuation of the material covered in the test.

After admission, students not awarded credit under this policy may attempt departmental proficiency examinations to receive credit in those areas in which they claim competence.

Credit for military training. The completion of six months or more of continuous active duty in the U.S. armed forces, including basic or recruit training, is accepted for advanced standing credit of 4 semester hours of basic military science on presentation of evidence along with an honorable discharge or transfer to the reserve component. Candidates for graduation who are still in military service are entitled to the same credit. Credit in military science may also be granted for other training completed in the service that is acceptable as the equivalent of Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) courses at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Such credit may be used for admission purposes. Credit duplicating ROTC credit will not be awarded.

Credit for education in the armed forces. The U.S. Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) was an educational program that existed prior to May 1974. The University considers for advanced standing credit those USAFI courses of college level for which the student has passed the appropriate USAFI end-of-course examination. Marine Corps Institute courses also will be considered on the same basis. The University may consider for advance standing credit work completed in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy specialized and technical schools. Criteria to determine acceptability include the specific degree requirements of the program of application, similarity to courses on this campus, and recommendation of the American Council on Education in the Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experience in the Armed Services.

All criteria are subject to the recommendations of the college to which the student seeks admission and the department that teaches similar course work.

Credit earned in the College Training Programs of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy, which functioned during World War II, is accepted on the same basis as other credit from the colleges and universities where such credit was completed.

Credit earned in academic courses sponsored by noncollegiate organizations, such as business, industry, and labor, not recognized by the April 1977 Board of Trustees policy statement. Credit earned in such courses is not normally accepted. Such credit may be evaluated for potential advanced standing in a specific degree program after admission and registration; this credit shall be subject to validation by proficiency examination or successful completion of advanced course work. Hours of this type of credit may be reduced from that shown by the originating agency. Criteria to determine acceptability for advanced standing include the specific degree requirements of the program of enrollment, similarity to courses on this campus, and recommendations of the American Council on Education in The National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs.

All criteria are subject to the recommendations of the college of enrollment and the department that offers similar courses.

Credit for experiential learning. Experiential learning credit is not accepted for transfer admission purposes. A student who believes himself or herself to be knowledgeable in a specific course may be granted credit through established proficiency procedures by the college of enrollment and the department offering a similar course after admission and registration.

Application Documents

An applicant for admission as a transfer student must submit the following (all credentials presented for admission or readmission become the permanent property of the University, are not subsequently released to the student or to another individual or institution, and are not held for reconsideration of admission to subsequent terms):

-- A completed admission application form. Admission application forms are available from the Office of Admissions and Records at the address on the inside back cover.

-- A $30 ($40 for international students) check or money order (amount subject to change), payable to the University of Illinois, in payment of the nonrefundable application processing fee. The University is not responsible for cash sent through the mail. Direct transfer applicants from the University of Illinois at Chicago are exempt from payment of this fee.

-- An official high school transcript received directly from the high school of graduation.

-- Official transcripts of all college work attempted received directly from the institution(s) attended.

-- ACT or SAT test score received directly from the testing company, and high school class rank received directly from the high school attended. These are required only if the transfer student has less than 30 semester hours of graded transferable classroom credit at the time of submission of the application.


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