Academic Policies and Procedures

Policy 02:14:00

Transfer Credit

Purpose: To explain Platt College’s acceptance and review of transfer credits.

Revision Responsibility: Registrar

Responsible Executive Office: Dean of Nursing/Faculty Chair

Revised: March 9, 2010; November 29, 2010 to state transfer credits will not affect the academic grade point average; January 17, 2011 to reflect revised organizational chart, June 30,2011 to reflect policy change in transfer credit acceptance time and GPA, June 29, 2018 to reflect timeline for Nutrition ATI assessment, Updated to reflect acceptance of pass/fail grading for general education July 20, 2020, July 8, 2021 to add the following statement: The institutions that transfer credit is accepted from must hold accreditation from an accrediting body that is recognized by the US Department of Education. The college does not accept credit from other agencies in which we are not an official partner college. Update May 3, 2023 to revise ATI nutrition policy.

Policy:

I. General Statement

Transfer credit may be granted for courses completed at accredited institutions of higher education approved by the US Department of Education* and using the Military Transcript Transfer Guide.

*(The institutions that transfer credit is accepted from must hold accreditation from an accrediting body that is recognized by the US Department of Education). The college does not accept credit from other agencies in which we are not an official partner college.

Decisions concerning transfer credit are based on (1) equivalence of course content and credit hours and level of instruction to that provided by Platt College and (2) appropriateness and applicability of credit to the student’s program at Platt College.  

A. Transfer Credit

Students must be accepted into the BSN program at Platt College before transfer credit is evaluated.  Official transcripts are evaluated and transfer credit is reviewed by the Registrar.  Unofficial transcripts may be used for advising and course selection but are not acceptable for transfer of credit. As the Registrar reviews the official transcript, the student may be asked to provide the course description(s) and/or class syllabus from the catalog under which he/she was enrolled. 

All transfer credit must be submitted for review during the first two quarters of the program.  Courses that are not offered as part of the program requirement will not be accepted as transfer credit.  Transfer credit submitted after a student’s completion of the first two quarters will not be reviewed nor will transfer credit be awarded.  The student will be contacted in regards to the outcome of the transcript evaluation.  There is an one-time $50.00 transfer credit review submission fee and a $75.00 transcription fee per credit hour awarded.

The maximum transfer credit awarded cannot exceed 50% of the quarter credit hours of the total program requirement.  The Dean of Nursing and Faculty Chair over General Education have the final decision on issuance of all transfer credit.

Quarter hours of credit toward graduation are awarded on the basis of these conditions, but grades or quality points are not awarded.  The College policy for the granting of credit for previous training shall not impact the refund policy.     

Foundational Liberal Arts Courses (General Education)

Only general education course grades of “C” or higher that are ten (10) years or less from the date of completion will be accepted for transfer credit from an accredited institution approved by the US Department of Education.

Foundational Science Courses (Cognates)

Cognate courses at Platt College are defined as courses offered in the science discipline. The purpose of cognate courses is to provide a student with more diverse perspectives in interdisciplinary fields.  Cognate classes at Platt College include:

BIOL 112, BIOL 206, BIOL 223, BIOL 224, BIOL 300
CHEM 121

Only cognate course grades of “C” or higher that are ten (10) years or less from the date of completion will be accepted for transfer credit from an accredited institution approved by the US Department of Education.

Nursing Courses

Only nursing course grades of “C” or higher that are five (5) years or less from the date of completion will be accepted for transfer credit from an accredited institution approved by the US Department of Education.

Individuals receiving transfer credit for nursing (NSG) courses must successfully pass the corresponding ATI assessment(s) if applicable (see Policy 02:15:00 Pass to Progress). When applicable, the corresponding ATI must be taken prior to the quarter that course is offered in the standard course sequencing guide. ATI assessments are only available to enrolled students and will not be given during the nursing application process. The Registrar will notify the student regarding the ATI assessments that the student will be required to take based on his/her transfer credit evaluation.  The Administrative Assistant for the School of Nursing  will work with individuals to secure ATI IDs and passwords and determine the dates and times for the proctored assessments. As with Policy 02:15:00 Pass to Progress, individuals taking ATI assessments to secure transfer credit for nursing (NSG) courses will have two attempts to meet program benchmarks.  If the student fails to meet the program benchmark on the second attempt, the student will be required to enroll in the respective nursing course(s) at Platt College. Students who successfully pass the ATI assessment will have credit for the corresponding course(s) held in their academic file and applied to their transcripts when the course is offered.

Platt College uses quarter hours; however it is possible to convert quarter hours into semester hours.  Multiply the quarter hour by .66 to equal the semester credit hour (ex: 4.5 quarter hours x .66 = 3 semester credit hours).

Pass/Fail Grades vs. Binary Grades During COVID-19

Pass/Fail grades are not accepted for nursing course(s) transfer credits.  Binary grades must meet the nursing courses transfer credit policy.  Platt College will award transfer credit for a "pass" grade only for general education courses that meet policy guidelines (regarding time matriculation that grades may be accepted) as a result of COVID-19 grading changes at colleges and universities.  Due to requirements for students who may seek a graduate degree after earning their BSN at Platt College, students are encouraged to make sure that their graduate school choice accepts pass/fail for general education courses instead of binary grades. 

B. General Transfer Pathways from Colorado Colleges and Universities

To help eliminate the guesswork of transferring general education course credits, Colorado has developed the statewide guaranteed transfer (gt) program (gtPATHWAYS Planning Guide) and the statewide transfer policy. 

Further information may be found at: http://highered.colorado.gov/academics/transfers/gtpathways/curriculum.html

gtPATHWAYS applies to accredited Colorado public institutions of higher education, and there are more than 500 lower-division general education courses in 20 subject areas approved for guaranteed transfer. These courses will automatically transfer and continue to count toward meeting general education core or graduation requirements for any liberal arts or science associate or bachelor’s degree program provided a student does not exceed the 50% maximum and receives a course grade of "C" or higher within the past ten years, that the course is equivalent to the curriculum at Platt, and the course has the equivalent number of credit hours.

C. Transferability of Credit to Other Institutions

Because each degree program of study at a particular college or university has specific course requirements, transferring from one institution to another is difficult.  

Each and every individual college or university has its own transfer credit policy. Ultimately, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure he or she is taking courses that will transfer. Platt College encourages students to become well informed about transferability of credit.  Platt College cannot guarantee transferability of credits to other institutions. 

For Veteran Students and/or VA beneficiaries

Platt College maintains a written record of the previous education and training of the veteran or eligible person and clearly indicates that appropriate credit has been given for previous education and training, with the training period shortened proportionately, and the veteran or eligible person and the Department of Veterans Affairs so notified.

The evaluation of previous postsecondary education and training is mandatory and required for VA beneficiaries. For students utilizing Veterans benefits who are approved for transfer credit as a result of this evaluation, the institution will grant appropriate credit, reduce the program length proportionately, notify the student and Veterans Affairs in writing of this decision, and adjust invoicing of the VA accordingly.