Revise Presidential Policy Memorandum No. 72
Credit Granted Other Than That Obtained in Traditional Enrollment at Virginia Tech

Policy Memorandum No. 197

Approved by the Commission on Undergraduate Studies and Policies: April 12, 1999
Approved by University Council: May 3, 1999
Approved by President: May 3, 1999
Effective: Immediately

The University Council, on recommendation of the Commission on Undergraduate Studies and Policies, unanimously approved a resolution to revise Presidential Policy Memorandum No. 72 -- Credit Granted Other Than That Obtained in Traditional Enrollment at Virginia Tech.

Following is the text of the resolution as adopted by University Council.

Whereas, The Academic Agenda's Strategic Direction 3.1 specifies "in our undergraduate programs we will help all students to reach their full potential, by providing a multifaceted supportive learning environment in which we strive for both disciplinary competence and 'education of the whole person,'" and

Whereas the "State Policy on Transfer," endorsed by the State Board for Community Colleges and the State Council of Higher Education (11/21/91) specifies "Community colleges and senior institutions . . . share an obligation to facilitate transfer," and "all parties should ensure effective communication with one another," and

Whereas the "Report of the Recruitment, Enrollment, and Retention Implementation Committee," often called the Perry-Sorensen Report (8/8/95), also recommended "clear and consistent policies concerning a student's ability to transfer to Virginia Tech" . . . and specifically, a centralized process for the evaluation of transfer credits, and

Whereas, the University Task Force on Community College Transfers (4/24/96) addressed the university's policy on the admissions of transfer students [Resolution 1995-96 D as Amendment to Presidential Policy No. 68, "Entrance Requirements"], recruitment initiatives, and improved services to the transfer student population, and

Whereas both the "State Policy on Transfer" of 1991 and the University Task Force on Community College Transfers of 1996 encourage articulation agreements between community colleges and senior institutions, and currently the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the College of Human Resources and Education have such agreements, and

Whereas, approximately 15% of recent admissions classes have been transfer students, and

Whereas, about 32% of freshmen bring over 10,000 hours of Advanced Placement (AP) that are granted annually, making Virginia Tech one of the leading universities in the number of applicants bringing AP credits, and

Whereas, Virginia Tech has received International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas or courses for 25 years, and

Whereas, the delivery of on-line and distance learning has grown rapidly, and

Whereas, state policy, enrollment patterns, university core curriculum requirements, university priorities, and conventional practices among peer institutions have changed since the implementation of Policy 72 in 1986,

Therefore, Be It Resolved that Policy 72 be revised as follows:

• Virginia Tech follows all the provisions of the "State Policy on Transfer" of 1991.

• The Virginia Tech equivalencies of credits earned at other institutions are determined by the Virginia Tech academic unit responsible for the student's program of study at Virginia Tech, with the guidance, as needed, of the unit offering the specific course. The authorization of this credit toward a Virginia Tech degree is made by the appropriate academic dean of the college in which the student is enrolled.

  The following general criteria apply: original credit for the course must have been earned at a regionally accredited institution; a course grade of C or better must have been earned, except under the provisions of the State Policy on Transfer; a maximum of 50% of the required credits for a degree program may be earned at a two-year college; as required by the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools, a minimum of 25% of a student's degree requirements must be earned at Virginia Tech; a maximum of 18 of the last 45 semester hours may be transferred; a student may not receive credit for course work taken at another college or university during any period in which the student has been placed on suspension by Virginia Tech for academic or disciplinary reasons; and other restrictions that may pertain to specific degree programs and professional accreditation agencies.

  Transfer credit designated as meeting the University Core requirements, including the Writing Intensive requirement, will be determined by the academic unit responsible for the student's program of study at Virginia Tech.

  Colleges will consider creating articulation agreements and those who have them will update them at least every three years.

• The amount of credit and the required score for Advanced Placement, Advanced Standing, Correspondence Courses, so-called Distance Learning or On-Line Courses (if designated), and International Baccalaureate are determined by the appropriate academic department at Virginia Tech.

• The awarding of credit through Advanced Standing, College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and Credit-by-Examination will be administered by the individual academic units responsible for the degree program at Virginia Tech.

• The University Registrar will maintain the equivalency tables for transfer credits from the Virginia Community College System and other "feeder schools," Advanced Placement scores, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and International Baccalaureate grades. These will be made available through publications, websites, and other available media. The University Registrar will implement a centralized posting of transfer credits, at least from the Virginia Community College System (including Richard Bland College).

• A review of this policy should occur at least every five years.

PET:sws

President's Policy Memoramdum

URL: http://purl.vt.edu/vtdocs/policies/ppm197