Undergraduate Admission into Degree Programs by Transfer from Other Educational Institutions
Students who seek admission must meet the following requirements and also any special requirements for the college or curriculum of their choice.
Applicants must submit an application form for admission, together with a $20 application fee ($50 for international students), and request that each college they have attended send an official transcript of record to the Office of Admissions. Failure to provide transcripts from all colleges or universities attended may result in denial of the application or dismissal from the university. If less than 24 semester hours of graded transferable college credit will be completed prior to entry at Iowa State University, applicants must also request that their official high school transcript and ACT or SAT I scores be sent to the Office of Admissions. Other transfer applicants are encouraged to provide high school academic information. Students who do not do so may be asked to take course placement examinations during orientation.
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of students whose first language is not English.
a. Transfer applicants with a minimum of 24 semester hours of graded transferable credit from regionally accredited colleges or universities, who have achieved for all college work previously attempted the grade point average required by Iowa State for specific programs, will be admitted. A 2.00 grade point average (on a 4.00 grading scale) is the minimum transfer grade point average requirement. Some programs may require a transfer grade point average higher than this minimum. Higher academic standards may be required of students who are not residents of Iowa, including international students.
Applicants who have not maintained the grade point average required by Iowa State University for specific programs or who are under academic suspension from the last
college attended generally will be denied admission.
b. In addition to meeting the minimum transfer grade point average requirement described above, applicants who have completed fewer than 24 semester hours of graded transferable college credit prior to their enrollment at Iowa State must also meet the admission requirements for students entering directly from high school.
c. Transfer applicants under disciplinary suspension will not be considered for admission until information concerning the reason for the suspension has been received from the college assigning the suspension. Applicants granted admission under these circumstances will be admitted on probation.
d. Transfer applicants from colleges and universities not regionally accredited will be considered for admission on an individual basis, taking into account all available academic
information.
Transfer Credit Practices
Iowa State University endorses the Joint Statement on Transfer and Award of Academic Credit approved by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). The current issue of Transfer Credit Practices of Designated Educational Institutions, published by AACRAO is an example of a reference used in determining transfer credit.
The acceptance and use of transfer credit are subject to limitations in accordance with the educational policies of Iowa State University.
a. Students from regionally accredited colleges and universities.
Credit earned at regionally accredited colleges and universities is acceptable for transfer, except that credit in courses determined by Iowa State University to be of a developmental, vocational, or technical nature, or credit in courses or programs in which the institution granting the credit is not directly involved, may not be accepted, or may be accepted to a limited extent.
No more than 65 semester or 97 quarter credits earned at two-year colleges can be applied to a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University. While there is no limit to the number of credits that may be transferred from a four-year institution, the last 32 semester credits must be completed at Iowa State.
b. Students from colleges and universities which have candidate status.
Credit earned at colleges and universities which have become candidates for accreditation by a regional association is acceptable for transfer in a manner similar to that from regionally accredited colleges and universities if the credit is applicable to the bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University.
Credit earned at the junior and senior classification from an accredited two-year college which has received approval by a regional accrediting association for change to a four-year college may be accepted by Iowa State.
c. Students from colleges and universities not regionally accredited.
When students are admitted from colleges and universities not regionally accredited, they may validate portions or all of their transfer credit by satisfactory academic study at Iowa State, or by examination. The amount of transfer credit and the terms of the validation process will be specified at the time of admission.
In determining the acceptability of transfer credit from private colleges in Iowa which do not have regional accreditation, the Regent Committee on Educational Relations, upon request from such institutions, evaluates the nature and standards of the academic
program, faculty, student records, library, and laboratories.
In determining the acceptability of transfer credit from colleges in states other than Iowa which are not regionally accredited, acceptance practices indicated in the current issue of Transfer Credit Practices of Designated Educational Institutions will be used as a guide. For institutions not listed in the publication, guidance is requested from the designated reporting institution of the appropriate state.
d. Students from foreign colleges
and universities.
Transfer credit from foreign educational institutions may be granted after a determination of the type of institution involved, its recognition by the educational authorities of the foreign country, and an evaluation of the content, level, and comparability of the study to courses and programs at Iowa State. Credit may be granted in specific courses or assigned to general areas of study. Extensive use is made of professional journals and references which describe the educational systems and programs of individual countries.
Additional Transfer Credit Policies
a. Students with credit obtained during military service.
Credit will be awarded for successful completion of technical or specialized schools attended while on active duty with the armed forces to the extent that the material is applicable toward degree requirements at Iowa State University. Application for such credit is made at the Office of Admissions, which follows many of the recommendations in the American Council on Education (ACE) publication A Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services.
b. Students with credit obtained through non-college sponsored instruction.
Credit will be awarded for successful completion of learning acquired from participation in formal courses sponsored by associations, business, government, industry, and unions to the extent that the material is applicable toward degree requirements at Iowa State University. Application for such credit is made at the Office of Admissions, which follows many of the recommendations in the American Council on Education (ACE) publication The National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs.
c. Students with credit obtained through correspondence courses.
Although Iowa State does not offer correspondence courses, college-level courses taken by correspondence from accredited colleges or universities are acceptable for transfer at the undergraduate level if the courses taken are those that do not require laboratory study.
d. College Level Examination Program (CLEP).
Iowa State University will award credit for each of three CLEP general examinations (social sciences and history, humanities, and natural sciences) for test scores at or above the 60th percentile on national norms. Iowa State University will also award credit for each of nine subject examinations, for test scores at or above the 50th percentile on national norms. American government, introductory psychology, principles of accounting, general biology, calculus with elementary functions, introductory sociology, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and trigonometry.
Application of CLEP credit to a degree program varies with the department, so students should consult with their department before they register for CLEP examinations.
e. Students with “test-out” credit.
Students who have earned credit at other colleges or universities through Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations may qualify for credit at Iowa State University. Scores from these examinations should be sent directly to the Office of Admissions; credit will be awarded provided the scores satisfy Iowa State’s requirements.
Credit earned at another college through locally designed test-out examinations may transfer to Iowa State University if accompanied by at least 12 transferable semester credits earned through coursework taken at that institution.
f. Articulation/Transfer Agreements.
1. Iowa Regent Universities General Education Articulation Agreement.
Iowa State University participates in an articulation agreement with the other two Iowa Regent universities concerning the acceptance of their general education programs into the Iowa State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Under the terms of this agreement, students who have satisfied general education requirements at the University of Northern Iowa or in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Iowa may transfer to Iowa State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with their general education requirements met (with the possible exception of the foreign language and library requirements).
2. Associate of Arts (A.A.) Articulation Agreement with Iowa public community colleges.
Students who plan to enter the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University with an associate of arts degree from an Iowa public community college, and who have at least 60 prescribed semester (90 quarter) credits acceptable for transfer and at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average, will be considered to have met the general education requirements of the college (with the possible exception of the foreign language and library requirements).
3. Vocational-technical credit from Iowa public community colleges.
Iowa State University will accept up to 16 semester (24 quarter) credits earned in vocational-technical courses where the sending Iowa public community college will accept such courses toward its associate of arts or associate in science degree. Certain vocational-technical courses at Iowa community colleges may be articulated to Iowa State University as academic credit. The hours earned in these articulated courses would transfer in addition to the 16 semester hour vocational-technical maximum. Please refer to the course equivalency guides on the Web (www.iastate.edu) or contact the Office of Admissions for more information.
4. AP and CLEP credit from Iowa public colleges and universities.
Iowa State University has an agreement with the Iowa public colleges and universities which allows credit earned through AP and CLEP examinations to transfer directly to Iowa State University if accompanied by at least 12 transferable semester credits earned through coursework taken at the sending institution.
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