Transferring Courses

To prevent unnecessary loss of time and credit, prospective transfer students are encouraged to research as early as possible UTSA’s admission policies and degree requirements in their areas of interest. Questions regarding the transferability of courses should be addressed to the Office of Admissions.

Students attending community colleges should also note the core curricula designed and adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to simplify the transfer of credit. Copies of these core curricula are available through most community college counselors.

Evaluation Procedures

An official evaluation of transfer credit is completed for degree-seeking applicants at the time of admission. This evaluation shows the equivalency of courses completed elsewhere to courses at UTSA and indicates their applicability to the UTSA Core Curriculum. Students may access their evaluations on myUTSA.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved Field of Study (FOS) curricula that are guaranteed by state law to transfer and apply to another Texas public institution of higher education. If a student takes all of the courses in an FOS and then transfers to UTSA, the FOS is guaranteed to transfer as a block and be applied to the appropriate major. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved FOS in the following areas: architecture, biology, business administration & management, communication, computer science, criminal justice, economics, engineering (chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical), engineering technology, English language & literature, history, mathematics, Mexican American studies, music, nursing, political science, psychology, radio & television, social work, and sociology. Although the courses in these FOS at various institutions may not be precisely equivalent to courses in the UTSA Undergraduate Catalog, students who have successfully completed the FOS at other institutions are given full credit toward the appropriate degree at UTSA.

Students who do not receive transfer credit for specific courses may review the policies for credit by examination or contact the Office of Admissions. Grades earned at other institutions are not averaged with grades earned at UTSA to determine a student’s grade point average.

Resolution of Transfer of Credit Disputes

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has established the following procedure for Texas public colleges and universities to follow in resolving transfer of credit disputes for lower-division courses. (The individual courses covered by this procedure are defined by the Coordinating Board’s guides: “Transfer Resources” and “Texas Common Course Numbering System.”)

If a transfer course covered by the Coordinating Board policy is not accepted in transfer to UTSA, the student should contact the Office of Admissions for further explanation. The Office of Admissions, the student, and the sending institution will attempt to resolve the transfer of course credit in accordance with Coordinating Board rules.

If the transfer credit question is not resolved satisfactorily in the opinion of the student or the sending institution within 45 days of notification, the Office of Admissions states the reasons for the course denial to the Commissioner of Higher Education. The commissioner or a designee then provides a final written decision about the transfer course(s) in question to UTSA, the student, and the sending institution.

Course Types and Acceptability

Undergraduate college credits completed at other U.S. institutions are evaluated for transfer to UTSA by the Office of Admissions on the basis of UTSA equivalency tables and according to the guidelines in this section.

Credits completed at institutions outside the United States must be evaluated on an individual basis, at the student’s expense, by the foreign credentials evaluation service designated by the Office of Admissions. Transfer credit from foreign institutions is accepted by UTSA on the basis of this evaluation.

Generally Accepted

Courses from an Accredited College or University

Any academic course from an accredited college or university in which a passing grade has been earned is accepted for transfer credit if it meets all other criteria in this section. Only those hours that apply toward a specific baccalaureate degree program count toward minimum degree requirements.

The applicability of particular courses completed at other institutions toward specific course requirements for a bachelor’s degree at UTSA depends upon equivalency of such courses offered by UTSA. Other academic courses are transferred as electives; credit for these courses counts toward minimum degree requirements only if they satisfy requirements of the student’s degree program. Credit is not given for duplication or repetition of courses.

All course requirements at UTSA designated as upper-division may be transferred to UTSA only from senior-level institutions. For credit to be transferred as an upper-division course, the institution where credit was earned must be a senior-level institution, and the course must be described in the institution’s catalog as being upper-division. If the equivalent of a required upper-division UTSA course is completed at an institution as a lower-division course, approval by the College is needed. The course need not be repeated if the 39-hour upper-division requirement is met. If not met, the student’s advisor will recommend another upper-division course to meet the 39-hour requirement.

Credit by Examination

Credit by examination awarded at another college or university transfers if the institution equates the results of the examination to a specific course, the course is transferable, and it appears on the institution’s official transcript. Such credit is subject to all other transfer provisions, including the 66-semester-credit-hour transfer limitation from community colleges.

Accepted on a Limited Basis

Physical Activities Courses

Credits earned for physical activities courses can be transferred as free elective credit up to a maximum of 6 semester credit hours.

Extension or Correspondence Courses

Credit earned by extension or correspondence through colleges and universities for college-level academic courses is evaluated and accepted for transfer if the course is equivalent to UTSA courses and acceptable to the student’s degree program and if all other transfer provisions in this section are met. However, the maximum credit accepted through a combination of extension and correspondence courses is 30 semester credit hours (18-semester-credit-hour maximum by correspondence). No more than 6 semester credit hours of correspondence credit may be applied to the major.

Students currently enrolled at UTSA are not typically permitted to take correspondence or extension courses and transfer the credit to UTSA. Exceptions to this rule must be approved by the student’s advisor and dean, and such courses can be taken only in the event that the student is about to graduate and cannot obtain the course in residence.

Community College Courses

Transfer credit for community ­college work may not exceed 66 semester credit hours. Students who have completed more than 66 acceptable semester credit hours may apply specific completed, transferable courses to specific course requirements to avoid having to repeat the courses. The semester credit hours for additional courses may not be applied toward the minimum semester credit hour requirements for a baccalaureate degree.

No upper-division credit may be earned at a community college.

Military Service Training School Courses

As a Serviceman’s Opportunity College (SOC) institution, UTSA awards credit on a limited basis for military coursework. In order for credit to be awarded, a student submits to UTSA an official Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript System (AARTS) or an official Sailor/Marine/Ace Registry Transcript (SMART) listing all military coursework completed. The Office of Admissions evaluates the transcript and determines the transferability of coursework. Credit is awarded for military coursework that is deemed parallel to academic coursework. Credit is not awarded for military experience based upon a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) or for coursework that is solely technical in nature. Awarding of credit for military coursework does not guarantee its applicability to a degree at UTSA. A student who has taken military courses that do not transfer may challenge by examination those UTSA courses that appear equivalent to those already completed (see Challenging a UTSA Course in “General Academic Regulations” of UTSA Student Policies).

Credit for ROTC or military science, when awarded by another college or university, is accepted by UTSA as free elective credit within the limitations of the student’s degree program. See individual degree requirements and the ROTC program requirements in this catalog for limits on military science courses as free electives.

Credit for Military Service

An institution of higher education shall award to an undergraduate student who is admitted to the institution, including a student who is readmitted after withdrawing to perform active military service (Texas Education Code, Section 51.9242), course credit for all physical education courses required by the institution for an undergraduate degree and for additional semester credit hours, not to exceed 12, that may be applied to satisfy any elective course requirements for the student’s degree program for courses outside the student’s major or minor if the student:

  1. graduated from a public or private high school accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization or from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense; and
  2. is an honorably discharged former member of the armed forces of the United States who has completed at least two years of service in the armed forces or was discharged because of a disability.

Veterans entering UTSA as undergraduate students should meet with an academic advisor to discuss military service credit options, as elective credits may affect eligibility for the tuition rebate program and the Texas B-On-Time Loan forgiveness program or result in additional tuition for excess credit hours. Students must provide proof of eligibility (i.e., DD Form 214 or disability discharge documentation) to the academic advisor and complete the Military Service Credit Notice with the academic advisor. The Military Service Credit Notice is available on the One Stop Enrollment website and in the UTSA Veterans Certification Office (JPL 1.01.14).

Courses from an Institution Undergoing Accreditation or a Nonaccredited Institution

Credits earned from colleges or universities that are not accredited may be appealed for transfer to UTSA on an individual basis at the discretion of the major academic department.

Not Accepted

Developmental Education, Orientation, Life Experience, High School Level, Below-Algebra Mathematics, or Vocational-Technical Courses

Credits for developmental education, orientation, life experience, high school level, mathematics below the college algebra level, or vocational-technical courses are not acceptable for transfer credit. Where vocational-technical courses support a student’s degree program, the student may make a written request to the Dean of the college to approve those courses as free elective credit. No transfer credit is granted for the General Educational Development (GED®) test.