Will My Credit from a TEL Course Transfer?

by | Jun 29, 2021 | Learning Design

​A common question we get from schools and students looking to take courses for college credit from TEL is whether the credit will transfer to their school of choice.

While the answer is almost always “yes,” it often requires additional explanation. The decision about whether or not to accept credit transferred from another institution is entirely up to the receiving college or university. Students should always check with the admissions office of the school they are applying to.

Regionally Accredited Credit-Granting Partners

All of TEL’s transcribing partners are regionally accredited. That means that no matter which of TEL’s partners the student chooses to get their transcript from, the credit will be regionally accredited, and regional accreditation is the highest level of accreditation in the U.S. TEL’s regionally accredited partners follow the rules of and are audited by regional accrediting organizations such as the Higher Learning Commission or SACSCOC. This means that schools looking at the transcript from a TEL course will see that the original course credit was granted by a regionally accredited college or university and know that the student has done high-quality work.

As a general rule, regionally accredited institutions will accept transcripted college credit from another regionally accredited institution. There may be exceptions and not all courses will necessarily transfer for direct one-to-one credit (more on that below). Always remember that the decision about whether or not to accept credit transferred from another institution is entirely up to the receiving college or university.

Matriculating to the school on the transcript

The best way to guarantee that the credit a student earned is applied to their future degree program is to attend the school on the transcript. So if a student selected Jacksonville University as their transcribing partner and successfully completed the course, that student effectively took a Jacksonville University course. If the student enrolled at Jacksonville University for their degree program, the credit would count toward their degree.

Different Ways Credit Can Transfer

Let’s say a student passed Principles of Psychology from TEL and is applying to a few schools for their bachelor’s degree. Institutions can look at transfer credit in three ways.

  • They can deny it, and the student will have to take Principles of Psychology again at the new institution. The three hours the student earned would not apply to their degree at this school. This is uncommon but does happen.
  • They can accept the transferred course credit as elective credit, meaning it doesn’t count as a social science credit, but just a general elective credit that can be applied to the degree. In this scenario, the student might have to take Principles of Psychology again to fulfill a social science credit.
  • The school can accept it as a direct, one-to-one equivalent to their own Introduction to Psychology or a similar course in the school’s catalog, and the student will have fulfilled that requirement.

Sometimes, even institutions that accept courses as one-to-one equivalents may make exceptions for courses within the student’s major. For example, if the student is majoring in Psychology, the institution might want the student to take the foundational Psychology course from their college or university. In that case, the student’s Principles of Psychology from TEL may only count as an elective.

Do Research

Transfer credit is notoriously complicated. That’s why it’s important for students to do as much research as possible to understand what their target college or university will accept. Students can use tools such as Transferology or CollegeTransfer.net to get an idea of what credit will transfer as they narrow their college search. Once the student identifies their top choices, students should always check with the admissions office at the college or university they are applying to.

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