Academic Policies and Transfer Information

Policies

During the two weeks prior to registration (late October for Spring registration and late March/early April for Fall registration), you must meet with your academic advisor to discuss your upcoming semester schedule. Students register according to the number of credits earned.

Registration times and Web Reg Access Codes may only be obtained from your advisor.

If you do not know who your academic advisor is, follow these instructions to find out.

  1. Log on to your myPlymouth account;
  2. Click on Student Services;
  3. Click on Student Services and Financial Aid;
  4. Click on My Student Information;
  5. Check term says appropriate term;
  6. Scroll down to Primary Advisor where your advisor’s name will appear
  • At your designated registration date and time, you may go on-line to register for your classes. Do not skip a class to register for your classes! Registration is open until the end of the add/drop period. What this means is that even after you have registered, should you wish to change your schedule, providing the course is still open, you may go back into your registration and do so at any point during this time period.
  • If a course is closed when you register for your classes, and you really need to take the course, you may contact the instructor and ask if you can add the course. If the instructor agrees, you must provide your name, student ID and CRN and the instructor will do an online override for you. You then go into Web Registration with your pin number and add the course.
  • Advisor Changes — students may request to change their academic advisor through the Registrar’s Office or Undergraduate Advising; must have verbal acknowledgement from new advisor.
  • The Academic & Career Advising Center is another resource if you need assistance with course selection.

Students sitting at computers

“Federal regulation defines a credit hour as an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutional established equivalence that reasonably approximates not less than – (1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.”

Example:

Regular credit courses require 12.5 clock hours of meeting time per credit.

12.5 clock hours for 1 credit,

25 clock hours for 2 credits and

37.5 clock hours for 3 credits.

Credit-by-examination is a way that students may earn a maximum of 30 credits. The examinations may be nationally standardized examinations or ones composed by Plymouth State University faculty. When students earn credit-by-examination, the credits are noted on their transcripts.

Students who believe they have adequate background in a particular subject may seek to obtain credit by taking an appropriate examination determined by Plymouth State University faculty. The faculty member(s) and the academic department involved determine whether a course is open to credit-by-examination. They are responsible for administering, assessing, and reporting the results to the registrar’s office if such an examination is given.

Students may request institutional credit-by-examination by working directly with applicable PSU Department Chair or Designee for administration of testing. The completed Institutional Credit-By-Examination (ICBE) form must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office. 

Important information regarding ICBE:

  • Exam must be scored with a C or better to receive credit; grades are not awarded.
  • Form must be signed by Department Chair or Designee who administered exam
  • Exam fee must be paid by student at Student Financial Services in Speare Administration Building
  • Completed form must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office in Speare Administration Building

Additional forms of credit-by-examination accepted at PSU are the nationally standardized examinations: Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and DSST (see catalog Appendices for details)

AP exams are typically taken by juniors and seniors in high school. CLEP and DSST exams can be taken at official testing sites. If Plymouth State University is specified as a school to receive an official grade report, no further action is required of the student. In the case of AP exams, the appropriate academic department(s), acting in conjunction with the Admissions office, will determine whether credit and/or placement in advanced courses is to be granted. Scores on CLEP and DSST exams will be assessed to see whether the standards for the conferring of credit have been met. If they have, credit will be given for courses in which students have not already received university credit.

The University also recognizes credit earned through the International Baccalaureate (IB). Of the two IB examination levels (Higher Level and Standard Level), the University recognizes the Higher Level examinations where a score of 5, 6, or 7 has been achieved. Credit will not be given for Standard Level examinations. Students who have taken both AP and IB examinations do not receive credit/placement for both.

Students may request permission for a wide variety of “exceptions”. To request an exception, submit a completed and fully signed Student Request form to the Registrar’s Office for any of the following type of requests:

  • Course credit issues
  • Course substitutions
  • Grade changes
  • Graduate course enrollment for Undergraduate student. Use the Student Request form to request permission to take up to 6 credits (max) at the graduate level and to be allowed to count those credits for both undergraduate and graduate credit.
    (Requires senior status and a cum GPA of 3.00 or better)
  • Transfer course/credit issues
  • Waive course requirements
  • Miscellaneous requests

NOTE: Completed forms may be submitted to the Registrar’s Office using any of the following methods: delivered in person, faxed, mailed, or e-mailed to psu-registrar@plymouth.edu as a PDF attachment.

Transfer Information

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students who are entering PSU through Admissions should not submit Transfer Credit Approval Forms for transfer credit because their transfer credit is reviewed as part of their admissions process.

All other established PSU undergraduate students, please follow the steps outlined below to transfer credit to PSU from another institution.  

Undergraduate Student Transfer Credit Request Process

  1. Student submits an Undergraduate Transfer Credit Request form well in advance of the course they wish to transfer.
  2. The Undergraduate Transfer Credit Request form is evaluated and approved or denied. Please note, this process may take a few weeks depending upon the evaluation required.
  3. Approved Undergraduate Transfer Credit Request forms are assigned a course equivalency. This equivalency dictates how the transferred course will be counted toward a student’s degree.
  4. The student reviews the course equivalency with their advisor and determines if the transfer course is the best choice for their needs.
  5. The student takes the transfer course at the transferring institution.
  6. Upon completion of the course, the student requests an official transcript from the transfer institution.
  7. The Office of the Registrar receives the transcript and transfers eligible courses. Remember Pass/Fail courses or courses in which the student has earned a grade of C- or lower are not eligible for transfer.
  8. The student confirms the transferred course by checking their Degree Works in consultation with their advisor.

Transfer Credit Equivalency will be determined via the Registrar’s Office. Applicability of transfer credits to a student’s major is determined by the department sponsoring the major.

The University allows transfer credit from regionally accredited degree-granting institutions for courses that are graded C or above or its equivalent (a grade of P in a Pass/No Pass course where the P is noted as equivalent to a minimum of a C on the institution’s transcript). A grade of C- or CD is not equivalent to a C. The American Council on Education (ACE) has evaluated and recommended for credit many of the training programs conducted by the Armed Services, major industries, and professional associations. Plymouth State University will consider and generally award transfer credit for courses evaluated by ACE, per their recommendation, that are appropriate to the program chosen by the student.

Courses deemed by Plymouth State University or the transferring institution to be either developmental/remedial or vocational are not transferable. Academic credit for life experience and previous work experience is not given. Only credits will be transferred. Credits earned as quarter hours or other units are converted to semester hours.

Only credits will be transferred. Credits earned as quarter hours or other units are converted to semester hours.

Course grades from institutions other than those included in the NHCUC and USNH agreements will not appear on the PSU transcript, nor will they be included in students’ grade point averages. In the case where a PSU course is taught through Granite State College within the University System of New Hampshire (translocated course), the course is placed on the PSU transcript and is treated as non-transferred courses. Grades earned in PSU courses taught through GSC are averaged into students’ grade point averages at PSU, regardless of grade. In the case where a course is taken via the NHCUC agreement (https://coursecatalog.plymouth.edu/university-policies-procedures/undergraduate-academic-policies/) or USNH shared courses agreement, this course is placed on the PSU transcript and is treated as non-transferred courses. Grades earned  courses taken through NHCUC or USNH are averaged into students’ grade point averages at PSU, regardless of grade.

Students entering Plymouth State University with transfer credits shall have their cumulative grade point average established by their PSU grades only. Transfer students are subject to the academic standards for satisfactory performance.

A maximum of 90 credits from regionally accredited degree-granting institutions will be accepted toward the baccalaureate degree. If students take a course at PSU for which they have already received equivalent transfer credit, they will be notified. Their PSU enrollment will be changed to audit; they may request to drop the course.

A course from a two-year college transfers to PSU as lower-level only. A course from a two-year college may transfer as upper-level only if equivalency to a PSU upper-level course can be demonstrated. Students will have to supply course syllabi, sample texts, and other documents for evaluation by the appropriate department chair.

No Plymouth State University course for which credit was received may be repeated at another institution. Only a course failed at PSU may be repeated elsewhere. The transfer course must be equivalent to the course failed at PSU. Upon receipt of the transfer credit, the PSU grade of F will be removed from the grade point calculation.

The Plymouth State University Transfer Credit Database is a resource that can be used by anyone looking to see if a course from another institution has a potential equivalency at PSU.

Transfer Credit Database

Graduate Students

Grades for transfer courses must be a B or higher and equivalent to the course at PSU as determined and approved by the student’s Academic Advisor or Program Coordinator. Only credits may be transferred, not grades, therefore, the grade for transfer courses does not count toward the required 3.0 grade point average for program completion.

No Plymouth State University course for which credit was received may be repeated at another institution. Only a course failed at PSU may be repeated elsewhere. Preapproval, to transfer in a course for a course failed at PSU, must be obtained from the student’s Academic Advisor and the Registrar’s Office.  Upon receipt of the transfer credit, the PSU grade of F remain on the transcript, but will be excluded from the grade point calculation.

Generally, up to nine graduate-level credits from other regionally accredited institutions may be transferred into programs with 30 or more credits. Transfer of credits into certification and certificate programs that are less than 30 credits will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and generally cannot exceed 25% of total program credits. MBA, MS in Accounting, and EdD students should refer to the transfer credit policy in the respective catalog sections for more information.

An official transcript must be on file before credits can be considered for transfer to a PSU program. Course descriptions or course outlines or both may be requested in order to determine credit consideration. To request review of potential transfer credits, students will complete the Graduate Transfer Credit Request form.

Students should be aware that decisions about acceptance of credit in transfer are up to the receiving institution.

Students should have their official transcript mailed to:
Plymouth State University
Office of the Registrar
17 High Street, MSC #7
Plymouth, NH 03264

*The registrar’s office will only accept paper transcripts in the original sealed envelope from the issuing institution. Opened transcripts are considered “unofficial.”

Students may send an electronic copy of the official transcript, so long as it is verified as an official copy (typically done through a third-party vendor such as e-Script, Parchment, etc.). Electronic transcripts must be sent directly from the institution to psu-registrar@plymouth.edu. Forwarded electronic transcripts will not be accepted.

Once the transcript is received, it will be reviewed to ensure it meets the criteria of the policies noted above (i.e. minimum grade met) before the credits will be posted to the student’s record. The student will be notified of the results.