Transferring Credit from Another College

Transfer Credit Policy

The decision to accept credit from other institutions is based mainly on accreditation. For transfer purposes, GHC recognizes those institutions that have received regional accreditation, or are national, professional and specialized accrediting bodies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Credits are transferred from institutions which are candidates for accreditation the same as if accredited. Credits earned while an institution was not accredited will not be accepted. Evaluations of transfer credit are made from official transcripts that have been requested of an institution by you and sent to Enrollment Services. A copy of GHC’s evaluation will be sent to you. Allow a minimum of six to eight weeks process time. Transcripts are evaluated on a course-by-course basis. Upon completion, a written evaluation indicates which courses have been accepted as transfer credit to GHC and the GHC course equivalent for each transfer course. When a course is accepted in transfer, the same number of credits as was originally assigned to the course will be assigned at GHC. Semester credits at another college or university are converted to quarter credits on a basis of 1.5 quarter credits for each semester credit (i.e. 3 semester credits equal 4.5 quarter credits). Credit for education and training obtained at unaccredited institutions and/or through extra-institutional/experiential learning must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by a faculty advisor. For education and training in areas not offered at Grays Harbor College, recommendations will be solicited and may be applied depending on the degree goal.

The Reciprocity Agreement Can Save you Credits

Grays Harbor College offers reciprocity to students transferring within the Washington Community and Technical College system who are pursuing the Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) degree or the Associate in Science-Transfer (AS-T) degree.

Reciprocity of Individual Courses

If you transfer an individual course that meets a Communication Skills, Quantitative Skills or Distribution Requirement at the your previous college for a specific transfer degree, that course is considered to have met that requirement at the GHC for a similar transfer degree, even if this course does not have an exact equivalent and even if the course credit is awarded through prior learning credit.

Reciprocity of Distribution Areas/Specific Requirements

GHC will accept an entire Distribution, Communication Skills, Quantitative Skills, or other requirement for a transfer degree as met if you:

  1. Have met the sending institution’s residency credit and meets the receiving institution’s policy on continuous enrollment (enrollment pattern needed to complete under the catalog at entrance).
  2. Have met the entire Communication Skills, Quantitative Skills or Distribution Requirement of a transfer degree, according to the sending institution’s degree criteria.*
    *Note: Example criteria include number of disciplines, allowable disciplines, credits, sequence requirements (or lack thereof). In all these instances, the sending institution’s requirements govern for that particular Communication Skills, Quantitative Skills or Distribution Requirement component.
  3. Have maintained a cumulative college-level grade-point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better at the sending institution.

The receiving institution agrees to consider the requirement area met if these conditions, upon review, are met. (There is no limit to the number of requirement areas to be considered.)

Local Provisos

GHC retains the right to impose unique, local prerequisite and graduation requirements. Such requirements might include learning communities/coordinated studies requirements, writing-intensive course requirements, and physical education/health requirements.

Although there is no limit on the number of credits you may transfer to GHC before graduating, you must meet all GHC degree requirements, including residency requirements, for any degree or certificate.

Courses numbered below 100 are not transferable to GHC, however, they may be noted on a written evaluation if they can be used as a prerequisite to GHC courses.

Limitations

Transfer credit is usually not accepted for the following types of study or coursework:

  1. Courses taken at colleges and universities that are not regionally accredited;
  2. Noncredit courses and workshops;
  3. Remedial or college preparatory courses; and
  4. Sectarian religious studies.

Washington Reverse Articulation Program (WRAP) Reciprocity of Individual Courses

If a you transfer an individual course that meets a Communication Skills, Quantitative Skills or Distribution Requirement at the sending baccalaureate-granting institution for a specific bachelor’s degree, that course is considered to have met that same requirement at Grays Harbor College for an associate’s degree, even if this course does not have an exact equivalent and even if the course credit is awarded through prior learning credit or completed at the 300 or 400 level.

Reciprocity of Additional Requirements/Local Provisos

Grays Harbor College retains the right to impose unique, local prerequisite and graduation requirements. Such requirements may include but are not limited to learning communities/ coordinated studies requirements, writing-intensive course requirements, and/or physical education/health requirements.

Transcript Notation

Transcripts will include notation of requirements met by reciprocity. Notations will include the name of the sending baccalaureate institution. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate the reciprocity process and to gather appropriate documentation as needed.