FAQ's - Transfer Issues

• How do courses transfer between colleges at UC? If a course that fulfills a General Education requirement is taken in one college, will it fulfill that requirement in another college?
  
  A: Yes. All courses taken at UC shall transfer within UC and contribute to the fulfillment of General Education requirements. However, transferred courses may, or may not, also fulfill college and program/major requirements.
  
  For example, if a student in Nursing satisfies the General Education requirement for Historical Perspectives by taking a course on the "Evolution of Nursing" and then that student transfers to the College of Arts and Sciences as a History major, the following would happen:
  
  1) The transferred course would fulfill the General Education requirement for Historical Perspectives since any course taken in the category anywhere at UC fulfills that requirement.
  2) The course might or might not fulfill the A&S History requirement depending on the decision at the college level.
  3) The course might or might not meet a History major requirement based on the History Department's review and decision as to whether it should count.
  
  At the very least, the course would only fulfill the General Education requirement; at best, it could satisfy all three requirements.
  
  In contrast, if that student who transferred from Nursing to the College of Arts and Sciences as a History major, had taken a history course (e.g., "Western Civilization") in A&S in Raymond Walters College, or Clermont College where there is total compatibility (articulation) between introductory surveys, the course would fulfill the requirements of all three: General Education, A&S, and History Department.
  
  Another variant might occur if, after fulfilling some of the General Education BoK requirements, a student transfers into a program/major that requires courses, which the student has not taken, that meet those same General Education BoK requirements. For example, if a student, who has already completed several courses that fulfill the Natural Science BoK, transfers into Engineering, that student might need to take several quarters of Physics as part of the Engineering requirements. Although the Physics courses could fulfill the Natural Science BoK, the student would not benefit from this since these additional Natural Science BoKs would be redundant.
  
  
• Can an advanced placement (AP) course be used to fulfill a General Education requirement?
  
  A:  Yes. To obtain academic credit for an AP course, the AP course is "linked" with a UC course. Any General Education requirement fulfilled by that UC course is thereby fulfilled by the AP course.
  
  
• Can a course taken at another institution be used to fulfill a General Education requirement?
  
  A: Yes. As with AP credits, when academic credit is assigned for a course taken at another institution, that course is "linked" with a UC course. Any General Education requirement fulfilled by that UC course is thereby fulfilled by the transferred course.
  
  
• Must a student fulfill a component of the General Education Program as stipulated by his/her program/major if that student has previously fulfilled that component in some other program or college?
  
  A: A program/major might stipulate a particular course that carries a BoK so its students may fulfill that General Education requirement while also addressing a requirement of the program/major. As a result, even though a student might have fulfilled that particular General Education requirement, he/she might have to take an "additional" course, not for General Education credit but to fulfill a requirement of the program/major.
  
  The underlying message is that students in highly demanding programs, with few options for open electives, need to give careful consideration to their course plans so they take courses that fulfill General Education requirements concurrently with other (college, program/major, professional certification) requirements.
  
  
• Since a course, taken in any UC college, that fulfills a General Education BoK requirement fulfills that BoK requirement regardless of the college from which a student graduates, would a Chemistry course taken at Raymond Walters College fulfill the General Education requirement for a course in Natural Sciences for a student graduating in A&S, Engineering, or DAAP?
  
  A: Yes, it would fulfill the General Education requirement, but it might or might not fulfill the "science" requirement of the program/major from which the student graduates. This would depend on articulation between the units.
  
  Although the General Education Program accepts full articulation in terms of its requirements, academic credit for courses is based on agreements between academic units. While this is a significant issue and might be a critical issue for students, it is beyond the scope of the General Education Program.
   
• Some courses are listed under more than one Breadth of Knowledge Distribution area. Can I use such a course to fulfill more than one of the BoK requirements?
  
  A: No. While the course can fulfill more than one BoK requirement, you can only use it to meet one General Education BoK requirement.
  
  A course can only count once, although it could have two Breadth of Knowledge (BoK) designations. For example: "Historia de America Latina," a course taught in Spanish that address history, fits under Historical Perspectives and Humanities. If you took that course to fulfill a General Education requirement, you could only count it under one of those categories (Historical Perspectives or Humanities) for the General Education BoK requirement. But it also might be possible to take the course for two quarters, counting the first quarter for one General Education requirement (Historical Perspectives) and the second quarter for the other General Education requirement (Humanities).
  
  With the embedding of General Education into all baccalaureate programs/majors, a course that fulfills a General Education requirement can often also meet college or program/major requirements.
   
• Since a course can exist under more than one Breadth of Knowledge area, can the area for which the course counts be changed if a student transfers to another program?
  
  A: Yes. Although a course can only count once, the area under which it is counted could change. For example, for an Economics major, an Asian literature course might be included under the Diversity area. If that student were to transfer to Interior Design where the Diversity area could be fulfilled through a co-op experience, the Asian literature course could be switched from the Diversity area to the Humanities area. However, a course can only count once.
  
  Actually, this switch of BoK requirement occurs automatically in a student's record. These automatic adjustments, in support of achieving the required distribution of BoK credits, will initially fill 5 of the 8 listed BoK areas before assigning additional BoK credit to any one area. For example, when a student has completed a course that is listed for both Historical Perspectives and Literature, credit will automatically be assigned to one of the BoK areas - say Historical Perspectives. If that student then completes another course that is listed only for Historical Perspectives, the BoK from the initial course will be changed to Literature if that requirement has not already been fulfilled.
  
  
• Why are some of the discipline areas under the Breadth of Knowledge Distribution requirements more narrow or specific than others?
  
  A: There are six areas listed under the Breadth of Knowledge Distribution requirements. Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences are rather broad areas, while Fine Arts, Historical Perspectives, and Literature, each of which could be included within one of the other areas, are more narrow. The distinction is intentional. It is an indication of UC's commitment that each baccalaureate student be exposed to the important academic areas that have traditionally formed the basis of a broad liberal education.
  
  
• How does the university track student fulfillment of the General Education requirements?
  
  A: The student degree audit system, recorded by a student's college on UniverSIS, maintains the "official" record of the General Education requirements that a student has fulfilled. This record is based on satisfactory completion of course identified as fulfilling BoK requirements and by submission of "Experience for Gen Ed Credit". In addition, each student, in collaboration with his/her advisor, should maintain a personal record by updating the Student Audit Sheet that lists all requirements of the General Education Program and provides space in which to enter the courses and/or experiences taken to fulfill the requirements.
  
  
• If a student takes three courses in the same discipline, either as a three course sequence or three separate courses, can all three courses count toward the Breadth of Knowledge Distribution requirements in that BoK area?
  
  A: Yes. The Breadth of Knowledge Distribution requirement permits students to take up to eight courses in five areas. As a result, it is possible to get credit for three courses in the same BoK area. Also, since there are only 6 areas listed, there must be one or two BoK areas in which there is repetition.
  
  
• Fine Arts, Historical Perspectives, and Literature all typically fall into the Humanities area. Is it possible to take an additional course in one of these areas and have it count as fulfilling the Humanities distribution requirement?
  
  A: No. The Humanities distribution requirement is to be fulfilled only by courses that do not fall under the BoK areas of Fine Arts, Historical Perspectives, or Literature.