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Transfer Credit Policy

Purpose: To establish a policy for students who want to use course credits from outside Boise State University to satisfy the requirements of the Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.

Overview

Students who have taken or are planning to take courses outside of Boise State University may or may not be achieving learning outcomes that are consistent with those within Boise State University and the Civil Engineering Department. Hence the Civil Engineering Department will retain transfer course approval authority for the following:

  • Courses other than University Foundations (UF) or Disciplinary Lens (DL) taken to fulfill Civil Engineering degree requirements.
  • Courses taken to fulfill pre-requisites for Civil Engineering Department courses. Pre-requisite approval applies to any student enrolled in a Civil Engineering course regardless of major.

Notes:

  • The Civil Engineering Department will not process equivalencies; transfer credits will be treated as substitutions only. 
  • Courses for which transfer equivalency has already been established by the Registrar are not covered under these Procedures.
  • Courses accepted by the Civil Engineering program are NOT automatically accepted for other academic programs (e.g.: a math course must be evaluated by the Mathematics Department for an Applied Mathematics minor). 
  • Transfer courses WILL NOT be accepted to substitute for any Senior Design requirement — CE 481 and CE 483.

Policy

Required Courses

Upper-division (300- and 400-level) required courses are considered critical to the Civil Engineering curriculum.  These courses should be completed at Boise State University, however, up to one of the 300-level courses only offered in the fall semester, and up to one of the 300-level courses offered only in the spring semester may be taken at another university or college pending pre-approval of the Civil Engineering Department.

Elective Courses

Upper-division (300- and 400-level) elective courses should be completed at Boise State University, however you can take up to two of these courses to meet the graduation requirements of the Civil Engineering program at other colleges or universities pending pre-approval of the Civil Engineering Department.

Classes taken prior to attending Boise State University

If you have completed a degree before joining the Civil Engineering program, the policy under Second Degree-Seeking Students applies.

If you have taken courses at another college or university prior to attending Boise State University, it is likely that many of these courses were not considered as direct equivalents to our courses by University transcript evaluators. We can arrange for your engineering courses to be accepted as substitutions for ours in many cases. You must submit a Transfer Credit Evaluation request as outlined under Procedures.

Students currently enrolled at Boise State University

Please be aware that not all external courses meet the learning objectives established by the Civil Engineering Department if you are planning to take a course outside of Boise State University as part of your Civil Engineering curriculum. You must submit a Transfer Credit Evaluation request prior to enrolling in classes outside of Boise State University. A separate submission is required for each request.

Online Courses

You must obtain written approval from the Civil Engineering Department prior to taking an online course to meet any graduation requirements of the Civil Engineering program. Exceptions to this policy are:

  • University Foundations (UF) or Disciplinary Lens (DL) courses taken to fulfill Civil Engineering degree requirements.
  • Online courses offered by Boise State University

Note: The course syllabus must clearly document that a proctor is required, either from the instructor, department, or University offering the course. You must include course Proctor information in your Pre-Approval Evaluation form

Second Degree-Seeking Students

It is likely you have met most, if not all, of our foundational requirements if you have earned an academic degree and you are obtaining a second undergraduate degree from us. We can waive some of our courses when you have taken an equivalent course in earning your previous degree. Please contact the Civil Engineering Department to begin this process.

CLEP and other prior learning

You can request credit for courses if you have experiential learning in a particular area. We do not offer this for Civil Engineering. Many of our students have successfully obtained credits for language and other courses. You may also be able to obtain College Level Examination (CLEP) credits for prior learning. Talk with your advisor before pursuing these credits to ensure the courses for which you are obtaining credit will help you in your degree progress.

Procedures

  • Students requesting evaluation of courses taken outside of Boise State University are required to provide documentation to the Civil Engineering Department.  Current Boise State University students must request a Pre-Approval transfer credit evaluation PRIOR to taking the course.  The information provided for the evaluation includes:
    • Boise State University course name and number for which substitute is being requested
    • Non-Boise State University institution, course name, and number
    •  Non-Boise State University course syllabus
    • For online course, course proctor name and contact information
    • Lab syllabus/ list of lab experiments (if lab is involved)
    • Upon completion of course: Unofficial transcript demonstrating student received a passing grade.
  • Civil Engineering Department staff will forward student information to the Civil Engineering Chair/designee.  The Chair/designee will evaluate student Transfer Evaluation requests to determine the non-Boise State University course provides comparable outcomes to the Boise State University target course.  The Chair/designee will base the assessment on the following:
    • ­Content of materials covered in non-Boise State University course
    • ­ Pre-requisites of non-Boise State University course
    • ­Proctor validation (for online course)
    • ­An application may be rejected in the case where the student did not receive at least a C- in the target Boise State University course in the past.

Note: The Civil Engineering Department may consider extenuating circumstances (e.g. overall GPA, student course repeat history, class scheduling conflicts) as appropriate in the assessment process.

  • Upon completion of evaluation, the Chair/designee will send an email to the student indicating whether the Pre-Approval or Transfer Credit Substitution was approved.
  • The Civil Engineering Department will archive documentation, and complete Academic Adjustments using University and Civil Engineering Department processes.
  • If the approved course is a prerequisite to a course taught by another department, it is up to that department to determine if the transfer course meets their prerequisite requirements.

Communication Plan

  • The Civil Engineering guidelines and procedure for Transfer Credit Evaluations will be documented as a page under Advising on the Civil Engineering Department Website.
  • Upon completion of the Transfer Credit Evaluation, the student will receive e-mail including the following information:
    • Pre-Approval is granted
      • Request was approved, course is considered a valid substitution.
      • There is no change to student’s Academic Requirements Report based upon the Pre-Approval.
    • Transfer Credit Substitution is approved
      • Request was approved, student’s Academic Requirements Report will be updated to reflect transfer credit.
    • Transfer Credit Pre-Approval or Substitution is denied
      • Student’s Academic Requirements Report will not be changed based on completion of this course.