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Undergrad Catalog 2010

Transfer Credit

A student transferring from another accredited university must submit evidence of honorable dismissal from the university last attended. Transferred grades of “D” may not be used for major, minor, or general education requirements. An official transcript of all past records is required. A transferring student must satisfy all entrance requirements at Belmont.

Transfer credit offered for advanced standing is evaluated in accordance with requirements for graduation at Belmont University. Belmont will accept no more than 64 semester hours (or the equivalent in quarter hours) earned at an accredited junior college / community college. Further, all hours accepted for direct transfer credit from a community college must be in courses normally offered at Belmont as lower division work, i.e. 1000 and 2000 level courses (formerly listed as 100 and 200 level courses). Students with more than 64 junior college / community college hours must still take 64 hours from senior colleges and universities before graduation, including the senior residence requirement (32 semester hours) explained under “Graduation Requirements / General Degree Requirements" for Bachelor Degrees.

All grades / credit hours are posted for students transferring to Belmont from other accredited colleges or universities according to the “Transfer Policy” section below. The following applies to all transfer work meeting transfer eligibility:

  • An official transcript must be sent directly to Belmont from the home institution or testing service that offered the courses.
  • Outside exams (e.g. AP, IB CEEB, CLEP, etc.) will not be taken off a high school / college / university’s transcript. The student must order an original transcript with scores from the applicable testing service and have it sent to Belmont.
  • “Transfer” courses listed on a transcript will not be taken off another college / university’s transcript. The student must order an original transcript from institution that offered the courses.
  • Transfer grades and credit hours are posted as they appear on the originating college / university’s transcript.
  • Only Belmont work is considered in figuring a student’s standing regarding retention, probation, suspension, and good standing.
  • All grades from all institutions will be used when determining the cumulative grade point average and counted for eligibility for graduation with honors. To be eligible for graduation the student must have a 2.0 average in major and minor course work (including transfer courses) and 2.0 cumulative GPA based on all cumulative course work. (see Graduation Requirements for a complete list).
  • A student intending to “repeat” a course with a low grade with the intention to “replace” the lower grade must repeat that course at the institution where the course was taken. For example to repeat and replace (in the GPA) a Belmont course, the course must be taken at Belmont.
  • A maximum of 24 semester hourscredit combined may be earned in IB, AP, CLEP, etc.  

Transfer Policy

Belmont University accepts credit issued by institutions academically accredited through the Southern, Western, Northwest, New England, North Central, or Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

For colleges with a different institutional accreditation, the university seeks to research and understand the transferring college’s academic standards at the institutional level and at the course level to ensure course content and academic rigor similar to Belmont’s. To be eligible for transfer review, the following three items must be initially confirmed:

  • The institution was accredited during the period of the student’s enrollment by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Verification that the student and courses were part of an academic degree program. Courses in diploma / certificate programs or vocationally focused degree programs are not eligible for transfer.
  • The courses were taught in a standard academic term period and clearly represented on an official transcript as semester or quarter hours. Clock hour courses are not accepted.
If the above three items are confirmed, the student may be asked to provide the following during Belmont’s final review of transfer eligibility to determine academic equivalency:
  • A letter from the chief academic officer describing the transferring college’s academic standards and any current articulation agreements with other colleges / universities.
  • Course descriptions and syllabi for courses intended for transfer.
  • Academic credentials of the instructor in each of those courses.

Art or music studio courses may be reviewed by the department in coordination with the Registrar upon request of the student. The department will use a portfolio or competency based evaluation and may recommend acceptance or denial of specific credits or waive designated Belmont courses.

Transfer Policy for International (Study Abroad) credits

Students wishing to have an international study abroad educational experience are strongly encouraged to enroll in a Belmont Study Abroad course to ensure direct acceptance of the course work and credit. Students choosing to use an international study abroad vendor / provider, (outside of Belmont's Study Abroad) should be aware that transfer of those credits are not guaranteed regardless of promises made by that international education provider or other American universities that may accept those credits. All students still electing to use a non-Belmont study abroad program must have those course / credits evaluated after completion by an approved third party expert international credit evaluation company. 

All applicants with college level coursework from a foreign institution, must have their transcripts evaluated by an approved foreign credential evaluation organization, such as World Education Services (WES) or Joseph Silny and Associates or an evaluation service currently listed as a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES); (see http://www.naces.org). Other evaluation services will not be accepted.The transcript results of that approved third party professional evaluation (course, credit and grade), sent directly from the evaluator to Belmont is what is used officially by the University Registrar for credit transfer and recorded on the student's Belmont transcript. Any transcript information received that does not provide course(s), credit hours earned, and an interpretable grade to the Belmont grade scale will not be posted on the Belmont University transcript.

The International Education Office does maintain a current list of acceptable third party international education providers, which includes groups that have proven to provide students with high quality travel and educational experiences. This list is maintained as a service to students who may wish to pursue an international experience outside of the Belmont Study Abroad courses. Students using a service from this list (or any other provider) are still required to have an approved third party evaluation (see the above paragraph for approved foreign credential evaluation organization) in order to have the credits transfer back to Belmont. The International Education Office also maintains a list of foreign universities in which Belmont has a formal articulation agreement for credit transfer. If Belmont has a formal transfer articulation agreement with such a university, Belmont will accept credits directly from that institution's transcript provided that the transcript is sent in English and formatted clearly showing courses, credit hours and grades.

Concurrent Enrollment

Degree-seeking students currently enrolled in courses at Belmont University (full-time or part-time status) seeking to take additional credits (of any type including distance education courses) at another college or university, must gain approval for “concurrent enrollment” from the Office of the Registrar prior to registration. Any credit hours taken without prior approval will not be accepted in transfer.

Allowance for concurrent enrollment is based upon the following:

  1. Signed approval for concurrent enrollment using the Concurrent Enrollment Request Form, available on the Registrar’s web link from the university homepage.
  2. Once a student has started / matriculated to Belmont, s/he may not take more than a total of 18 credit hours at another college or university.  Exceptions to this provision include Belmont approved programs on other campuses and approved study abroad programs. These exceptions do not count toward the 18 hour limit.
  3. Students may not take more than a total of 19 credit hours in any single semester (14 in summer) inclusive of Belmont credit hours and all attempted credit hours at other institutions. Standard exceptions to 19 maximum hours must be approved in advance by the Registrar and Dean using the existing policy / form for “exceeding maximum credit hours.”
  4. A student readmitted to Belmont will have a concurrent enrollment request individually reviewed by the University Registrar in light of number of transferred hours, remaining hours toward degree and course availability at Belmont.
  5. Concurrent enrollment is not allowed in the last 32 credit hours of a degree program without waiver of the Senior Residency requirement (see below).
  6. Requests that exceed the above provisions must be of an unusual or emergency nature to be granted.

Senior Residency and Waiver

All degree seeking students are required to take their last 32 credit hours in their degree / program at Belmont University.  Prior to registration for the course(s), students seeking to take courses outside of Belmont must request a waiver of the senior residency requirement.  Any credit hours taken without prior approval will not be accepted in transfer.

Senior Residence Waiver is based upon the following:

  1. Signed approval by the University Registrar using the Senior Residency Waiver Form.
  2. An appropriately signed Change of Program (“Substitution”) Form must be attached with the Senior Residency Waiver Form.
  3. Waiver must be based upon demonstrated emergency or exceptional necessity, which requires the student to provide a written explanation.
  4. The senior residency waiver may not violate requirements 2 and 3 listed in the concurrent enrollment provisions.
  5. The student must be in "good standing" status with Belmont. Any exception must be demonstrated to be an  emergency or exceptional necessity and approved by the University Registrar.
  6. A student may not take a course at another institution if that course (or its equivalency) is offered at Belmont and offered during the term of request.  It should be noted that any exception to this is extremely rare.
  7. Requests that exceed the above provisions must be of an unusual or emergency nature to be granted and approved by the university Provost.

The senior residency provision does not apply to students participating in formal Belmont consortia, cross-town or credit articulation agreements; however, students in such approved programs should still complete a Senior Residency Waiver Form if they are taking courses elsewhere during the last 32 hours in order to properly notify the Registrar’s Office of attendance at another institution. Students enrolled in Belmont study abroad courses (any prefix _950 course) do not need to fill out a Senior Residency Waiver Form.