Sec. 13b.06.01.04. Transfer of Education Program Credit

A. Transfer of Credit to Another Public Institution.

(1) Credit earned at any public institution in the State is transferable to any other public institution if the:

(a) Credit is from a college or university parallel course or program;

(b) Grades in the block of courses transferred average 2.0 or higher; and

(c) Acceptance of the credit is consistent with the policies of the receiving institution governing native students following the same program.

(2) If a native student’s “D” grade in a specific course is acceptable in a program, then a “D” earned by a transfer student in the same course at a sending institution is also acceptable in the program. Conversely, if a native student is required to earn a grade of “C” or better in a required course, the transfer student shall also be required to earn a grade of “C” or better to meet the same requirement.

B. Credit Earned in or Transferred From a Community College.

(1) Except as provided in §B(5) of this regulation, at least 60 credits but not more than 70 credits of general education, elective, and major courses that a student earns at any community college in the State toward a degree at a community college shall be transferrable to any public senior higher education institution in the State for credit toward a bachelor’s degree.

(2) To be transferrable, a credit shall have been earned in accordance with the student’s degree plan.

(3) Courses taken at a public institution as part of a recommended transfer program leading toward a baccalaureate degree shall be applicable to related programs at the receiving public institution granting the degree if successfully completed in accordance with the receiving institution’s policies governing native students in the same program.

(4) Students earning an A.A.S. or A.F.A. degree shall have their credits evaluated in a manner that maximizes the transfer of articulated and elective credit.

(5) A community college and a public senior higher education institution may provide in an articulation agreement for the transfer of credits in addition to credits transferred under §B(1) of this regulation.

C. Nontraditional Credit.

(1) The assignment of credit for AP, CLEP, or other nationally recognized standardized examination scores presented by any student shall be determined according to the same standards that apply to native students in the receiving institution and consistent with the State minimum requirements.

(2) Transfer of credit from the following areas shall be consistent with COMAR 13B.02.02. and shall be evaluated by the receiving institution on a course-by-course basis according to the same standards that apply to native students at the receiving institution:

(a) Technical courses from career programs;

(b) Course credit awarded through articulation agreements with other segments or agencies, which should be developed in collaboration with all public institutions, including course credit awarded by articulation with Maryland public secondary schools;

(c) Credit awarded for clinical practice or cooperative education experiences;

(d) Credit awarded for life and work experiences; and

(e) Credit awarded for training, coursework, or education through the military.

(3) The basis for the awarding of the credit shall be indicated on the student’s transcript by the receiving institution.

(4) The receiving institution shall inform a transfer student of the procedures for validation of course work for which there is no clear equivalency. Examples of validation procedures include ACE recommendations, portfolio assessment, credit through challenge, examinations, and satisfactory completion of the next course in sequence in the academic area.

(5) The receiving baccalaureate degree-granting institution shall use validation procedures when a transferring student successfully completes a course at the lower-division level that the receiving institution offers at the upper-division level. The validated credits earned for the course shall be substituted for the upper-division course.

D. Program Articulation.

(1) Recommended transfer programs shall be developed through collaboration between the sending and receiving institutions. A recommended transfer program represents an agreement between the two institutions that allows students aspiring to the baccalaureate degree to plan for seamless transfer. These programs constitute freshman/sophomore level course work to be taken at the community college in fulfillment of the receiving institution’s lower division course work requirement.

(2) Recommended transfer programs in effect at the time that this regulation takes effect, which conform to this chapter, may be retained.

E. Reverse Transfer of Credit

(1) Subject to §E(2) of this regulation, a community college shall accept for reverse transfer any credits that an individual earned at a public senior institution up to 45 credits. Credits in excess of 45 credits may be accepted in accordance with the community college’s policy.

(2) To be eligible for the transfer of credit under §E(1) of this regulation, a student shall have completed at least 15 credits at the community college to which the credits are transferred.

(3) Community colleges and public senior institutions shall develop a process to identify students eligible for reverse transfer at no cost to the student.

F. Transfer of General Education Credit

(1) A student transferring to one public institution from another public institution shall receive general education credit for work completed at the student’s sending institution as provided by this chapter.

(2) A completed general education program shall transfer without further review or approval by the receiving institution and without the need for a course-by-course match.

(3) Courses that are defined as general education by one institution shall transfer as general education even if the receiving institution does not have that specific course or has not designated that course as general education.

(4) A Maryland community college shall accept 28-36 credits of general education as specified in Regulation .03(C) of this chapter as completion of the general education requirements at the community college, without further review or the need for a course-by-course match.

(5) The receiving institution shall give lower-division general education credits to a transferring student who has taken any part of the lower-division general education credits described in Regulation .03 of this chapter at a public institution for any general education courses successfully completed at the sending institution.

(6) Except as provided in Regulation .03M of this chapter, a receiving institution may not require a transfer student who has completed the requisite number of general education credits at any public college or university to take, as a condition of graduation, more than 10-18 additional semester hours of general education and specific courses required of all students at the receiving institution, with the total number not to exceed 46 semester hours. This provision does not relieve students of the obligation to complete specific academic program requirements or course prerequisites required by a receiving institution.

(7) Each public institution shall designate on or with the student transcript those courses that have met its general education requirements, as well as indicate whether the student has completed the general education program.

(8) Associate’s Degrees.

(a) While there may be variance in the numbers of hours of general education required for associate’s degrees at a given institution, the courses identified as meeting general education requirements for all degrees shall come from the same general education course list and exclude technical or career courses.

(b) A student possessing an associate’s degree who transfers into a receiving institution with fewer than the total number of general education credits designated by the receiving institution shall complete the difference in credits according to the distribution as designated by the receiving institution. Except as provided in Regulation .03M of this chapter, the total general education credits for baccalaureate degree-granting public receiving institutions may not exceed 46 credits.

(9) Student Responsibilities. A student is held:

(a) Accountable for the loss of credits that:

(i) Result from changes in the student’s selection of the major program of study;

(ii) Were earned for remedial course work; or

(iii) Exceed the total course credits accepted in transfer as allowed by this chapter; and

(b) Responsible for meeting all requirements of the academic program of the receiving institution.