Skidmore College
TRANSFER CREDIT POLICIES 
FOR COURSEWORK COMPLETED AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS  

Transfer credit is awarded at the sole discretion of Skidmore College and according to the general policies below: 

I.  Evaluation of Credits from Accredited Colleges or Universities

A.    Students are required to complete a minimum of 60 semester hours of credit at Skidmore to receive a Skidmore degree. A maximum of 60 credits can be awarded in transfer credit (including credit by examination).

B.    To earn credit at Skidmore College, all transfer credit must come from a regionally accredited, degree-granting college or university (including community colleges) or a program preapproved by Skidmore’s Office of Off-Campus Study and Exchanges.

C.    On-line/distance learning courses cannot earn transfer credit.

D.    Students who have completed work at other colleges and who wish to have this work credited toward a Skidmore degree must have official transcripts from those colleges sent directly to the Registrar at Skidmore. Course descriptions/syllabi for each course should also be submitted.

E.    Students who wish to complete a semester abroad or study away as domestic exchange students must receive approval from the Office of Off-Campus Study and Exchanges and approval for all course work from Department Chairs, Program Directors, and the Registrar’s Office prior to enrolling.

F.    Students who wish to enroll in summer programs at other institutions must complete the Summer School Approval Application through the Registrar’s Office prior to enrolling.  (See additional summer school requirements in section V.)

G.    A letter grade of ‘C’ or higher is required to earn transfer credit.  ‘C-’ and below will not earn transfer credit at Skidmore. Courses for which a Pass or Satisfactory was earned at the other college will earn credit at Skidmore ONLY if the college can provide a letter grade in addition to the Pass.

H.    Grades do not transfer to Skidmore and are not calculated into the Skidmore Grade Point Average.   However, grades are recorded on the Skidmore transcript as documentation of credits and grades earned away.

I.     Foreign Language courses can earn credit only with the preapproval of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department.  Students may not repeat a language level already achieved in high school or college.

J.     Courses which are not awarded academic credit by the other college will not earn transfer credit at Skidmore.

K.    Courses taken in disciplines offered at Skidmore are evaluated by the Registrar in consultation with Department Chairs and Program Directors.  The Department Chair or Program Director is the final authority on credit earned in his/her discipline.

L.    Credit can be awarded for liberal arts courses taken in disciplines not offered by Skidmore upon review by the Registrar.  If approved, these courses earn general elective credit.

M.    Courses taken at other colleges in technical or professional areas are usually not transferable to Skidmore.

N.    The Registrar calculates the number of credits which are transferable depending upon the calendar system of the other institution (semester, trimester, quarter system) and the classroom (contact) hours of the class.  (See Section IV for        details.)

O.    Community college courses cannot earn Maturity-Level (300-level) credit.

P.    Skidmore does not award credit from these programs:  Seamester (LIU), Semester at Sea, NOLS, Outward Bound.  Veterans can produce form DD214 to earn one Physical Activity credit. 

Students must have received approval from the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS) to study at a non-accredited institution.

Students who have completed work at post-secondary institutions (approved abroad programs such as Charles Cecil Studios in Italy, Glasgow School of Art in Scotland, language programs abroad, or Academy of Art in San Francisco, for example ) which are not accredited colleges or universities must have an official statement of attendance with a full description of completed work, including a final assessment, sent from the institution to the Registrar. In addition, students may be asked to submit syllabi and other evidence of material covered, e.g. art portfolios. A review of the rigor of the program’s academic standards, teaching faculty, and grading practices may be required.  Upon recommendation of the appropriate Department Chair or Program Director and the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS) the Registrar may award credit. 

III. Evaluation of Credits for People Holding a Bachelor’s Degree 

A person who has already received a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree may not be matriculated at Skidmore as a candidate for the same degree. S/he may be a candidate for the other Bachelor’s degree, or may register as a special student and complete the required work in another major field. Skidmore has a 2-year residency requirement, and 60 credits may be transferred to Skidmore.  All college requirements must be completed.  Applicants who have earned a baccalaureate degree are encouraged to pursue course work at the graduate level.

IV.  Calculation of Credits 

         Credits are calculated according to the following guidelines.
         Contact (classroom) hours required to earn transfer credit:

      Quarter System: credits are calculated by taking 2/3 of the quarter system credits:

                6 quarter hours at the other college = 4 credits at Skidmore
                5 quarter hours at the other college = 3.33 credits at Skidmore
                4 quarter hours at the other college = 2.67 credits at Skidmore

(Some institutions on the quarter system are Northeastern U, Northwestern U, Ohio State, Stanford U, U of Cincinnati, U of Minnesota, UCLA, UC-Riverside, -San Diego, -San Francisco, Oregon State U, Portland State U.)   

     (Summer school courses must also adhere to the general policies in Section I.) 

A.    Summer school sessions must be at least 4 full weeks long (for one course).

B.    For two courses, the session must be at least 5 full weeks long. No more 
       than 2 courses can be taken in any session.

C.    A maximum of 16 credits can be earned in a summer:  
       8 in one 5-week session + 8 in a second 5-week session.

D.    Only one course (4 credits) can earn maturity level (300-level) credit 
       in an entire summer.

E.    Summer Abroad Programs must be preapproved by the Office of 
       Off-Campus Study and Exchanges as well as the Registrar.

F.    All summer coursework must be preapproved by the Registrar.