ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ

Harpur College Transfer Credit Policies

In order to check your transfer credits:

1. Go to and log-in to BU Brain.
2. Click the Your Records tab.
3. Click Academic Online Transcript.
4. Select the Transcript Level (usually undergraduate or all levels).
5. Select the Transcript Type as Unofficial.
6. Any transfer credit (including AP, IB and credit from other colleges or universities) will be listed under Transfer Credit Accepted by Institution.

PLEASE NOTE: Academic departments determine which courses are acceptable for use in a major. If you have any questions about whether or not a course will fulfill a major requirement, you are advised to see your major advisor.

General Information

• Most courses from regionally accredited institutions, with grades of C- or better, are accepted to transfer(*see below for exceptions for coursework taken in Spring 2020)
• Students are allowed to transfer up to 32 credits from exams (AP, IB, CLEP, A-Level, etc.)
• Remedial or developmental courses will not transfer
• Practical, applied, or trade-oriented courses will not transfer. Examples of non-transferable courses include (but are not limited to): Intro to Word/Spreadsheets/Presentation Software, Keyboarding, construction-related topics, culinary/gastronomy, manufacturing, applied fashion design & merchandising, crafting, sewing, etc.
• Harpur College students have a liberal arts requirement that is determined by their degree: BA, BS, MusB, and BFA. This requirement can be found on Harpur's requirement site and on your DegreeWorks audit. Please be sure to check your liberal arts requirement in DegreeWorks before transferring in non-liberal arts credit.

Grades

• Liberal arts courses from regionally accredited institutions with grades of C- or better transfer, but check with your major department to see how they apply toward your major (some majors require a minimum grade of C or higher for courses to count in the major)
• Courses with a grade of "P" (Pass) transfer, although you may need to take courses for a letter grade to count them toward your major
• General Education courses must be taken for a letter grade
• Grades do not transfer and do not affect your Binghamton GPA. Grades for transfer courses are indicated with a T + grade earned (TA, TB+, etc...)

Credits

• For coursework taken at another college, you will be awarded the number of semester credit hours you earned at that college, as noted on your official transcript. However, a three-credit course from another school can fulfill a requirement that is typically fulfilled by a Binghamton course that is four credits.
• Credits from schools on the quarter system are adjusted to equate to semester credit, e.g., three quarter system credits are equal to two semester credits, five quarter system credits are equal to three semester credits, etc.

General Education

• The course must be taken for a letter grade with a grade of C- or better (exception: Physical Education requirement if the course is only offered pass-fail)
• The course must be at least 3 credits
  • Exceptions:
    • Physical Activity (Y) - at least 1 credit
    • Wellness (S) - at least 1 credit
    • Both Physical Activity & Wellness (B) - at least 1 credit
    • Oral Communication (O)
• Internships, independent studies, and developmental courses will not fulfill General Education requirements

Writing

• Students may transfer in a maximum of one 'C' course and two 'W' courses if these courses contain expository writing done in the English language. The following types of courses are acceptable toward fulfillment of the writing requirement:
  • Literature courses taught in English, Literature, or Comparative Literature departments (note: creative writing courses do not receive writing credit)
  • English or Rhetoric courses that involve expository writing (course titles might include College Writing, Composition, Technical Writing and Journalism)
  • Courses taken at your previous school that apply towards that school's designated writing requirement.
• The first writing class a student transfers will be designated as a 'C' (Composition) course. Subsequent writing courses will be designated 'W' (Writing) courses. 

Repeat/Duplicate Coursework

• Credit is not granted for courses previously passed (grade of D or higher), or for which AP credit was awarded.
• If you are repeating a course for your major, consult with your department. After a repeated course has been transferred, notify the Harpur Academic Advising Office of successful completion by completing the

Lower-Level Courses

• Lower-level transfer courses cannot fulfill ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ’s upper-level requirements or transfer in as 300- or 400-level courses, but can be used to fulfill major or other degree requirements. See the for additional information

Transfer EMT Coursework

• If your EMT course is transcripted by a regionally accredited college or university, we will award you the number of credits indicated on your transcript. Please have your transcript sent to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. You will receive non-liberal arts elective credit and Wellness (S) general education credit.
• If your EMT course is not transcripted by a regionally accredited college or university, please bring your EMT card to Harpur Advising. You will receive 4 credits of non-liberal arts elective credit and Wellness (S) general education credit.

Military Credits

Harpur College students may receive credit for military training courses, under the following conditions:

• Students must provide official documentation in the form of a Joint-Services Transcript (JST). The JST presents a record of military coursework complete with descriptions and ACE recommendations. JSTs are available for all active duty personnel and veterans.
• Basic Training is acceptable for transfer credit; one credit of basic training may be used to meet the Activity (Y) GenEd requirement.
• Credit is granted for courses that meet our regular transfer guidelines and ACE recommendations.

Series Coursework 

• You will not receive credit for a course in a series if you have already received credit for a course higher in the series (ex. if you have already received credit for French II, you will not receive credit for French I; if you received credit for Calculus II, you will not receive credit for Calculus I).

Residency Requirement

• You must complete 44 credits in residence (through Harpur College) to receive a Harpur College degree from ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ.

International Transfer Credit

When submitting transcripts from colleges or universities outside of the United States, please note that we may require an official copy of the transcript, translated into English if necessary, and an official course-by-course evaluation from or . These evaluation reports should be sent directly to the ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ Office of Admissions. Please note that an evaluation from WES or ECE is not necessary in the following situations:

• coursework taken through a ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ or SUNY study abroad program
• any international coursework that is transcripted by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States
• coursework transcripted by an international college or university with which Binghamton University has an articulation agreement and/or partnership
• coursework taught by a ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ faculty member and transcripted by an accredited international college or university

Transfer Policy for Coursework Taken in Spring 2020 

ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ recognizes the conditions of spring 2020 in evaluation of incoming college credit and will accept non-letter grade (Pass or Satisfactory) coursework for credit and may fulfill general education requirements.

For coursework taken in Spring 2020:

• Up to 12 credits of non-letter grade coursework from the spring 2020 semester may fulfill major and minor coursework.
• Additional non-letter grade coursework may transfer in as elective credits. Additional non-letter grade coursework from spring 2020 may be applied to requirements on an exception basis for students attending a college or university where non-letter grades are the only grading option.
• When evaluating general education course credit earned during the spring 2020 term, transfer of credit is guaranteed at all SUNY campuses if a general education course is successfully completed with any passing grade, including a ‘P’ in a Pass/Fail grading system.

---