Transfer Credit Policy

I. General Transfer Credit Policies and Procedures

Transfer credit is generally granted for courses comparable to those offered by Dominican University that were successfully completed with a grade of “C-” or above at another regionally accredited institution. The university will evaluate all hours submitted by the transfer applicant and reserves the right to accept or deny any of the credits for transfer. Upon receipt of official transcripts, the Office of the Registrar, in consultation with the appropriate academic department(s), will officially assess transfer credit after a transfer student has been formally admitted and has declared a major; only those hours that satisfy requirements will be applied to the degree and included in the student’s cumulative earned hours (grade points from transfer courses are not included in the Dominican grade point average).

Transfer credit appears on a student’s academic record and the hours are included in the student’s cumulative earned hours. Up to 68 semester hours are accepted in transfer from a two-year school and up to 90 semester hours are accepted from four-year colleges and universities. A total of four semester hours in physical education, health or recreation courses can be applied toward the 124 total semester hours required for a bachelor’s degree. Please refer to the current University Bulletin for additional information concerning transfer credit.

II. Official Entry of Transfer Credit

The Office of the Registrar officially enters transfer credits into the transfer student’s record upon receipt of an official transcript from the institution. While the preliminary transcript analysis completed by the Transfer Admission Office at the time the student is admitted is consulted, the results of the registrar’s transfer credit analysis automatically supersede the preliminary analysis and will stand as the student’s official transfer credit.

III. Dominican University Residency Requirement

The university requires 124 semester hours for graduation. A certain number of these hours must be earned in residency. Students may meet Dominican’s minimum residency requirement in any one of the following ways:

• Complete any 90 semester hours at Dominican University;
• Complete from 45 to 89 semester hours at Dominican University, including the last 15 semester hours applied toward the degree; or
• Complete the last 34 semester hours for the degree at Dominican University.

Each department will determine the number of hours in the major and minor, and/or specific required courses, that must be taken at Dominican. A maximum of 50 percent of a major may be accepted in transfer from another institution. Moreover, acceptance of a course in transfer does not automatically indicate acceptance of the course toward a major or minor requirement.

IV. Definition of a Transfer Student

A transfer student is one who has earned at least 12 semester hours of transferable college credit after receiving a high school diploma or GED certificate.

V. Classification

VI. Non-Transferable Credits

Courses with the following classifications or distinctions will not be accepted as transfer credit to Dominican University: nursing courses, college courses below 100-level and technical credits from a four-year institution and/or courses toward an associate of applied science degree from a community college (unless the community college courses are part of a program for which Dominican has a signed degree completion agreement). In addition, certain courses may not transfer for reasons other than those listed above.

Transfer credit from an under-accredited institution will be considered only after a student has completed a minimum of 30 hours at Dominican. In such cases, a maximum of 30 semester hours will be allowed from these institutions as long as Dominican offers similar courses.

VII. Articulation Agreements

Dominican University currently has articulation agreements with the following community colleges:

College of Du Page; College of Lake County; Elgin Community College; Harold Washington College; Harper College; Joliet Junior College; Kennedy-King College; Malcolm X College; McHenry County College; Moraine Valley Community College; Morton College; Oakton Community College; Olive-Harvey College; Prairie State College; Richard J. Daley College; South Suburban College; Triton College; Truman College; Waubonsee Community College; Wright College.

VIII. Credit for Service in the Armed Forces

Dominican University will award three semester hours of transfer credit for completion of basic military training. Other educational experiences earned during military service will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and require an official transcript from the respective college or university for consideration.