Transfer of Credit Evaluation

Transfer applicants can receive academic credit completed prior to transferring to Rochester University. Credits earned at other institutions will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. The maximum number of credits accepted for transfer credits permitted by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Education (BPPE) at the time of admission.
2. Transcript copies must be forwarded to the Dean of Academics for evaluation.
3. Courses under consideration must have a grade of “C” or higher.
4. Only those courses that are substantially comparable to Rochester University courses will be considered for evaluation.
5. Maximum transfer credit allowed for Bachelor of Theology degree program is 90 quarter credit units. For the Master of Theology degree program, maximum transfer of credit allowed is 24 quarter credit units. Maximum transfer credit allowed for Master of Divinity degree program is 40 quarter credit units.

Academic credit received from regionally and nationally accredited institutions are usually transferable to Rochester University, provided they satisfy the requirements for the particular program in which the student is enrolled. In order to request this transfer, a transfer student should arrange for an official transcript (signed and sealed) to be mailed directly from the previous institution to Rochester University’s Registrar’s Office. Transfer credit must be a grade of C or better (or pass, in pass/fail courses where a pass is equivalent to a C grade or better) and have been completed within the past 10 years.

Under exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the director of faculty meeting, transfer of credit may be possible from unaccredited institutions. The same procedures and requirements as previously noted apply. Rochester University is on the quarter system. Student transferring from an institution on the semester system can calculate the value of transferable credits at Rochester University by counting quarter units as two-thirds of a semester unit.

In order to qualify for the transfer of general education courses, the course sought for transfer must be deemed sufficiently comparable to any such course taught at Rochester University.  A course syllabus from the previous class may be required.  After review by the admissions officer and senior faculty in the program to which entry is desired, the final decision is at the discretion of the Academic Dean.  This decision is dependent upon the accreditation status of the previous institution, the level of academic rigor involved in said courses, the grade received by the student, and the level of similarity between that course and those which our programs may offer. 

Transfer credits are not computed in a student’s qualitative grade point average. Transfer credits are counted as credits attempted and earned for the purposes of calculating a student’s progress in the program.