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Transfer Policies

Transfer Policies
Transfer Guidelines for the General Education Core, Character Core, and Biblical Studies
Credit by Examination
Credit for Military Training
Credit for Prior Learning

Students may fulfill degree requirements by successfully completing courses offered by Point University. Students may also secure credit for courses taken at previous institutions. Point accepts an unlimited number of transfer credits within the bounds of the University’s residency requirements (see below under “Residency Requirements and Transfer Credits”) and the policies outlined below. Decisions regarding the awarding of transfer credit are made by the Registrar Office staff in consultation with college deans and the Chief Academic Officer. The Registrar provides students with transcript evaluations and other documents specifying the type and amount of credit granted.

Note that students must normally complete the final 30 credits of degree requirements, including the majority of their professional requirements, during the five years immediately preceding the granting of the degree. This policy ensures that students’ knowledge and professional skills are reasonably up-to-date at the time Point awards the degree.

Credit by Transfer. Point University accepts transfer credits from the following types of institutions. Applicants must submit official transcripts from those institutions. A tentative evaluation of transfer credits may be made as part of the admission process.  The Registrar officially transfers credits after the applicant has been accepted and has declared a degree program.

Credits earned at other institutions will be assessed for their applicability to a student's current degree program. Credits that fulfill general education or elective requirements will be accepted if the grade earned is C (C-) or higher. Courses relevant to the Character Core will also be evaluated for potential transfer credit. Due to evolving standards in various disciplines, transfer credits for specific professional majors and minors will be reviewed and may be accepted based on their alignment with Point University's current degree requirements. Courses that do not meet major or minor requirements but otherwise meet transfer credit criteria will be accepted as elective credits.

Other Colleges and Universities. Point University accepts academic credits transferred from other colleges or universities according to the following criteria:

  • The college or university must be an institution of higher education accredited by an institutional accrediting body (e.g. SACSCOC, HLC, MSACS, WASC), national accrediting body (e.g. ABHE), or professional accrediting body (e.g. NASM, NCATE) recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) at the time the credits were awarded. These accrediting bodies mandate assessment and other quality control systems that give Point University a high level of confidence in their programs.


    Other educational experiences will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis according to the following criteria: course/degree content and level, faculty credentials, and student performance. Applicants may be asked to provide course syllabi or other evidence needed to make those judgments. If experience shows that Point University can have confidence in a given institution, the Registrar may place it on a list of “approved” institutions, which will facilitate the transfer process. Point University reserves the right to withhold recognition of credits awarded by any college or university that does not, in the opinion of the administration, meet reasonable academic standards. Credits from non-accredited institutions are usually not transferable.

  • Students must have completed the transferred courses, earning a minimum grade of “C-” for undergraduate credit or “B” for graduate credit (or “P” if the courses were offered on a Pass/Fail basis or “S” if offered on a Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory basis). Only credits completed at Point University contribute to the student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA); transfer credits and grades are not used in calculating the Point GPA. However, the University does use transfer credits and grades that satisfy Point degree requirements in determining graduation honors (see “Graduation Honors,” which appears below under “Undergraduate Academic Honors”).

  • The transferred courses must apply to a Point University degree program as the equivalents of required courses (i.e. providing a similar knowledge base and/or competencies) or as appropriate electives. Some fields (such as information technology) are constantly changing, so courses completed many years ago may be outdated and therefore ineligible for transfer. Departmental faculty will review transcripts and may require students to complete a newer version of a course. They will do this only when absolutely necessary for student success in the degree program and the professional field. This policy ensures that students’ professional competencies are reasonably up-to-date at the time Point awards the degree.

  • Point’s residency requirements (see below under “Residency Requirements and Transfer Credits”) limit the number of transfer credits students may apply to a Point degree: For an associate’s degree, students may transfer no more than 50% of the required courses (typically 30 credits) from another institution. For a bachelor’s degree, students may transfer no more than 75% of the required courses (typically 90 credits), including a maximum 60 credits from 2-year colleges. For a master’s degree, students may transfer no more than 33% of the required courses from an outside institution. These limits apply to all forms of Credit by Prior Learning, including AP, IB, CLEP, DSST, CDD, and military training, and demonstrated competency (described below).

  • Students who transfer credits from non-U.S. or non-English-speaking institutions must provide Point University with a certified translation of transcripts and course descriptions, as well as a detailed and comprehensive transcript evaluation. For the full policy, see the discussion of “International and Non-English Transcripts” in the section of this catalog devoted to “Application & Admission.”

  • Point University does not grant transfer credit for remedial coursework, college orientation, high school level courses (apart from the Advanced Placement program described below), or General Education Development (GED) tests.

  • Point University does not grant credit for duplicated courses (e.g. Beginning Composition completed at one college and Freshman English completed at another).

  • If a course has been repeated for credit, the last grade earned will be used in the transfer evaluation—even if it is a lower grade—because it represents the most recent measure of student competency.

Vocational Schools, Technical Colleges, or Institutes. Degree credits earned at vocational or technical institutions may be transferred to Point according to the policies stated above. Courses equivalent in content to required Point University courses may be used to fulfil General Education Core or professional major requirements. Others may be used as General Electives.

Point has partnership arrangements with certain colleges that allow students to trans-fer up to 36 credits as General Electives. In such cases, Point may allow substitutions for certain General Education Core courses in order to fulfil those commitments while still meeting accreditation requirements.

Concurrent Enrollment. Students may take courses at other institutions concurrently with studies at Point University, giving them the status of “transient students.” To verify that credits are transferable to Point, students should follow this procedure:

  • Complete the Transient Permission Form found on the “Registrar” page of the Point website (https://point.edu/academics/registrar). The form includes the name of the proposed course, the place and dates it is offered, an official course description, and the Point requirement the course will fulfil.

  • Secure advance approval in the form of a signature from the Registrar and the appropriate faculty department chair.

  • The Registrar will then place the signed Petition in the student’s file as a binding agreement. If the student completes the proposed course, earning the appropriate grade, the Point requirement will be fulfilled.