College Credit Transfer Guide

At Colorado Technical University, many students begin their education with past college, military, work, or life experience. Often, that experience is relevant to their degree program, potentially qualifying them for college transfer credit that could lead to savings on out-of-pocket costs and reduce time to graduation.** In addition to transfers of college course equivalency credits, CTU students may qualify to receive college credits for life experience, work experience, and military training through other means, including Experiential Learning Portfolios (ELPs), CTU Fast Track™ exams,* military credits, professional certifications, and standardized assessments.

Part of the CTU admissions process includes evaluating students’ official transcripts for college course transfer credit before their first term of study begins, and this guide is intended to help you learn more about these transfer credit policies and how we evaluate and apply previously earned credit.**

• Transferring College Credit to CTU
• Transfer of CTU Credit to Other Schools
• Obtaining Your Transcripts
• Will My College Credit Transfer Be Accepted?
• Other Types of Credit Transfers
• Get Started: Connect with Us

Transferring College Credit to CTU

Certain degree programs permit you to transfer-in external credits—that is, college credits from accredited schools other than CTU (and may include international schools as well). Students must complete a minimum of 25% of the total credit hours required for an undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral program at CTU (i.e., students could potentially transfer-in up to 75% of the credits earned at another accredited post-secondary institution**). Per the University’s residency requirement policy, not all credits may be accepted, and the amount of transfer credit applied toward any degree program is at the University’s discretion. To qualify for a credit transfer, college course equivalency to a course in your chosen degree program must be established, and making this determination requires the submission of your official transcripts to our admissions team.

Transfer of CTU Credit to Other Schools

Colorado Technical University does not imply or guarantee that credits completed at Colorado Technical University will be accepted or transferable to any other college, university, or institution. Each institution has its own policies governing the acceptance of credit from other institutions such as Colorado Technical University. Students seeking to transfer credits earned at Colorado Technical University to another institution should contact the other institution to which they seek admission to inquire as to that institution’s policies on credit transfer.

Obtaining Your Transcripts

Because it may take significant time to receive transcripts requested from other colleges and universities, you should start requesting your transcripts as early as possible. Once your official transcripts have been received by CTU, a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Evaluator will help guide you through the college credit transfer process. Keep in mind that transcripts and records presented for evaluation become part of your permanent record. You can determine if we have received your official transcript by contacting CTU’s Registrar’s Office, or by logging in to the Virtual Campus.

If you begin an undergraduate degree program pending the receipt of official college or university transcripts, you have until the end of the first quarter to provide the records, which in turn could result in a grade level change.

As a master’s degree-seeking student admitted without an official baccalaureate transcript on file, you will be admitted as a non-regular student and will be financially responsible for all associated costs of attending the university. If you do not have your official transcripts from your bachelor’s degree on file by the end of the first session, you will be administratively withdrawn. This means that you will be unable to continue your studies at CTU until the required documentation is received.

International transcripts must be translated into English and may require official evaluation by an accepted agency at your expense. It is your responsibility to coordinate and pay for English translation and any other international transcript evaluation. A PLA Evaluator can provide more information on the international credential evaluation process.

Will My College Credit Transfer Be Accepted?

Colorado Technical University operates on a quarter schedule. Incoming credits from institutions that use semester hours are converted as follows: one semester hour (from the other school) is considered equivalent to 1.5 quarter credit hours (at CTU).

College transfer credit will be accepted only upon evaluation by and at the discretion of CTU. Specific requirements include but are not limited to the following:**

• Only undergraduate courses with a “C” grade (2.0 GPA) or better or graduate courses with a “B” grade (3.0 GPA) or better will be eligible for transfer credit.
• No transfer credit will be awarded for courses that were failed, withdrawn from, or otherwise do not meet CTU’s transfer credit criteria.
• Only college-level, postsecondary degree-applicable courses will be eligible for transfer credit.
• Once students are in the last session of their degree program, no advanced standing credit will be awarded.
• Transfer credit must be applied one session before a student’s course is scheduled in order to exempt the student from taking the course.
• Comparable course-to-course transfer may be accepted from accredited institutions based on comparable outcomes in lieu of credit requirements.
• Transfer credit may not be applied for specific courses found in programs with programmatic accreditation or affiliation.
• Duplication of college course transfer credit is not permitted in any degree program.
• Transfer credit may be permitted at the graduate level at the discretion of the Academic Affairs and Prior Learning Assessment Departments. Any exceptions allowed must be justified and approved by an appropriate senior academic official.
• Transfer credit applied toward a doctoral program may be awarded at the discretion of the appropriate senior academic official.

See the University Catalog for additional information.

Other Types of Credit Transfers

CTU appreciates the value that real life experience brings and believes that colleges should give credit for life experience, not just academic experience. That’s why, in addition to accepting college credit transfers, we also offer the following methods for potentially earning college credit:**

1. CTU Fast Track™: CTU Fast Track™ exams provide an opportunity to earn college credit toward your undergraduate degree program for what you already know. By passing multiple CTU Fast Track™ exams, you could graduate up 30% faster and save up to 30% on tuition.*
2. Experiential Learning Portfolio (ELP): In some cases, you may receive college course equivalency credit for experiential learning gained through non-collegiate school-based learning, employment, or other appropriate learning experiences. To earn this credit, you must provide documentation demonstrating a direct alignment with courses in your CTU academic program. The maximum amount of life experience credit that can be accepted toward graduation is 16 credit hours for an associate degree, 32 credit hours for a bachelor’s degree, and eight credit hours for a master’s degree.
3. Military Credits: As a college that accepts “military credits,” CTU makes it possible for active duty, reserve, and former military members to transfer their military education into college credit, which can result in on out-of-pocket savings costs and potentially decrease the overall time to graduation. Like other types of professional or life experience credits, military training and experience credits must relate to a specific course in order to qualify for a college course equivalency credit award. Colorado Technical University uses the ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services as the basis for evaluating military training and experience. Official military transcripts are the only acceptable documentation for Military Training, MOS, MOS Level, and Service School Credit.
4. Professional Training/Certification: Even if you’ve never set foot in a college classroom, you may nonetheless qualify to receive a college credit if you’ve received formal training from a non-accredited institution or professional training through an employer. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and other documented “clock hours” may be eligible. You may be required to submit a learning narrative as part of the evaluation process.
5. Standardized Assessments: Another way to demonstrate knowledge competency and prior learning is by taking an Advanced Placement (AP) exam, a College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam, or a DSST examination (formerly DANTES Subject Standardized Test).

With the exception of CTU Fast Track™ exams, advanced standing options must be completed no later than one session prior to the start date of the course(s) for which you wish to earn credit. Once you are in the last session of your degree program, no advanced standing credit will be awarded.

Get Started: Connect With Us

Which of my online college credits will transfer in? How do I apply for a college credit transfer to CTU? A member of the CTU admissions team can help answer these questions and more, but only if you reach out first.

If you’re ready to take the next step and become part of CTU’s large network of current students and alumni, call us at 855.230.0555 or request information online to learn more.

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** Transfer credit is evaluated on an individual basis. Not all credits eligible to transfer. See the University Catalog for transfer credit policies.