Credit Transfer FAQs
Credit Transfer Frequently Asked Questions
Feel free to scroll through the common questions below, or you can also send questions about your specific credit record using our Inquiry Form.
1. How do I know what institutional college credits KSU will accept for transfer?
KSU will accept all undergraduate college level courses from regionally accredited institutions. Courses taken in Ohio prior to fall 2005 must have been passed with a "C" or better, or a "D" or better from fall 2005 forward. Courses taken outside of Ohio must have been passed with a "C" or better if taken prior to fall 2010 or a "D" or better if taken fall 2010 forward. This includes web-based courses.
There are majors that require a specific grade in some coursework or as a prerequisite for enrollment in a subsequent course. Examples may include situations such as the requirement to earn a "C-" or better in English Composition I before taking English Composition II OR Accounting majors who must earn a "B-" in Financial Accounting. Transfer students are held to these academic program requirements with both Kent State and transfer credits, and must have earned the specified grade in the equivalent transferring course. In the second example, a transfer student majoring in Accounting who earned a "C-" in the equivalent to Financial Accounting at their previous, Ohio institution in the Fall of 2006 would have the credit transferred, but it would not meet the requirement for the major. Please be aware that only credit value will transfer to your Kent State record and transfer courses will not count towards your Kent State grade point average. Please refer to the full details of Kent State's Transfer Credit Policy in the catalog.
Students who wish to transfer graduate level credits into a Kent State University graduate program must obtain approval from their graduate program using the "Transfer of Graduate Credit" form, available on the Graduate College Forms Library page. As with undergraduate credits, these will not count towards your Kent State GPA. Visit the Transfer of Graduate Credit catalog policy page for more information regarding transfer of graduate credits.
You can check the Transfer Credit Guide to see how your courses transfer to KSU. You can check the Ohio Department of Higher Education website for statewide equivalencies (TAGS).
You will receive an email at your @kent.edu address when your official evaluation has been completed or updated so be sure to set up your FlashLine account when you are notified of your admission.
If you are looking for Transfer Pathways, also called articulation agreements, you can check out our list of pathways here.
2. What accreditation does Kent State accept?
Kent State University is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and accepts credits from Higher Education institutions accredited by the following organizations:
- The Higher Learning Commission (HLC, previously North Central Association NCA-HLC and NCA-CASI)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE, previously MSA)
- New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE, previously NEASC-CIHE and NEASC-CTCI)
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC, previously SACS)
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WASC-ACCJC and WASC-ACSCU)
If you are unsure whether your current school has one of these accreditations, there are a number of places you may be able to locate the school's status. They are: the school's website, the school's catalog, your transcript, the school's Registrar's office, the website of the above accrediting agencies, or the U.S. Department of Education database.
A special note for students of unaccredited or closed schools: At Kent State University, we can help you transition from another institution, including closed, unaccredited, and for-profit Schools. If you don’t find your school located in our Transfer Credit Guide, contact us through our inquiry form and we can have a transfer counselor or college advisor reach out to you and discuss how Kent State can help you transition into our curriculum. We are also a member of the American Council on Education (ACE) and will accept ACE recommended credits for elective credit hours if we receive an official transcript showing the ACE badge with recommended credits for that course. Applicability of the ACE elective credits towards any program requirements for graduation will be determined by your college and/or Provost approval. Check your institution or association's website for transcript ordering information on how to order your ACE (or Credly) transcript and have it sent directly to transcripts@kent.edu.
For questions about Kent State's own regional accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), please refer to our Accreditation, Assessment and Learning committee website.
3. Will KSU accept military credit?
Kent State University is a Military Friendly institution and awards college credit for basic military training, military courses and military occupations. All eligible credits must be recognized by the American Council on Education (ACE), who recommends appropriate credit hours to be awarded. We honor all ACE credit recommendations and also honor the State of Ohio Military Transfer Assurance Guide (MTAG) equivalencies as well. Kent State also accepts DANTES Standardized Subject Test (DSST), Defense Language Proficiency Tests (DLPT) and more. To earn Kent State University Credit, request your military transcripts at the Joint Services Transcript website.
For further information, see our Military Students page to learn about military credit evaluations.
4. Does KSU accept AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate) or AL (A-Level) credit?
Kent State awards AP, IB and AL credit when your test scores are sent to Kent State University. Additional information on each of these areas and their minimum score requirements can be found under the Academic Credit section of this site. If you have further questions about any of these credits after reviewing those pages, you can contact the Credit Transfer Office via our on-line inquiry FORM.
5. How do I get credit for my College Credit Plus (CCP) courses, College courses during high school, or Post Secondary Option (PSEOP)?
Did you take college-level courses while you were still in High School? If so, those courses will be reported on a college transcript that is separate from your high school transcript, even if they are listed as part of your high school academics. If you are applying as an undergraduate student and you took CCP (Post Secondary) coursework somewhere other than KSU, you will need to have official transcripts from that College or University forwarded directly to the Office of Admissions at the Kent State University Campus to which you are applying. Contacts for regional admissions can be found on the Campus Locations page. Information about international admissions can be found on the Office of Global Education page.
If you took the courses at Kent State, then your coursework is already part of your academic record once you are admitted as an undergraduate.
6. Does KSU accept/offer Credit by Exam or CLEP credit?
Review KSU's University Advising and Testing web page for information about which CLEP exams are offered. Select the tab for "CLEP" and you will see the credit chart listed in that section. If you have questions about the Ohio statewide CLEP scores, please refer to the Transfer Credit Ohio website regarding the College-Level Examination program. If you are interested in Credit By Exam (CBE) visit the Credit by Exam web page. If you have earned CBE from your current school, they will transfer to KSU if they appear on the transcript as institutional credit (not transfer credit). To receive CLEP credits, you will need to request for your scores be sent to Kent State University, school code 1367. CLEP scores received with the minimum score for credit will be added to your student record and you will be notified about the credit through your kent.edu email.
7. How is international credit treated?
If you have attended an accredited institution from outside the US and it's territories, KSU will accept international transfer credit where a "C" or better has been earned in classes completed prior to Fall 2010, or a "D" or better starting Fall 2010 and later. For admission and other important information, international students should contact the Office of Global Education (OGE) at (330)672-7980 or visit their web page. All international transcripts are first evaluated by the Office of Global Education before being added to your Kent State record.
8. Is Kent State on the quarter or semester system?
Kent State operates on the semester system and grants credits in semester hours. The academic year consists of two fifteen-week (plus a final exams week) semesters, fall and spring. There is also a summer term consisting of four sessions: a three-week intersession, two five-week sessions and an eight-week session. If you are transferring from a school that is on the quarter system, it is helpful to know the hour conversion. A quarter-hour of work equals two-thirds of a semester hour. For example, if you have earned 36 quarter hours, it is the equivalent of 24 semester hours. Don't panic. While it seems that you have lost hours, you haven't since it takes fewer semester hours to complete a degree.
5 quarter hours = 3.33 semester hours
4 quarter hours = 2.66 semester hours
3 quarter hours = 2 semester hours
2 quarter hours = 1.33 semester hours
1 quarter hour = 0.66 semester hours
9. What is Ohio's Guaranteed Transfer Credit? (This includes AP, CTAGs, CT2, Ohio Transfer 36, TAGs, Tech Prep, MTAGs and more)
Visit the Credit Transfer Ohio Guaranteed Transfer Credit page for additional information.
If you have further questions regarding the East Central Regional Center for the Ohio College Tech Prep program of study, you can find more information at the College Tech Prep website.
10. Where can I view my Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE)?
Your Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE) can be accessed through your Flashline account using the "GPS Audit and Plan" link within student resources. Follow these instructions to view your TCE.
11. I have a question about a course in my General Electives section that I would like re-evaluated. What is my first step?
The Credit Transfer Office determines which credits are articulated (i.e. added) to your Kent State student record. The college of your major program evaluates the applicability of those courses to your major program. You may notice that some of your courses were added to your record with a letter 'X' as part of the course number. This simply means that there wasn't a match to an exact course in our current catalog so we used a pseudo-course number to add the credits to your audit. These may be courses that needed further information, such as a syllabus, to make a better match. To determine if your courses would benefit from further review, meet with your program advisor to initiate the course review process using your course's syllabus. If you did not keep the syllabus, most institutions will provide a copy for you if you reach out to the department that hosts that course. (For example, you may want to call the other school's Mathematical Sciences department for a copy of your College Algebra course syllabus.) You can also ask further questions about syllabus review and appeals during an advising appointment, or by contacting us through our on-line inquiry FORM.
12. My courses were taken at an unaccredited school. Will I get credit for them?
The credits will not be added to your record upon admission. You can talk with your advisor in the college that houses your major program to review your syllabi from those courses. There may also be certificates, licensures, or other alternative learning you may have completed through that experience that can also be reviewed. In cases where you cannot provide documentation of your prior learning experiences, you also have options like Credit by Exam, Retroactive Credits, placement exams, or CLEP exams. You can ask further questions about specific prior schools and their credit eligibility through our on-line inquiry FORM.
13. My Higher Education institution closed. Can I transfer to Kent State?
We recognize the difficulty that students face when transitioning from one campus to another and we want to make this process as smooth as we can. If your academic journey has been impacted by a school closing, Kent State University has many resources to help you. We host a "Transfer Kent State" orientation program for all new transfer students to ensure that you have all the resources needed to efficiently complete your degree at Kent State. Your prior coursework and transcripts will be evaluated upon admission. Save any syllabi and course notes from your prior courses to assist advisors when reviewing your program requirements and reach out to our admissions office if you need additional guidance. You can contact admissions@kent.edu or view information for transferring students at www.kent.edu/transfer. Many schools still offer transcripts and documentation online through resources like National Student Clearinghouse and Parchment. If you are having difficulties obtaining documentation from your prior schools, use our Inquiry FORM to reach out to our office to see if we may have any additional information that may be helpful.
Are You a Notre Dame College or Eastern Gateway Community College Student? We're Here to Help. If your academic journey has been impacted by recent news, please visit our dedicated web pages for students from Notre Dame College and Eastern Gateway Community College.
14. Does Kent State award credit for my certificate or license?
Kent State University must have an official copy of your certificate before a credit review can be initiated. (Notation on the high school or college transcript will not suffice.) If you believe that you may be eligible for college credits from a license or certificate that you have obtained, then you will need to make an appointment with the advisor for your major program. They will verify if Kent State is able to award college credits and submit the appropriate form request to our office for you. If you are a faculty member or advisor with further questions, please contact the Credit Transfer Office for assistance.
MORE QUESTIONS? Please know that Kent State University values our student's hard work and experiences prior to transitioning to a Kent State program. If you think that you may be eligible for college credit through an experience not mentioned above, we encourage you to make an appointment with your academic program advisor to discuss that experience. Take time to review our Alternative Credit options in our college catalog and forward any documentation regarding experiences you feel may be eligible for college credit to your advisor before meeting with them.
