College Credit Transfer Policies

Rhodes welcomes applications from students who wish to gain college credit from testing programs or transfer credits from other accredited colleges or universities.

For students enrolled in high schools/secondary schools who take a college course

Students who have not graduated from high school, but have taken college course work, are not considered transfer students.  A maximum of 32 credits may be earned through Advanced Placement, Cambridge Pre-U, International Baccalaureate, and Option International Baccalaureate examinations. It is the responsibility of the student to have official reports of examination scores in Advanced Placement, Cambridge Pre-U, International Baccalaureate, and/or Option International Baccalaureate sent to Rhodes College. For specific course credits, please see this Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate chart.

Courses taken on a college campus prior to matriculation by accepted students, including those which are taken in conjunction with a dual enrollment program at the secondary school level, will be accepted for credit only if such coursework does not satisfy high school graduation requirements or requirements for admission to Rhodes. Such courses must be taken on a college campus, not in a high school even if taught by collegiate faculty. Credit for such courses must be requested during the summer prior to enrollment at Rhodes.

For graduates of high schools/secondary schools enrolled in college courses

Students who have enrolled in more than two courses in any one semester or term at another college or university are considered transfer students. Students who transfer to Rhodes have their previous college work evaluated for transfer credit upon their acceptance for admission.

Rhodes students may enroll in courses at other colleges and universities and transfer credits to Rhodes. A student who desires to have academic work transferred from another institution must have the work approved in advance by the appropriate academic department chairperson at Rhodes and by the Registrar. Courses not receiving prior approval may not be accepted for transfer credit at the discretion of the department chair and the Registrar.

Transfer credit may not be used to satisfy a Foundation Requirement. Rhodes students who study abroad in a long-term program that has been pre-approved through the Buckman Center for International Education will normally satisfy the F11 requirement, unless the program has been noted by the Center’s Director as particularly unsuitable for this purpose.

The following guidelines are used in evaluating academic work from other institutions for transfer credit:

• To be accepted for credit, each course must be judged comparable in terms of content and quality to a course in the curriculum at Rhodes or it must be judged to be consistent with the liberal arts and science curriculum and of a quality comparable to that expected of courses at Rhodes. Departmental chairpersons make these judgments; in many cases the Registrar of the College can act with the authority of departmental chairpersons. In some departments, a proficiency examination must be passed in order for the transfer credit to be accepted. The chairpersons and the Registrar assign credit toward a degree in such a way as to match comparable work at Rhodes.
• The course work must be taken on the campus of an accredited college or university or while on a study abroad program approved through the Buckman Center for International Education. Online courses, distance education courses, and dual credit courses taught in a high school are not accepted for transfer credit.
• Transfer credit may not be used to satisfy a Foundation Requirement with the following exception: Rhodes students who study abroad in a long-term program that has been pre-approved through the Buckman Center for International Education will normally satisfy the F11 requirement, unless the program has been noted by the Center’s Director as particularly unsuitable for this purpose.  In addition, students may satisfy up to two additional Foundation requirements while abroad (or up to three additional Foundation requirements for a year-long program). The Director of the Buckman Center will recommend to the Foundations Curriculum Committee, in consultation with the Registrar, and other faculty members as necessary, the appropriateness of the course(s) taken abroad for Foundations credit. This recommendation will be done in accordance with guidelines as provided by the Foundations Curriculum Committee.
• No more than twelve transfer credits may be earned in any one summer.
• All course work taken at other institutions for which Rhodes receives a transcript will be evaluated for transfer credit, and if pre-approved for transfer credit, will be posted to the student’s record.
• A maximum of 64 credits or fifty percent of the total credit required for a degree may be accepted towards a Rhodes degree. No student may earn additional transfer credit once that credit limit has been reached.
• Transfer credits based on a quarter system are converted to the Rhodes credit basis using the formula that one quarter-hour equals two-thirds credit. Fractional transfer credits will be credited.
• Students earning both transfer credits and Advanced Placement, Cambridge Pre-U, International Baccalaureate, and/or Option International Baccalaureate credits may apply a maximum combined total of fifty percent of the total credit required for a degree to the Rhodes degree. A student with such credit must earn at least fifty percent of the total credit required for a degree in residence at Rhodes.
• Of the 32 credits earned to qualify for the senior year in residence, a maximum of eight credits may be transfer credit.
• Transfer credits are not accepted if the grade is D+ or below. Transfer courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis must be passed with a grade of C or better. Confirmation of such a grade must be received by the Registrar before the course will be accepted for transfer credit. Transfer credits are credited to the Rhodes transcript as credits only; they are not computed in or used to determine the grade point average.
• Courses taken on a college campus prior to matriculation by accepted students, including those which are taken in conjunction with a dual enrollment program at the secondary school level, will be accepted for credit under the same guidelines as stated above, including review by the appropriate department at Rhodes, only if such coursework does not satisfy high school graduation requirements or requirements for admission to Rhodes. Such courses must be taken on a college campus, not in a high school even if taught by collegiate faculty. Credit for such courses must be requested during the summer prior to enrollment at Rhodes. Students who have not graduated from high school who present such courses for transfer credit are not considered transfer students.

Additional information can be found in the Rhodes College Catalog in sections related to Transfer Students and Requirements for a Degree.