As a student plans a degree program, make sure that the courses taken each semester apply towards that degree. An academic adviser on the students home campus can save time and money by ensuring that each course taken fits the learners program.
Students sometimes switch institutions or programs of study during their college career. Before a student enters the new university or department, any classes already taken are evaluated to see whether they match courses on the new campus. Generally, previous courses are considered as:
If the student plans to take courses from the distance classes offered through the Indiana College Network, before registering for a class, make sure the student checks with an academic adviser on their home campus that the possible class transfers into:
If the student doesn’t have an appointed adviser, the IPSE campus coordinator can help the student reach an academic adviser.
A “credit transfer agreement” is included on the ICN Web site. Encourage the student to plan ahead and talk with an academic adviser about this agreement to ensure that a course from another institution is accepted by the home institution and the students school or department. Note that student will want to ask the adviser whether he/she is willing to sign this agreement before classes begin to verify that the course to be taken will transfer into a specific degree program. Emphasize to the student to keep the signed document safely with other important records.
If the student has the credit transfer agreement, the IPSE coordinator on the home campus should verify at the beginning of the semester that the course will count towards total number of courses taken during the semester. This is particularly important for students using federal forms for financial assistance who need all courses for the next semester to appear on the home institution’s registrar’s records. A student not using federal forms for financial assistance can wait until after receiving a grade for a transcript be exchanged between institutions.