SectionsStudents: Transfer credits not fair
Kathryn Wall
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News
Changing schools is a big pain. Not only do transfer students have to learn a whole new campus, meet whole new people and get used to a whole different academic environment, they also have to hope all the time they spent at that other school won't have to be repeated at the new one.
That's where transfer credits come in.
Transfer credits are used as an acknowledgement of previous classes taken which essentially take the place of certain classes required at Missouri State. This is designed to help transfer students start from where they left off at their previous school.
"We try to be as transfer-friendly as we can be," said Mike Hines, former transfer coordinator for Missouri State.
But not all students feel that they were treated fairly.
Christy Harmon, a senior religious studies major, transferred to Missouri State from Southern Baptist University.
She said everything she took from SBU transferred except a basic physical education course. Although she knew there was an appeals process, she said it didn't seem worth the effort just to have to retake one course.
"When I was talking about (retaking the P.E. course) on the shuttle, another girl said she had gone to SBU too and that her P.E. credit had transferred, but they didn't take her English class," Harmon said.
Hines said sometimes higher-level courses are not accepted, as departments want people to take those classes at Missouri State.
Transfer credits are decided by the individual departments, and in individual cases, such as with Harmon's, some transfer credits need to be addressed between student and department through the appeals process, which involves talking to the department head and letting them decide the case.
Harmon said there were people who were very helpful during the transfer-credit process.
She said Jim Moyer, the former head of the religious studies department, made a real effort to preserve as many of her classes as he could.
That's where transfer credits come in.
Transfer credits are used as an acknowledgement of previous classes taken which essentially take the place of certain classes required at Missouri State. This is designed to help transfer students start from where they left off at their previous school.
"We try to be as transfer-friendly as we can be," said Mike Hines, former transfer coordinator for Missouri State.
But not all students feel that they were treated fairly.
Christy Harmon, a senior religious studies major, transferred to Missouri State from Southern Baptist University.
She said everything she took from SBU transferred except a basic physical education course. Although she knew there was an appeals process, she said it didn't seem worth the effort just to have to retake one course.
"When I was talking about (retaking the P.E. course) on the shuttle, another girl said she had gone to SBU too and that her P.E. credit had transferred, but they didn't take her English class," Harmon said.
Hines said sometimes higher-level courses are not accepted, as departments want people to take those classes at Missouri State.
Transfer credits are decided by the individual departments, and in individual cases, such as with Harmon's, some transfer credits need to be addressed between student and department through the appeals process, which involves talking to the department head and letting them decide the case.
Harmon said there were people who were very helpful during the transfer-credit process.
She said Jim Moyer, the former head of the religious studies department, made a real effort to preserve as many of her classes as he could.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Jackie O.
posted 12/04/08 @ 1:12 AM CST
As transfer student I've still tried to figure out how Lifetime Fitness at my old school doesnt transfer for Fitness for Living!! Does that make sense to anyone?!?
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