Transferring Credits

Transferring Credits

The following pages are listings of the course equivalencies between the Houston Community College System and most Texas Public Universities. An equivalency is part of an articulation agreement between two institutions facilitating accurate and efficient transfer between those institutions. An equivalency is a determination by both the community college and the university that a specific course(s) at one institution is equivalent in content and credit to a specific course(s) at the other institution. By comparing equivalencies, official transcripts can be easily evaluated to grant transfer credit which apply toward degree requirements at HCCS or at the university. HCCS students can expect a “seamless” transfer if following a transfer plan based on equivalencies.

NOTE: An established equivalency guarantees the transfer of courses between institutions. However, the right to determine how a course applies to degree requirements is reserved by specific programs.

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Texas Common Course Numbering System

Texas Common Course Numbering System: The Texas Common Course Numbering System was developed in part to assist students in identifying which courses at one college will meet specific course requirements at another college. In other words, the common course numbering system promotes the successful transfer of course work among colleges and universities in Texas, making the transfer process easy for students. The TCCNS ensures that if a student takes courses which the receiving institution has designated as common, then the courses will be accepted in transfer, and the credit will be treated as if the courses had actually benn taken on the receiving institution’s campus.

The common course number has a standardized four-letter prefix followed by a four-digit number-example, ENGL 1301. The four-letter prefix identifies the subject area. Each digit in the four-digit sequence gives additional information about the course. The first digit identifies the course as either freshman level (1) or sophomore level (2). The second digit identifies the number of credit hours a student will earn upon completion of the course. Most often this digit will be a 1, 2, 3 or 4. The final two digits serve to establish the sequence in which courses are generally taken.

Most Texas public community colleges utitlize the Texas Common Course Numbering System. That is, a common course will have the same course number at any institution using the TCCNS. For example, English Composition I will be numbered ENGL 1301 at all common numbering schools. Some universities do not directly use the common numbers for their courses directly but do recognize and subscribe to the Texas Common Course Numbering System. In the course description sections of many catalogs, the common course number is shown in brackets-example, [ENGL1301].

NOTE: Common course transfer assumes that the grade achieved in the course meets an institution’s minimum grade requirement for transfer. For example, many institutions will not transfer a D grade, even if the course is designated as a common course.

 

Credit by Exam/ACE Credit

HCC will award credit hours of credit by exam with passing scores from the following nationally acceptable exams:

 

Official test score reports/transcripts must be sent by the test publisher to:

Office of Student Records
Houston Community College
3100 Main St., MC 1136
Houston, TX 77002

* we do not accept transcripts/score reports from Credly.

Note: Credit by exam as well as ACE Credit accepted by HCC may not be accepted by other higher education institutions. Please check with the institution to see if they accept credit by exam as well as ACE Credit prior to transfer.

 

Transfer credits by type

Transfer Credits for Louisiana Schools

Courses listed in the equivalency charts are equated with the Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS), based on a review of catalog descriptions and degree requirements at the listed universities. Students, admission officers, and academic advisors can use this crosswalk as a general guide for transfer credit evaluation and course placement. TCCNS includes only lower-division courses.

For students transferring coursework to a Texas institution: courses listed in the crosswalks are widely applicable at Texas colleges and universities. For example, CHEM 107 at Tulane generally transfers in the same way as CHEM 1311, subject to the transfer policies and curriculum of the receiving institution. For students planning to transfer coursework back to a Louisiana institution: course comparisons listed in the crosswalks below are the best available estimates how Louisiana institutions might accept courses, but Texas campuses cannot guarantee receiving institutions will make the same assessments in reverse (see your Louisiana school transfer representative). Differences between courses that may affect transfer and/or degree applicability of credit are noted parenthetically.
Course numbering and unit of credit information for sending institutions appear at the end of the university chart.

 

Foreign Credits

For post-secondary education completed outside the United States, HCC requires a course-by-course evaluation (not a translation) of the coursework completed. Only Canadian institutions of higher education and those which hold a U.S. regional accreditation, do not require an evaluation of the foreign credits. The foreign evaluation companies listed below are recommended by HCC. These companies will assess the foreign credit and determine their equivlancy to that of the United States. The foreign evaluation obtained by one of these companies will then be assessed by HCC for use within our various certificate and degree programs.

list of recommended foreign evaluations companies:

 

Military Credit

Guidelines for Advanced Standing Credit

Military Credit Students must:
Access the website(s) listed below to obtain the official military transcript (sometimes called AARTS, SMART, or ACE transcript) of college work, training, and job responsibilities (NOTE: A DD-214 is not enough to evaluate credit. You must present one of the transcripts below):
Air Force
Army
Army/A.C.E. Registry Transcript System (AARTS)
https://jst.doded.mil
http://www.au.af.mil/au/ccaf/transcripts.asp

Marine and Navy
Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART)
https://jst.doded.mil

Ace Military Programs
http://www.acenet.edu

  1. See the academic advisor to obtain the Application for Advanced Standing Credit.
  2. Complete the Application for Advanced Standing Credit.  There is no fee for the military evaluation. (Note: Application for military credit does not guarantee that credit will be granted).
  3. Return the application to the academic advisor along with the official military transcript for routing to the Registrar’s Office.

Academic Advisor then forwards the official military transcript with the Application for Advanced Standing Credit to the Registrar’s Office, MC 1136.

If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail the HCC Transfer Office.

 

Work and Experiential Credit

CEU Credit
Transcripted CEU credit may be applied to Career and Technology programs and considered as elective credit on the associate degree when submitted with the official transcript, Application for Advanced Standing Credit and receipt of fee payment (does not guarantee acceptance of credit). A certificate of completion will not be accepted in lieu of an official college transcript. Note: A maximum of 21 hours of advanced standing credit may be granted as it applies to the program.

Work Experience Credit
For purposes of work experience documentation, the Chair, Academic Advisor or Program Coordinator must obtain from the employer a signed letter providing a detailed description of the work performed by the student, match it to the course(s) outcomes for which the student is seeking credit, and attach it to the Application for Advanced Standing Credit Form. The aforementioned documentation, application for Advanced Standing Credit, and receipt of fee payment (does not guarantee acceptance of credit) must be submitted together for review to the Dean’s office. Note: A maximum of 21 hours of advanced standing credit may be granted as it applies to the program.

The Dean then forwards the student’s degree plan, appropriate documentation as outlined above, and the Application for Advanced Standing Credit with fee receipt to the Office of Student Records at the System Administration Building, MC 1136.