Transfer Information

Credits earned in institutions of higher learning that are accredited by a Regional Accrediting Organization are normally transferable, provided the courses are comparable to those offered by WNC and are applicable towards degree requirements.

Regional Accrediting Organizations include:

• Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
• New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)

Credits earned from schools that are not regionally accredited will be considered nontraditional education.

 

WNC can accept transfer credit as follows:

Only transfer credits that apply toward a requirement (including required electives) will be applied toward a degree or certificate.

Students must complete a minimum of 15 credits at WNC that are applicable to the degree or certificate they are seeking.

Associates Degree:

• A maximum of 45 credits or 75 percent of the total credits for a degree, whichever is greater, from all sources as listed below may be applied toward an associate degree.
  • A maximum of 45 semester credits or 75 percent of the total credits required for a degree, whichever is greater, may be accepted from regionally accredited colleges or universities toward an associate degree.
  • A maximum of 30 semester hours of credit may be accepted from approved credit by examination programs.
  • A maximum of 15 semester hours of credit may be accepted from non-traditional programs.

Bachelors Degree:

• A maximum of 90 credits or 75 percent of the total credits for a degree, whichever is greater, from all sources as listed below may be applied toward a bachelors degree.
  • A maximum of 90 semester credits or 75 percent of the total credits required for a degree, whichever is greater, may be accepted from regionally accredited colleges or universities toward a bachelors degree.
  • A maximum of 60 semester hours of credit may be accepted from approved credit by examination programs.
  • A maximum of 15 semester hours of credit may be accepted from non-traditional programs.

Certificate of Achievement:

• A maximum of 15-18 credits from all sources as listed below may be applied toward a certificate of achievement. (varies by certificate program)
  
  • A maximum of 15-18 semester credits may be accepted from regionally accredited colleges or universities toward a certificate of achievement. (varies by certificate program)
  • A maximum of 15 semester hours of credit may be accepted from non-traditional programs.
  • A maximum of 15 semester hours of credit may be accepted from approved credit by examination programs.

Grades are not transferable but may be utilized when determining eligibility for financial assistance and/or admission to special academic programs and to determine the minimum GPA required for graduation.

A quarter unit is worth 2/3 of a semester unit.

Evaluation of Transfer Requirements:

• Courses from NSHE institutions will be accepted for equivalent courses per common course numbering.
• NSHE courses with no equivalents and courses from other institutions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on the course title, designator, credits, course numbering system used by the institution and course description if available.
• Upper division courses are generally not acceptable for general education requirements, but may apply towards emphasis requirements on a case by case basis.
• Graduate level courses are not accepted to fulfill degree and/or certificate requirements.
• WNC Faculty are consulted for input when needed to determine if a transfer course is equivalent to a WNC course and/or should fulfill a program requirement.

If a student disagrees with a transfer credit evaluation

• the student is encouraged to obtain and submit further written information about the course(s) in question such as a course outline or syllabus, and/or a course description if it was not originally available.

If a student questions an evaluation from a non-traditional source,

• the student is encouraged to obtain further written information about the training including number of hours of the training, information about the training source, accreditation, etc.

Admissions and Records will reconsider amending the original evaluation if such information is provided.

If such information is not available, and/or if the student disagrees with the second evaluation, the student may file a transfer credit evaluation appeal in writing to the Registrar.

The Registrar will first view the appeal.

• If the reason a course was not transferred in as requested is a result of a course not meeting policies such as fulfilling the minimum number of credits required for a requirement, the course was developmental, the course was not completed at a regionally accredited institution, etc. the Registrar will make a final decision about course transferability.
• If the reason is not based on such a policy then the appeal and all related information will be forwarded to the applicable department faculty and/or Division Director. The decision of the faculty/Division Director will be final.
• If a request is denied, the student will be given a reason for the denial via email.

Students may request a review of a transfer credit evaluation by the NSHE Articulation Coordinating Committee if not satisfied with the final decision from WNC by submitting a Nevada System of Higher Education Transfer Credit Request for Review.

Quarter credits are worth 2/3 of a semester credit.

Students who lack fractional credits in any area(s) of general education or program requirements should see a counselor.

• If a student lacks fractional credits in any area(s) of general education requirements, the student may satisfy the requirement(s) by completing other listed general education courses provided the student completes at least the minimum total requirements listed in the general education section for any degree or certificate. 
• While an area or areas may be a fraction of a credit less than required, the total general education credits may not be reduced.
• While a specific program requirement can be satisfied with a fraction of a credit less than required, the total program requirements can not be reduced.

Credit may be awarded from some recognized colleges and universities outside of the country.

• Students must have a course by course evaluation completed by an approved transcript evaluation service.
• An official copy of the transcript and English translation might also be required depending on the transcript evaluation service used.
• Credit for English/communications requirements is accepted only from institutions located in the following countries: Australia, Canada, England, Ireland and New Zealand.

Contact Admissions and Records for further information.

Credit for Prior Learning Experience and Non-Traditional Education

WNC recognizes that students accumulate a great deal of information and knowledge outside of the college environment from various training, non-traditional educational sources, and work experience. Therefore, WNC will consider awarding credit for prior experiential learning to students who have been accepted to the college and are declared as degree/certificate seeking.

• Students may request to have non-traditional training and/or credits evaluated by submitting a Petition for Transfer Credit Evaluation form to Admissions and Records.
• Students must submit official transcripts, training records, certificates or military forms and then allow 4 to 6 weeks for the evaluation to be completed.
• Once completed, students will be able to view their transfer credit in myWNC and can run a degree audit report to determine how the transfer credits apply toward their intended degree or certificate program. An email will be sent to each student when the transfer evaluation is completed.

In general, only credits applicable to the students specified degree or certificate program will be transferred to the students WNC record.

Non-Traditional Education

• A minimum of 45 contact hours or 15 hours of instruction plus two hours of outside preparation per contact hour is required for each credit awarded.
• The college may accept a maximum of 15 credits from non-traditional sources to include the following: 

• • Correspondence courses

  • Extension courses

  • Post-secondary institutions without regional accreditation

  • Certificate training

  • Other recognized sources

• The above sources must meet the minimum standards for accreditation by national or state recognized agencies.
• Credits from non-traditional sources are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• In general, credit is awarded only for those courses or training experiences that are comparable to those courses offered by Western Nevada College.
• Certain credits may be applicable to satisfy course requirements for occupational degrees while others may be used as elective credit primarily for the AGS and AAS and Bachelor of Applied Science degrees and for Certificate of Achievement only.
• Credit from non-traditional courses is generally not granted for courses that are considered transferable within the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE).
• Correspondence credit from regionally accredited institutions can be applicable towards all degrees.

• Veteran students and students who are active military and declared as degree/certificate seeking are encouraged to submit a copy of their military transcript, JST or Air Force, and their DD2-14 and records of approved examinations (if applicable) to determine if credit may be awarded for military service and/or training. This is required for veterans receiving military benefits.
• WNC will consider recommendations from ACE, the American Council of Education, when granting military credit.
• Although credit from a military transcript can be granted towards any WNC degree or certificate of achievement, up to 45 credits may apply towards an Associate of General Studies degree.

Students can use the following links to order official military transcripts to be sent to WNC for evaluation:

• Joint Services Transcript for Army, Navy, Marine Cops and Coast Guard https://jst.doded.mil/jst/
• Air Force https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Barnes/CCAF/

Information on military training and courses that have been previously evaluated for transfer may be found at the link below.

• https://tes.collegesource.com/publicview/TES_publicview01.aspx?rid=2227c8fc-896a-4f30-8a24-f2aaf5eadc02&aid=5b328470-dfbf-468d-88d0-f88dde94283f

Veterans who have completed more than one year of active duty and were honorably discharged may be granted non-traditional credit from a DD2-14, up to a maximum of four credits.

Veterans and active duty military seeking additional information or assistance can contact:

• Veterans Resource Center at 775-445-3263 or
• Admissions and Records at 775-445-3277 or admissions.records@wnc.edu.

A maximum of 30 units for an associate degree, 15 units for a certificate of achievement, or 60 units for a bachelors degree, accumulated through an acceptable credit by examination process, may be accepted toward degree requirements. Credit earned by examination may not apply toward satisfying the minimum on-campus resident credit requirements.

The following examinations and transcript evaluation are permissible for determining credit by examination:

• College Board Advanced Placement Examination (CBAPE)

• College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

• Excelsior College Exam

• International Baccalaureate (IB)

• Dantes Subject Standardized Tests (DSST)

• American Council on Education (ACE) Corporate Credit

• Challenge Examinations

• Other national testing organizations may be considered

The college recognizes that students accumulate information outside the classroom without formal instruction. There are times when this information may be extensive enough to satisfy the requirements of courses offered by the college.

For this reason, with approvals, an enrolled student may be allowed to take challenge examinations to receive credit in certain courses. A student interested in these examination procedures should contact Admissions and Records.

Policies relating to challenge exams are:

1. A student may not challenge a lower level course in the same subject area that the student has already received credit in at a more advanced level.
2. A student enrolled in a more advanced course may not challenge a lower level course in the same subject area.
3. A student may not challenge a course that has been previously attempted.
4. A maximum of 15 credits for challenge examinations is allowed.
5. A maximum of 15 credits in a single, or related , subject areas is allowed.
6. Credit earned in challenge examinations are not considered resident credit, do not count as part of a students credit load for any given semester, nor are they computed into the grade point average.
7. Successful challenge examinations are posted as a satisfactory "S" on the students transcript.
8. Challenge examinations may not transfer to other academic institutions and may not count for licensing agencies.
9. WNC reserves the right to deny any petition for challenge examination credit.

10. A student must be currently enrolled and have completed coursework for credit at WNC before credit by examination will be placed on an official academic transcript.

Students should first view the policies associated with challenge examinations.  Students who believe they might qualify should:

1. Speak with a full-time instructor who teaches classes in the applicable discipline.   If no full-time instructor is available, a part-time instructor may be authorized to offer an exam with the approval of the Division Director.
2. The instructor must approve offering a challenge examination; there is no requirement on the part of WNC to offer a challenge examination upon request.
3. If instructor approval is obtained, students must obtain permission from the Director of Admissions and Records to ensure the WNC polices allow the student to take the exam.
4. If approved by the Director of Admissions and Records the student is required to pay the $25 challenge exam fee and submit receipt of payment along with the Challenge Examination Request Form to Admissions & Records.
5. The instructor will administer the exam and forward the results to Admissions and Records for processing.  

Students are responsible for seeking approval(s), arranging to complete the challenge examination, and requesting the official score be posted on the challenge exam form and sent to the Admissions & Records office.

Additional information including fee may be found on the Challenge Examination Request Form.

Credit may be granted for the satisfactory completion of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) general examinations.

Credit may be granted for the general examinations with a score of 50 or above as follows:

A maximum of 3 to 4 semester credits/units may be granted for each subject examination.

In general, WNC will grant credit according to the standards determined by the University of Nevada, Reno. Credit is not granted for laboratory science and Nevada constitutions.

Contact Admissions and Records for specific information on how credit is granted for each test.

Upon receipt of an official score report from the College Board, WNC can grant credit for Advanced Placement examinations with a score of 3 or higher.

Western Nevada College (WNC) awards credit for Advanced Placement tests, as shown below.

*Does not include Laboratory credit. CHEM 121 and/or BIOL 190 without lab is not applicable to WNCs nursing program.

Transfer from WNC

For students who plan to continue their education at a four-year university, A variety of available services make transferring from WNC to a four-year university as easy and efficient as possible. College catalogs from most U.S. colleges are available.

For assistance on transferring, contact Academic Advising and Access:

• counseling@wnc.edu
• (775) 445-3267

Transfer Resources:

• Information for Students Transferring to 4-year Institutions

• Student Transfer Rights and Responsibilities

• Transfer Checklist

Great Basin College Transfer Agreements

• GBC: Transfer Agreements (Website)

UNR Transfer Agreements

• UNR: Transfer Agreements (Website)

UNR Transfer Admissions Program (TAP)

The Transfer Admissions Program (TAP) is offered at Western Nevada College. The program allows students to stay connected with the University of Nevada, Reno by receiving monthly reminders on application deadlines, financial aid, transfer events and more. The University of Nevada, Reno visits WNC at least once a month to go over the application process and academic advising. 

TAP features and benefits

• Stay connected with University of Nevada, Reno faculty and advisors

• Be reminded of deadlines, such as the February 1st scholarship deadline

• Be able to receive academic advising while attendingWNC

• Stay connected to the University while still enrolled at WNC