2023-2024 Academic Handbook

Transfer of Credits

Students who have completed work at other educational institutions may be entitled to transfer credit by presenting official transcripts from those institutions to be evaluated by the registrar’s office at George Fox University. Coursework may be applied to general education and/or major/minor requirements, or they may transfer as elective credit. Certain criteria must be met in the transfer credit evaluation:

Traditional Undergraduate Policies

  1. The granting institution must be regionally accredited or accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE).
  2. Only coursework with a grade of C- or higher will be accepted for transfer.
  3. Passing and Satisfactory grades are acceptable only if the granting institution explicitly indicates that a Passing or Satisfactory grade is equivalent to a C- or higher.
  4. Incompletes, withdraws and audits will not be accepted for transfer.
  5. A maximum of 60 semester credits may be transferred from community colleges.
  6. A maximum of 90 semester credits total, including alternative credit, will be accepted for transfer.
  7. A maximum of 30 semester credits may be earned at George Fox University through alternative credit (AP, IB, CLEP, Oral Proficiency Interview, Credit by Examination).
  8. The following transfer degrees will satisfy all general education requirements for the bachelor's degree except THEO 101, 102 & THEO 380. A transfer degree may not necessarily meet school, department or major requirements with regard to courses or GPA. A transfer degree does not guarantee junior class standing.
    • Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer (AAOT)
    • Associate of Science Oregon Transfer - Business (ASOTB)
    • Associate of Science Oregon Transfer - Computer Science (ASOT-CS)
    • Direct Transfer Agreement Associate degree (DTA) from Washington
    • Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) from California
    • Any Associate of Arts degree from California that includes either the IGETC certificate or the CSU General Education - Breadth requirements 
    • Associate of Science in Health Science (ASHS) from Corban University
  9. Courses must be considered college level (typically 100-level) or higher to be transferred.
  10. Courses that are determined to be vocational/technical at the discretion of the enrollment manager will not be accepted for transfer.
  11. Lower-division courses will not be transferred as upper-division courses.
  12. One quarter credit = 2/3 semester credit.
  13. Each student must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours in residence at George Fox University. Twenty hours must be in the senior year.
  14. Transfer students must complete at least 60 hours at George Fox University to be eligible for honors at graduation.

Adult Degree Program General Policies

  1. The granting institution must be regionally accredited or alternatively or accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE).
  2. Only coursework with a grade of C- or higher will be accepted for transfer.
  3. Passing and Satisfactory grades are acceptable only if the granting institution explicitly indicates that a Passing or Satisfactory grade is equivalent to a C- or higher.
  4. Incompletes, withdraws, and audits will not be accepted.
  5. A maximum of 90 semester credits total, including alternative credit such as AP tests and CLEP exams, will be accepted in transfer.
  6. A maximum of 30 semester credits may be earned at George Fox University through examination or other non-classroom credit procedures (AP, IB, CLEP, etc.).
  7. The following transfer degrees will satisfy all general education requirements for the bachelor's degree. A transfer degree may not necessarily meet school, department, or major requirements with regard to courses or GPA. A transfer degree does not guarantee junior standing.
    • Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer (AAOT)
    • Associate of Science Oregon Transfer - Business (ASOTB)
    • Associate of Science Oregon Transfer - Computer Science (ASOT-CS)
    • Direct Transfer Agreement Associate degree (DTA) from Washington
    • Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) from California
    • Any Associate of Arts degree from California that includes either the IGETC certificate or the CSU General Education - Breadth requirements 
  8. Courses must be considered college level (typically 100-level) or higher to be transferred.
  9. One quarter credit = 2/3 semester credit
  10. Every student is allowed two credits of waiver to be used when a transfer course is approved to meet a general education requirement but the credits don't fulfill the credit requirement in its entirety. No more than one waiver credit can be applied to a single general education requirement. Waiver credit will waive the remainder of the general education requirement but does not add credit to the student’s record.
  11. Students must complete at least 60 hours at George Fox University to be eligible for honors at graduation.
  12. A maximum of 30 semester credits may be transferred from nationally accredited institutions.
  13. A maximum of 30 semester credits of coursework that is determined to be vocational/technical at the discretion of the enrollment manager may be transferred.
  14. Lower-division courses will not be transferred as upper-division courses.
  15. Each student must complete a minimum of 36 semester hours in residence as part of their major requirements.

Graduate Program Policies

  1. Not all graduate programs allow transfer credit (see individual program pages in the catalog or program handbook for further details)
  2. The granting institution must be regionally accredited
  3. The grade required for transfer credit toward a graduate degree varies by program. The majority of graduate programs require a B or higher for credit to be considered for transfer (see individual program pages in the catalog or program handbook for further details).
  4. Passing grades are acceptable only if the granting institution explicitly indicates that a Passing grade is equivalent to at least the minimum grade required by the graduate program to which credit is being transferred (typically a B or higher).
  5. Incompletes, withdraws and audits will not be accepted.
  6. Courses must be considered graduate level (typically 500-level) or higher to be transferred toward a graduate degree.
  7. One quarter credit = 2/3 semester credit

For all students

Transfer credit will be evaluated and assigned a George Fox University discipline and course number based on the closest match between the originating course and the George Fox University course descriptions. A grade of “TR” will be assigned - the GPA will not transfer. A student's George Fox University GPA is computed using work done at George Fox University only.

Any evaluation of transfer credit (including non-accredited, military, and international credit) is to be considered tentative until the student has completed 12 hours in good standing at George Fox University.

Any veteran receiving GI Bill® benefits while attending George Fox University is required to obtain transcripts from all previously attended schools and submit them to the VA school official for review of prior credit.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

Military Credit

JST (Joint Services Transcript), CCAF (Community College of the Air Force) and DLI (Defense Language Institute) transcripts are treated as transcripts from accredited colleges. The ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Education Experience in the Armed Services is used in determining the transferability of learning acquired in military service.

Learning applicable to a service member’s program will be transferred as undergraduate elective credit at levels consistent with the ACE Guide recommendations and/or as transcripted by the Community College of the Air Force. Courses determined to be vocational/technical at the discretion of the enrollment manager would not receive credit in accordance with George Fox University’s undergraduate transfer credit policy.

Military transcripts should be requested from Joint Services Transcripts and will be accepted electronically and deemed official by George Fox University.

International Transfer Credit

College credit for coursework completed at international institutions that are not regionally accredited by a U.S. regional accreditation agency may be accepted in transfer toward degree programs at George Fox University. However, all such coursework must be evaluated by one of our approved evaluation agencies. To do so, applicants must submit any materials required by the chosen evaluation partner to that agency.

In addition, applicants must submit official college/university transcripts for each institution attended, in both native language and English translation, along with copies of any certificates or diplomas awarded, to the George Fox University registrar’s office.

Transfer credit will be considered for each course for which a student has received a grade of "C-" or better for undergraduate courses or "B-" or better for graduate courses (individual programs may have specific standards for transfer work as specified in the university catalog). Submission of course descriptions at the time of application is highly encouraged so we can begin the evaluation process as quickly as possible.

Please note, though, that not all international course credits are eligible for transfer and some courses may not apply toward degree programs at George Fox.

Post-Baccalaureate

Students who have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited or ABHE-accredited college or university may pursue a second bachelor’s degree at George Fox University. The second degree must be in a different major from any previously earned degrees. Credit will only be transferred for coursework that fulfills a major requirement.

Post-baccalaureate students are required to complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of coursework at George Fox University, following the previously earned bachelor’s degree. A previous bachelor’s degree fulfills all general education requirements at George Fox University, unless special general education requirements exist for the chosen major. All major requirements must be met before a second degree is awarded.