Transfer credit

How the evaluation works

After you are admitted, send official transcripts from every college you have attended. The Registrar's transfer team evaluates each course and assigns one of three outcomes: a direct Porter equivalent (fills the same requirement a Porter course would), general elective credit (counts toward your total credits and sometimes toward a category, but not a specific course), or no credit. Courses from regionally accredited institutions with a grade of C-minus or better generally transfer; developmental and remedial courses, and grades of D or lower, generally do not.

A statewide transfer agreement moves whole blocks of general education as a unit for students coming from Wesconsin two-year colleges, and a completed transfer-oriented associate degree can satisfy most or all of Porter's general-education core. Upper-division major courses often go to a department chair for a syllabus review before they count toward the major rather than as electives.

Plan before you enroll — anywhere

Use the online transfer-course guide to see how a specific course has been evaluated before, and meet with a Porter adviser early. If you are a current Porter student planning to take a course somewhere else (a summer course at a community college, for instance) and bring it back, get it pre-approved on a prior-approval form first — a pre-approved course is guaranteed to count as expected; one taken on spec might not, especially for the major.

Credit for exams, military, and prior learning

Porter awards credit for AP, IB Higher Level, CLEP, and Cambridge A-Level exams at published scores — have the official score report sent from the testing agency. Military training on a Joint Services Transcript is evaluated against recognized guidelines and can cover physical-education, elective, and some technical requirements. Select programs also grant credit for approved professional certifications and licenses, for a reviewed portfolio of workplace learning, or by a departmental challenge exam. Together these can shorten the degree substantially; start with the Registrar and, for adult learners, the adult-learner adviser.

Limits and appeals

No matter how much transfers, Porter requires a minimum number of credits — and usually a minimum in the major — completed at Porter to award the degree (the residency requirement). Exam and prior-learning credit fill requirements but do not count toward residency. If a course was evaluated as elective credit and you believe it matches a specific requirement, you can appeal by submitting the syllabus and coursework to the relevant department — do this early, before you register for the course you are trying to place out of.