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Transfer Students
Undergraduate Applicants
Undergraduate students transferring to Columbia International University with no less than 24 semester credits over at least
two semesters of enrollment may be evaluated for admission based on college cumulative GPA rather than a standardized test
score and high school cumulative GPA. Students transferring from another accredited institution of higher education should
have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above for regular admission. Any student transferring under this provision with less than a 2.0
cumulative GPA may be admitted on probation subject to the approval of the Admissions Review Committee after careful
review of the candidate’s complete file.
Applicants who have completed work at another accredited institution of higher education may receive transfer credit in
courses in which they received a grade of 2.0 (“C”) or above. Transfer credit may apply to a student’s program at CIU in one of
the following ways:
a)
Courses that are parallel to required courses in the core curriculum or the student’s major or minor program of
studies at CIU may be received as meeting the requirement.
b)
Courses that do not parallel any required course may be received as elective credit up to the limit of electives for the
particular program in which the student enrolls at CIU. (CIU is a member of the Higher Education Transfer Alliance
(HETA) sponsored by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).)
Applicants who have attended non-accredited Bible institutes, training schools, and discipleship programs designed as
postsecondary should submit their transcripts and copies of the academic catalogs for credit evaluation. Programs will be
evaluated based on ABHE compatible criteria and/or any formal relationship with CIU and/or status with ABHE. Any
unaccredited academic credit will be accepted on a case-by-case basis with a standard of two-thirds credit for any comparable
course, provided the student receives an average 2.0 (“C”) grade or above. No more than 31 credits from an unaccredited
school can be transferred into an undergraduate CIU degree program. The faculty reserves the right to grant limited credit for
unaccredited study by means of direct CIU faculty assessment of a student portfolio combined with a faculty examination of
content and/or skill upon authorization of the academic dean.
To obtain an estimate of transfer credit, applicants must submit official transcripts for all postsecondary study to the
Admissions office, along with their application for admission and a request for an estimate of transfer credit. In some cases,
applicants may be asked to send a catalog or prospectus from colleges or other postsecondary institutions attended. The
Admissions office will give an evaluation of such work, but a final evaluation will not necessarily be completed until the end of
the student’s first semester of study at CIU. A copy of the transfer credit policy is available upon request from the Admissions
office. Please contact the transcript facilitator in the Office of the University Registrar for further assistance.
Graduate-level Applicants
Graduate transfer credit hours must meet the following criteria:
•
Earned credit hours must be from an accredited institution.
•
A grade of 2.0 (“C”) or above must have been earned.
•
College of Education, College of Intercultural Studies, and College of Counseling students seeking to transfer credit
must seek prior permission through petition.
•
Seminary & School of Ministry (SSM) students may apply transfer credit to the free elective category of a degree only
if a comparable course is offered at CIU at the graduate level. Coursework taken at another school may be credited up
to one-half of a graduate-level degree in the SSM if not used previously for the award of the same degree or its
equivalent.
CIU Graduates
Undergraduate Columbia International University graduates wishing to apply for a graduate program will be eligible to
complete an abbreviated application process. Please contact Admissions for details
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General Policies
Non-Degree Special Student Status (NDSS)
Although students are normally accepted for study on the condition that they intend to complete requirements for a degree
program, other persons not applying for a specific degree program may be accepted as a non-degree seeking student (NDSS).
Applicants must be committed to lifestyle standards that are consistent with evangelical Christians and the general ethos of
Columbia International University. Undergraduate applicants must hold a high school diploma or satisfy the requirements for
a high school concurrent student. Graduate applicants must at least hold a baccalaureate degree. A maximum of 12 graduate
hours may be taken as a non-degree seeking student. Students taking courses for professional development beyond the 12
credits will need to sign the Waiver of Credit Hour Limitation.
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