Procedures for Transfer of Academic Credit

Transfer Students

Official Transcripts: Applicants must arrange for official college transcripts to be forwarded from previously attended colleges and universities to Application Processing, University of Maine System, P.O. Box 412, Bangor, ME 04402-0412. Veterans must submit a Joint Services transcript or Form DD295.
Credits and Grades: Academic work must be completed with grades of “C-” or better at regionally accredited institutions of higher education to be accepted towards meeting the requirements of a University of Maine baccalaureate degree. Some courses may not transfer because a particular course is not applicable to any UMaine program of study (with the exception of courses within the University of Maine System) or is not normally associated with a bachelor’s degree. Grades and grade point averages do not transfer. Credit will not be awarded for other institutionally based exams. The Office of Student Records maintains a transfer equivalency database of courses that are offered at some institutions that are transferable to the UMaine.
Pass/Fail Courses: Courses taken as a pass/fail must be proven to be equivalent to a C- or higher. Pass/fail courses can only be used as a general elective.
Residency Requirement: Refer to the Degree/Graduation Requirements section of the catalog.
Time Limitations of Course Work: Some subject areas have changes dramatically over time. Courses over ten years old will be subject to additional review to determine if they are in fields where there have been significant changes making the material outdated. Those courses that are determined to be missing important new material will be excluded from transfer.
General Education Courses: All students are also required to pass English 101 or an approved equivalent with a grade of C or better, and to complete the University of Maine’s general education requirements. Note: Students who have previously earned a bachelor’s degree are exempt from the general education requirements. Transferred courses that have direct UMaine equivalents fulfill the same general education categories as their UMaine counterparts, except for “writing intensive” courses. Students who wish to may request approval of transferred courses for meeting the writing intensive requirement by contacting the English Department. Transferred courses that do not have exact UMaine equivalents, but are accepted for elective credit, may meet general education requirements. The determination will be made by the Office of Student Records. If the course title and description are insufficient to make the determination, the Office of Student Records will request further materials from the student.
Substitutions/Waivers: Exceptions to equivalencies (different equivalents, waivers of curricular requirements based on transfer credit, or assessment of student learning outcomes, or limitations on transfer credit applied to degree requirements) may be allowed and recorded at the college or department level, but will not appear on the official evaluation or University of Maine transcript.
Credit from International Institutions: The University of Maine accepts credit from international institutions, both for international students and for domestic students participating in study abroad programs. UMaine awards credit to students who have earned the International Baccalaureate diploma and scored 5, 6, or 7 on the higher level examinations. Official transcripts and official translations by credential evaluation services of non-English originals are required. Contact the Office of International Programs in 240 Estabrooke Hall (207) 581-2905 for information or check the website http://umaine.edu/international/international-admissions/international-transfer-credit-evaluation/
Prior Learning Credit/Internal Credit by Examination: Matriculated students may be awarded credit for prior learning for subjects comparable or equivalent to University of Maine courses. Departments conduct reviews of prior learning at their discretion. Students seeking a review should contact their dean’s office. Prior learning is evaluated and credit is awarded through a portfolio review or an exam. The department will assess a $50 review fee that will be charged to the student’s account through the Bursar’s Office. No more than fifteen (15) credit hours may be earned through portfolio review.
Select departments, including the Dept. of Modern Languages & Classics and the Dept. of English, evaluate prior learning through exams. Interested students should contact the appropriate department for information about available exams and any applicable fees.
External Credit by Examination: CLEP (see College Level Examination Program Table chart) and AP exams (see Advanced Placement Credit Table chart) are accepted for credit as national examinations (for University policy regarding these exams, see the Admission section of this catalog). CLEP exams are administered through College Success Programs (East Annex Building). In addition to a fee paid directly to CLEP, College Success Programs assesses a $30 fee that will be charged to the student’s account through the Bursar’s Office.
For students seeking English credit: The Dept. of English assesses a $50 review fee for its evaluation of CLEP essays.

Students who have already taken an exam must request an official score report to be sent directly from The College Board to the Office of Student Records. External credit exams may not be substituted for certain courses in the academic major. The number of credits students may earn through these exams varies.
Military Credit: Credits allowed will be based on recommendations of the American Council on Education (ACE) and National College Credit Recommendation Services (National CCRS, formerly National PONSI) and will correspond to subject areas offered at the University of Maine. Only courses recommended at the upper or lower baccalaureate level will be considered for transfer credit. A maximum of 15 credits will be allowed as military transfer credit (not including prior experiential learning and credit for standardized tests) and the courses will count as elective credit only unless an exception is made. The process for an exception is as follows: the student should contact his or her college or school Associate Dean who will forward the material to the appropriate department chair, unit director, or faculty member who will make the appropriate decision.

Credit for military experience: credit for learning due to duties or a position in the military is considered prior learning and will be considered in the same way as other prior experiential learning. See subsection “Prior Learning Credit” in this section.
Physical Education and Emergency Medical Technician Courses and First Year Seminars: Physical Education skills classes will be limited to a total of eight credit hours. Participation in varsity athletics will not transfer. Emergency Medical Technician courses will be limited to nine total transfer credit hours. First year seminar type courses will be limited to three credit hours. Although credit hours transfer to the university, it is up to the discretion of your Academic Unit to determine how many course hours are utilized in your degree program.
Evaluation: An official evaluation of transfer credit will be completed after admission to the University and will be available in the Student Center. This evaluation will show course equivalencies, free electives and if a course meets a general education requirement. How this information fits into the student’s degree program is up to the discretion of the department that houses the major. Students that do not agree with an evaluation of their courses may submit a syllabus used for the course to the Office of Student Records. The syllabus should be attached to a statement in writing defining which course or courses they feel were evaluated inaccurately. The Office of Student Records will review the appeal with a representative from the appropriate college.

Current Students

Official Transcripts: Current University of Maine students should send transcripts of courses completed elsewhere to the Office of Student Records, 5781 Wingate Hall, Orono, ME 04469.
Repeated Courses: Courses taken at another institution may transfer to meet a requirement but will not replace the low grade of a course taken at the University of Maine. To replace a grade for such a course, the course must be repeated at UMaine.
Courses within the University of Maine System:
- Students who take courses from any other University of Maine System institution will have any credit earned with a grade of C- or better automatically applied as transfer credit to their academic record at the institution where they are matriculated. [One exception is ENG 101-College Composition which requires an equivalent with a minimum grade of C.]
- For financial aid purposes, students who do not earn a grade of C- or better will still have their transfer credit processed and recorded in the system, but the credit will not display on the transcript of the institution where they are matriculated.
- Students should complete a Domestic Study Away form to insure that the transfer credit will apply toward completion of their degree. Students who are applying for financial aid must complete a Domestic Study Away form available on the Office of Student Records website: http://studentrecords.umaine.edu/forms/
- Courses taken at other UMS institutions will be identified 35 days after the last day of finals. It will be the responsibility of the student to notify the Office of Student Records if subsequent grade changes require the original credit to be reevaluated.
- Students who are not receiving federal financial aid or VA benefits may opt out of this automated transfer credit processing by completing the Internal Transfer Credit Opt Out form and filing it with the Office of Student Records before the last day of classes.

Non-Degree Students

Transfer credit evaluations are not performed for non-degree students.