Transfer Credit Policy

At the time of admission to an ACPHS program, new, incoming students may request transfer of academic credit from Advanced Placement (AP) courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) or CLEP exams, or undergraduate college courses taken at another US accredited academic institution. The evaluation of academic credit for new first-year or transfer students is coordinated by the Office of Admissions (Enrollment Management) and Registrar. (Students entering the P1 year of the PharmD program have academic credit awarded based on coordinated evaluation between the Office of Admissions and the Pharmacy Admissions Committee.)

To receive credit for AP courses, scores of 4 or 5 are required.
To receive credit for IB courses, scores of 5 or above are required.
To receive credit for the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) examination, a score of 70 or better must be achieved. CLEP credits will only be accepted for elective classes.
Grades of C or better are required to receive credit for college courses taken at another regionally accredited academic institution.

Decisions made regarding acceptance of transfer credit are final once the semester begins. (Note: A student’s transfer credits may be reevaluated when they change programs, as different policies apply for different programs.)

For a listing of institutions where transfer credit has been accepted previously, please contact the Registrar’s office.

Acceptance of transfer credit may impact a student’s ability to maintain their full-time status (12 credit hours or more per semester). Students should consult their Program Director(s) and an Admissions Counselor for guidance.

Exceptions to these procedures may be made on a specific, case-by-case basis for individual students by their Program Director with consultation with the appropriate Department Chair.

BS Program Transfer Policies

Up to 68 credits may be transferred from another institution.

Taking Courses at Other Academic Institutions: Upon matriculation, BS students are strongly recommended to take all required "core" or program specific coursework at ACPHS. Program Directors may identify specific courses which must be taken at ACPHS, regardless of matriculation date. See specific program guidelines at http://19a.d809.com/academics/bachelors-programs. Students wishing to take required courses during an academic term where the course is not offered at ACPHS may take that course at another institution, upon receiving approval from the Program Director or other designee in which the student’s program resides (e.g., Department Chair).

A maximum of 10 semester hours of required coursework may be taken at institutions other than ACPHS. This credit hour limitation does not apply to courses taken for remediation at another institution. (Students enrolled in degree programs, such as the joint MPH program with SUNY Albany, are exempt from the 10-credit hour limitation.)
Any number of elective credits can be taken at an institution other than ACPHS.
ACPHS students are allowed to take courses during the summer as long as doing so meets the General Academic Requirements and Course Repeat policies.
Grades from credits transferred to ACPHS as part of a joint degree program (through an affiliation agreement) will be counted towards a students' GPA at ACPHS.

Policies for Students Enrolled in Joint Degree Programs

Required ACPHS Courses for Joint Degree Program Students (by joint health professions program):+

BS/ MD ACPHS- Upstate Medical Accelerated Scholars Program

General Bio I & II,
General Chemistry I & II,
Organic Chemistry I,
Biochemistry,
College Physics I and II,
Statistics *
English Elective*
Composition*

BS/ DO ACPHS- NYITCOM Pre Med / Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Program

General Bio I & II,
General Chemistry I & II,
Organic Chemistry I,
College Physics I and II,
Biochemistry,
English Elective*
Composition*
Strongly Recommended:
- Calculus, Anatomy, Genetics, Physiology, Biochemistry, Behavioral Sciences*

BS/ DO ACPHS- LECOM Early Assurance Program (7 and 8 year)

General Bio I & II,
General Chem I & II,
Organic Chem I & II,
College Physics I,
Biochemistry,
Genetics,
Behavioral Sciences (6 cr)*,
English (6 cr)*

BS/ DO ACPHS – LECOM Dental Medicine Early Assurance Program

General Bio I & II,
General Chemistry I & II,
Organic Chemistry I & II,
Biochemistry,
English (6 cr, including Composition)*
Strongly Recommended:
- Anatomy and Physiology I & II, Genetics, Immunology, Histology, Cell Biology, Microbiology, College Physics*

BS/ MS ACPHS- AMC CPAS Joint Degree Program

General Bio I & II,
General Chemistry I & II,
Organic Chemistry I or Biochemistry,
Anatomy & Physiology I & II,
Microbiology,
Statistics,
Psychology*
English Composition *

* Courses that Health Professions program will accept from a non-ACPHS institution, however ACPHS program may require students to take these courses at ACPHS

+ Academic programs at ACPHS may require the strongly recommended courses be taken at ACPHS and/ or the courses that the Health Professions program will accept from another institution may be required by ACPHS.

Pre-Pharmacy Transfer Credit Policies

Entering first year pre-pharmacy students may receive transfer credit (AP or college course) for any courses deemed equivalent to the following ACPHS courses:

HUM 115: Voice and Identity
Humanities Methods and Approaches selective
Science and Health through the Humanities Lenses selective
PSY 101: Psychology (3)
COM 115: Principles of Communication (3)
MAT 111: Calculus (4)
General/Liberal Arts Electives (9-12 credits; a maximum of 3 credits of which count only as General Electives)
CHE 111 and CHE 121: General Chemistry I and II (8)*
BIO 111 and BIO 121: General Biology I and II (8)*
BIO 210: Microbiology (4)**
CHE 211 and CHE 221: Organic Chemistry I and II (8)**
PHY 245: Physics for Life Sciences (4)**
Science Selective (up to 6 credits; 200+ level chemistry, physics, biology or math course that does not duplicate a required course at ACPHS – must have approval of Pre-Pharmacy Program Co-Directors)**
MAT 145: Elementary Statistics (3)**

Provisions for First Year Pre-Pharmacy Students:

*Entering first year students may receive transfer credit (AP or college course that are deemed equivalent to ACPHS courses) for only one of the following sequences: General Biology or General Chemistry. Additionally, academic credit for the course must have been earned within the last three years. Transfer of partial credit for sequential courses is not permitted (e.g., transfer credit for General Biology I and II is allowed while the transfer of credit for General Biology I alone is not).

**Entering first year students may receive up to 8 transfer credits (AP or college course that are deemed equivalent to ACPHS courses) for the following courses: Microbiology, Organic Chemistry I and II, Physics for the Life Sciences, Science Selective, and Elementary Statistics.

Entering second year students may receive transfer credit (AP or college course) for any courses deemed equivalent to ACPHS courses:

HUM 115: Voice and Identity
Humanities Methods and Approaches selective
Science and Health through the Humanities Lenses selective
PSY 101: Psychology (3)
COM 115: Principles of Communication (3)
MAT 111: Calculus (4)
General/Liberal Arts Electives (9-12 credits; a maximum of 3 credits of which count only as General Electives)
CHE 111 and CHE 121: General Chemistry I and II (8)
BIO 111 and BIO 121: General Biology I and II (8)
CHE 211 and CHE 221: Organic Chemistry I and II (8)*
BIO 210: Microbiology (4)*
PHY 245: Physics for Life Sciences (4)*
Science Selective (up to 6 credits; 200+ level chemistry, physics, biology or math course that does not duplicate a required course at ACPHS – must have approval of Pre-Pharmacy Program Co-Directors)*
MAT 145: Elementary Statistics (3)*

Provisions for Second Year Pre-Pharmacy Students:

*In addition to transfer credit for coursework required in the first year of the program, students transferring into year 2 of the pre-pharmacy program may receive up to 8 transfer credits (AP or college course that are deemed equivalent to ACPHS courses) for the following courses: Organic Chemistry I and II, Microbiology, Physics for Life Sciences, Science Selective, and Elementary Statistics. Transfer of partial credit for sequential courses is not permitted (e.g., transfer credit for General Biology I and II is allowed while the transfer of credit for General Bio I alone is not).

Course Equivalencies for College and AP Credit:

For first-year applicants and second-year transfer applicants (Special restrictions enumerated above apply to pre-pharmacy students).

Course Area	Credit Accepted
Calculus	AP or College Credit	A 3-credit college level course in Calculus or a score of 4 or higher on the AP Calculus exam is accepted as transfer credit.
Elementary Statistics	AP or College Credit	A 3-credit college level course in Statistics or a score of 4 or higher on the AP Statistics exam is accepted as transfer credit.
General Biology I and II	AP or College Credit	A 4-credit college course in General Biology appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Biology I. An 8-credit sequence of college courses in General Biology appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Biology I and II.
General Chemistry I and II	AP or College Credit	A 4-credit college course in General Chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Chemistry I. An 8-credit sequence of college courses in General Chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Chemistry I and II.
General Electives	AP or College Credit	Any AP course or college course from an accredited institution not applied to fulfill another curricular requirement may be accepted as transfer credit for a General Elective.
College Physics I and II	AP or College Credit	AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 receive credit for College Physics I and II. AP Physics 1 or AP Physics 2 taken alone do not receive credit. Credits beyond what is required for the student’s program will be counted towards general electives. AP Physics C: Mechanics transfers 4 credits of general elective credit. AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism transfers 4 credits of general elective credit. An 8-credit sequence of college credits in Physics appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for College Physics I and II. A shorter sequence of college credits in Physics doesn’t receive credit.
Liberal Arts Electives	AP or College Credit	Any AP or college courses from accredited institutions in the following disciplines/subjects may be applied as liberal arts elective credit: Anthropology, Archaeology, Area Studies, Art, Art History, Communication, Composition, Economics, English, Ethics, Gender Studies, Geography, Government, History, Languages, Law, Liberal Studies, Medieval Studies, Music, Political Sciences, Public Health, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Psychology, Religious Studies, Social Studies, Sociology, Women’s Studies.
Organic Chemistry I and II	College Credit	A 4-credit college course in Organic Chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for Organic Chemistry I. An 8-credit sequence of college courses in Organic Chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for Organic Chemistry I and II.
Microbiology	College Credit	A 4-credit course appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab.
Principles of Communication	AP or College Credit	A single 3-credit college level course in composition/writing will be accepted as transfer credit for Principles of Communication. A score of 4 or higher on the AP English Language and Composition exam will also be accepted as transfer credit for POC.

Course Equivalencies for IB Credit:

For Bachelor of Science first-year applicants and second-year transfer applicants and pre- Pharmacy first-year applicants and second-year transfer applicants.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB): SL denotes stand-level; HL denotes higher-level.

Course or Course Area	Notes
Academic Reading and Writing (ARW)	Students scoring a grade of 4 or higher on any of the following courses place out of Academic Reading and Writing: SL IB English A HL IB English A SL IB English B HL IB English B
Calculus I	Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Mathematics receive credit for Calculus I (4 credits).
College Physics I	Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Physics receive credit for College Physics I and II (8 credits).
General Biology I and II	Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Biology receive credit for General Biology I (4 credits).
General Chemistry I and II	Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Chemistry receive credit for General Chemistry I and II (8 credits).
General Electives	Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on any Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (IB) course may receive 6 general elective credits per course. Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on any Standard Level (SL) IB course may receive 3 general elective credits per course. IB transfer credit should be applied in the following order of priority: (1) specific course credit; (2) liberal arts elective credit; and (3) general elective credit.
General Psychology	Students earning a score of 5 or higher on the SL IB Psychology exam may receive transfer credit for PSY 101: General Psychology. Students earning a score of 5 or higher on the HL IB Psychology exam may receive transfer credit for General Psychology and 3 liberal arts elective credits.
Introduction to Economics	Students earning a score of 5 or higher on the SL IB Economics exam may receive transfer credit for ECN 101: Introduction to Economics.
Liberal Arts Electives	Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on any of the following HL IB courses will receive 3 credits of Liberal Arts electives per course: Classical Languages Dance Film History of the Islamic World Music Philosophy Social and Cultural Anthropology Theater Visual Arts Students earning a grade of 5 or higher on any of the following SL IB exams may receive 3 credits of liberal arts elective credit per course completed: Geography, Global Politics, Social and Cultural Anthropology; History of the Americas; World Religions; Philosophy; Foreign Language Courses
Principles of Communications	Students scoring a grade of 6 or higher on the HL IB of English A receive 3 credits for Principles of Communication.

Transfer Policies for the Humanities for the Health Sciences Sequence

Any credits (College, AP, or IB credit) within the humanities, as defined below, will be accepted as transfer credit for courses in the Humanities for the Health Sciences Sequence. Transfer credit within the Humanities will be applied in the following order regardless of the specific discipline of the credit:

Humanities electives
Humanities Methods and Approaches selective
Science and Health through the Humanities Lenses selective
Voice and Identity
Free electives

For the purposes of this policy, courses within the fields of Area Studies, Art, Art History, English, Ethics, Gender Studies, History, Literature, Music, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Race Studies, Religious Studies, Women’s Studies will be considered Humanities courses.

This policy should not be construed as impacting the humanities transfer policies for students directly entering the Pharm. D. program as P1, P2, P3, or P4 students. Additionally, students in any program bringing in 45 or more transfer credits to the College are exempt from this policy.

Pre-Requisites and Transfer of College Course Credit for PharmD Students

Students entering the P1 year of the PharmD program are required to complete all of the required pre-

requisite coursework prior to enrolling. In almost all cases, coursework required for entry into the P1 year must be completed by May 31 preceding P1 entry. In select cases, per the permission of the Pharmacy Admissions Committee (PAC), a student may be granted an allowance to take a specific course/s over the summer preceding P1, and granted a conditional acceptance into P1 pending the outcome of the summer course.

New students accepted to the P1 year of the PharmD program are required to take all required courses in the P1-P4 years of the program at the College. However, students with academic credit for biochemistry, molecular biology and/or immunology courses taken at other accredited academic institutions may request transfer of credit for these courses at the time of admission to the program if the following criteria are met:

Academic credit for the course was earned within the last three years from an accredited academic institution;
A grade of C or better was earned in the course;
The course is a 300-level (third year) course.

Students submit a request for course credit transfer in writing to the Office of Admissions, along with the course description and syllabus from the academic institution where course credit was earned. If the specific course has been previously reviewed by ACPHS within three years, the Office of Admissions will inform the student of that determination. If the course has not been reviewed within three years, the Office of Admissions forwards the course description and syllabus to the faculty members responsible for the course on both campuses. The faculty jointly review and evaluate the course description and syllabus. The faculty members provide a written determination regarding whether the course should be considered equivalent to the ACPHS course. If the course is considered equivalent, the student will be provided credit for the course. The Office of Admissions sends all decisions on course credit transfer requests directly to the student in writing, pending receipt of final grades for courses for which a transfer is requested and informs the Registrar of the credit transfer.

Students seeking transfer with advance standing in the Pharmacy program from another professional program will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the PAC and Pharmacy program directors, department chairs, and Dean of Pharmacy, with input from relevant faculty.

Graduate Level Course Transfer

Up to nine (9) credit hours of graduate level coursework may be transferred to ACPHS from other accredited academic institutions, subject to the approval of the Program Director and the respective Dean. To be considered for transfer credit, courses must have been taken in the past seven (7) years. Only courses where applicants have earned grades of B (83; B- is not accepted) or higher will be considered for transfer credit. Courses graded on a pass/fail basis will not be accepted for transfer credit. A request for awarding of transfer credit along with official transcripts of the coursework must be submitted to Admissions, at least one month prior to the start of the graduate program at ACPHS for consideration of transfer credit. The request will be reviewed by the Program Director and faculty with expertise in the course area, and they will make a recommendation to the respective Dean regarding the request. The respective Dean will make the final decision and inform the student, Program Director and the Registrar’s office.

Academic Credits for Military Education and Experience

ACPHS has adopted the American Council on Education (ACE) guidelines to evaluate transfer credits for military education and experience across all the programs including B.S., M.S. and PharmD. Registrar’s office will review military transcripts in collaboration with the faculty subject matter experts following the ACE guidelines and issue recommendations for course equivalences. Transferred credits will be counted towards ‘General Electives’.

Course Repeat and Remediation

Course Repeat: In some instances, students are allowed or required to repeat an entire course.

Any grade of “F” must be repeated if the course is required for a student’s degree.

Students may repeat a course with permission of their advisor and course instructor by completing the “course permission form” (see Registrar’s page on the Intranet for form). If a repeated course is completed at an institution other than ACPHS, it must be completed with a higher grade than the original course grade in order to have the credits transferred back to the College (minimum transferrable grade is a “C”).
Students will not be allowed to repeat a course during the academic year (fall or spring semester) at another institution if the same course is offered at ACPHS and will fit within the student’s required course schedule. If the required course is not available at ACPHS, students may be allowed to repeat the course at another accredited institution and must be pre-approved according to the course permission policy found on the Registrar’s intranet site.
When repeating a required or elective course, a record of both courses will remain on the official transcript. If both courses are completed at ACPHS, the higher of the two course grades will be used in the calculation of the cumulative GPA. If the repeated course is completed elsewhere with a grade of C or better, neither the original nor the repeated course grade will be used in GPA calculations. The cumulative GPA will be updated after completion of the term after which the course was repeated.
Independent study cannot be used for the purpose of repeating a course. The VPAA may grant an exception to this, in rare circumstances, in consultation with the respective Deans.
A student’s progression through the program may be delayed as a result of the required course repeat.

Course Remediation: In some instances, students are allowed or required to remediate a portion of a course. Course remediation may occur either during the course (within-course remediation) or after a course is completed (post-course remediation).

Course coordinators have the authority to permit or not to permit remediation of course elements. It is the course coordinator’s responsibility to determine what is permissible for remediation and it is expected that this will vary by course.
If a course permits remediation, the syllabus must include a list of the course elements that may be remediated, the process by which remediation occurs, the criteria for what is permissible for remediation (i.e., a grade below a certain threshold on a course element) and the policy for calculating the final grade to include the remediated elements.
All course remediation (within- and post-course) must be completed within two weeks of final grade submission to the Registrar, or for the fall semester, one week prior to the spring semester. Once remediation is complete, the course coordinator may request a grade change for the course in question. The original course grade will not show on the student’s transcript or be included in the GPA calculations.
In the case of post-course remediation, the final grade earned in the term of the course must be submitted to the Registrar at the close of the semester. Submission of a grade of incomplete is not acceptable. The Academic Standards Committee will review all grades and make recommendations based on the submitted grade. If the grade after the remediation process changes the academic status of the student from a probation or dismissal category, the Academic Standards Committee will review the revised grades and will, if necessary, amend recommendations to the Dean

Doctor of Pharmacy Program: Repeat of Deficient Professional Coursework

Students in the professional years of the PharmD program (P1-P4) may repeat courses, preferentially at ACPHS, or may do so at another accredited professional level school if the course is pre-approved by the course coordinator and department chair (See registrar’s website for approval form). Students must earn a grade of C or better in courses repeated at other institutions. When repeating a required or elective course, a record of both courses will remain on the official transcript. If both courses are completed at ACPHS, the higher of the two course grades will be used in the calculation of the GPA. If the repeated course is completed elsewhere with a grade of C or better, neither the original nor the repeated course grade will be used in GPA calculations. The cumulative GPA will be updated during the term the course was repeated. A student’s progression through the program may be delayed as a result of the required course repeat.

Summer Session Courses

ACPHS students are allowed to take courses during the summer as long as doing so meets the General Academic Requirements, Course Repeat, and transfer policies. A maximum of 10 semester hours of coursework is allowed during any summer at institutions other than ACPHS.

Policy for Internal Program Transfer

A student currently enrolled at ACPHS may apply for transfer from one academic program to another. An application form is available from the Program Director, the Registrar’s office, or on the ACPHS Intranet
at http://intranet.d809.com Academics tab/Registrar. The Program Director or Dean will review applications and render a decision to grant the transfer request based upon the student’s academic status, academic record and the feasibility of the student to enroll in courses required for the program requested. The review will consider the schedule of course offerings and the student’s record of completed courses. The timeframe for completion of all program requirements will be dependent on the student’s record of completed coursework at the time of the program transfer. It should be noted that the granting of the transfer request may require additional time to satisfy all new program requirements.

Students wishing to transfer into the professional years (P1 or P2) of the Doctor of Pharmacy program are required to apply through PharmCAS, Pharmacy College Application Service, at www.PharmCAS.org.

Transfer requests are considered at the end of an academic term and the approved change of program will be effective for the next academic term.