Authorization

These Student Transfer Policies, as adopted by the Maryland Higher Education Commission on December 4,1995, shall be effective and applicable to students first enrolling in Maryland public post-secondary educational institutions in Fall 1996, and thereafter.

Applicability of Policies

These transfer policies and procedures apply to admission, credit transfer, program articulation, and related matters for undergraduate students who wish to transfer between Maryland public colleges and universities. The Maryland Higher Education Commission also recommends them to Maryland independent institutions.

Rationale

A major premise of the Maryland public higher education system is that a student should be able to progress from one segment of higher education to another without loss of time or unnecessary duplication of effort. The Maryland Higher Education Commission's objective is to ensure that students who intend to complete a baccalaureate degree and who begin their work at a community college, are able to move toward the completion of that degree by transferring to a baccalaureate degree-granting institution without loss of credit or unnecessary duplication of course content. At the same time, the Commission recognizes that some students change their educational objectives as they progress in their studies, indeed, sometimes because their students expose them to new ideas and possibilities. These students should also be able to complete their general education courses and have them transfer without loss of credit.

One means of accomplishing this objective is through the development of recommended transfer programs between two- and four-year institutions. A recommended transfer program, developed by careful planning and agreement between specific two- and four-year institutions, is that recommended sequences of courses which a student takes at a community college will constitute the first two years of a baccalaureate degree program at a Maryland public institution of higher education.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission recognizes that students select institutions of higher education for a variety of reasons. These policies also recognize that each Maryland public college or university has a separate and distinct mission, and that each has the responsibility to establish and maintain standards of expectations for courses, programs, certificates, and degrees consistent with that mission. Nevertheless, effective and efficient transfer of credits between and among these institutions must occur within the larger context of the statewide structure of baccalaureate and community college education.

Successful and harmonious articulation depends upon:

• Firm agreement that the needs of the student should be a primary concern in developing articulation procedures, while maintaining the integrity of educational programs;
• Establishment of clear and equitable policies to assure optimum accessibility for transfer students with minimal loss of credits and minimal duplication of course content;
• Mechanisms for evaluation and resolving difficulties students may encounter in moving from one school to another;
•  Free and continuous communications among institutions;
•  Mutual respect for institutions and their missions;
• Adaptability, within a context of understanding that changes affect not only the institution making changes but also the students and institutions impacted by the changes;
• Free exchange of data among institutions;
• Timely exchange of information relative to students' progress.

The intended principal benefactor is the student, whose uninterrupted progress toward a degree - based on successful academic performance - is best served by the open exchange of current information about programs, and is best protected by a clear transfer policy pertaining to the public segments of higher education in Maryland.

The State's interests are similarly served through such a policy, which results in the optimal use of its higher education resources by reducing the costly duplication that results in the needless waste of the valuable time and effort of Maryland students, faculty, and administration.

Institutional interests and missions are also protected by this systematic approach, which permits them to incorporate into their academic planning more accurate projections about the programmatic backgrounds of transferring students.

In more specific ways this document's purpose is to:

• Define broad areas of agreement among the public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education pertaining to facilitating the transfer of students within these segments;
• Provide a mechanism for continuous evaluation of programs, policies, procedures, and relationships affecting transfer of students;
• Provide such revisions as are needed to promote the academic success and general well-being of the transfer student;
• Provide a system of appeals beginning on the campus level to resolve difficulties that students experience in transfer.

While policies and procedures can be established which facilitate the transfer of students, it is the responsibility of the student, as the principal in the process, to know and follow the procedures defined.

Title 13B Maryland Higher Education Commission

Subtitle 06 General Education and Transfer, Chapter 02 Transfer Students and Transfer of Courses and Credits. Authority: Education Article, §11-105 and 11-207, Annotated Code of Maryland

COMAR 13B.06.02.01 (Purpose and Scope)

COMAR 13B.06.02.02 (Definitions)

COMAR 13B.06.02.03 (Institutional Policies and Responsibilities)

COMAR 13B.06.02.04 (Coordination Between Institutions and Segments)

COMAR 13B.06.02.05 (Information for Students)

COMAR 13B.06.02.06 (Admission of Transfer Students)

COMAR 13B.06.02.07 (Transfer of Courses and Credits Generally)

COMAR 13B.06.02.08 (Number of Credits Accepted for Transfer)

COMAR 13B.06.02.09 (Transfer of General Education Courses)

COMAR 13B.06.02.10 (Evaluation of Individual Course Equivalencies)

COMAR 13B.06.02.11 (Transfer of Previously Awarded Credit for Prior Learning)

COMAR 13B.06.02.12 (Establishment of Transferability)

COMAR 13B.06.02.13 (Program Transfer Agreements)

COMAR 13B.06.02.14 (Evaluation and Review Process for Transfer of Courses and Credits)