Transfer of Credit to Hamilton for Study Away

STUDY AWAY FROM HAMILTON FOR MATRICULATED STUDENTS
With faculty approval, qualified students may spend one to three semesters of study in an approved program overseas or at another American institution, or may receive credit for part-time study while on personal leave or during summers; however, seniors must take their final semester at Hamilton College/in a Hamilton College program. Every student intending to study away from Hamilton should prepare by taking the appropriate foundation courses. Consultation with one’s academic advisor, the appropriate department chairs, and the Off Campus Study Office early in the sophomore year is advised.

Transfer of Credit to Hamilton for Study Away
The College aims to be responsive to the needs of students seeking diverse educational settings or courses not offered at Hamilton. At the same time, transferred credit can have a significant effect on the meaning and value of the Hamilton degree and thus must represent work that meets Hamilton's standards, be consistent with the liberal arts disciplines, and be similar to actual courses taught at Hamilton. The College considers the opportunity to earn transferred credit a privilege, rather than a right, and evaluates carefully the merits of all petitions for transferred credit.

Currently matriculated students must receive approval prior to taking courses elsewhere in order to be assured of transfer credit. Approval on the petition for transferred credit form must be obtained from the academic advisor, Department Chair/Program Director (as needed), Registrar’s Office, and the Committee on Academic Standing. Students who carry out independent studies at another college or university must submit a separate form indicating that a Hamilton faculty member has evaluated and approved the project. Upon returning to Hamilton, all students must have an official transcript sent to the Office of the Registrar in order for any pre-approved transfer credit to be applied to the students’ record.

The policy for transferred credit is as follows:

1. Courses must be taken at an accredited institution and be in the liberal arts disciplines. Courses in which a substantial portion of the enrollment consists of high school students are not acceptable for transferred credit, even if they are college-level courses taught by a university-approved instructor or visiting professor.
2. Students are encouraged to study at four-year institutions. Once a student has earned 14 or more Hamilton units (including units earned by all forms of transferred credit) they may not study at a two-year institution and earn transfer credit.
3. Transferred credits may account for no more than one-half of the total graduation credits. No more than two course credits will be granted for study per summer. Normally, no more than four course credits will be granted for courses taken online.
4.Transferred credits for courses taken asynchronously will only be granted after approval of a portfolio of coursework by the appropriate department.
5. Students must earn a grade of C or higher for a course to be eligible for transfer credit. Courses with a non-letter grade such as “credit” or “pass” will not be accepted for transfer credit unless the host institution provides documentation to the Registrar’s Office indicating that the grades are equivalent to a C or better.
6. A transferred credit may not be used to satisfy either a writing-intensive (WI) or the quantitative and symbolic reasoning (QSR) requirement. Matriculated students may not use transferred credit to satisfy college-wide requirements.
7. The quantity of transferred credit that a student may earn toward a Hamilton degree for work done at another school is determined by a proportionality between the 32 Hamilton units required for a Hamilton degree and the number of units required at the other school to earn a degree. For example, if a school requires 120 semester-hours for a degree, a course worth three semester-hours at that school is .025 of the total work required for a degree at that school. By proportionality, that three semester-hour course would generate .8 of a Hamilton unit, because (.025)(32) = .8. The registrar will use this rule to evaluate the totality of a student's transferred credit for a given semester or summer.
8. Transferred credit, including summer study, is counted toward the courses required for a degree. Such credit is entered on the transcript. The grade, however, is not included in the student's average and, therefore, does not affect class rank, which is determined solely on the basis of grades awarded for courses taken in Hamilton programs.
9. Once transferred credit has been entered on a student's transcript, that credit may not be removed from the transcript without approval of the Committee on Academic Standing.
10. The Committee on Academic Standing grants final approval of all petitions for transferred credit. Any requests for exceptions to the above conditions must be submitted to the committee.