Institutions Consider Accreditation when Deciding Which Transfer Credits to Accept and Commonly Accept Credits Earned at Regionally Accredited Institutions

We found that when making decisions about whether or not to accept  transfer credits, institutions often used the sending institution’s  accreditation as the initial measure of the quality of the institution and its  coursework. Several officials from postsecondary institutions with regional  accreditation told us that as a rule, they did not accept credits earned at  institutions with national accreditation. They advised students to assume that  credits would not transfer to regionally accredited institutions. Institutions Said That Transfer Agreements, though Time-Consuming, Do Facilitate Transfers

While many institutions use accreditation as a factor to assess transfer  credits, about 69 percent of postsecondary institutions have entered into  voluntary transfer agreements with other institutions. Institutions Review the Comparability of Coursework but Vary in How They Administer This Process

Some institutions review students’ transcripts to determine the  comparability of the students’ coursework. For  their part, accrediting agencies facilitate the transfer process through the  standards they set for affiliated institutions. The six regional  accrediting agencies that we reviewed generally encourage their member  institutions not to accept or deny transfer credit exclusively on the basis of  the accreditation of the sending institution. Some State Legislation and Statewide Initiatives Ease Credit Transfer

States facilitate the transfer of credits among public institutions through  various statewide legislation and initiatives that, among other things,  support the establishment of statewide transfer agreements, common core  curricula, and common course numbering systems, and encourage  institutions and others to make transfer information available to the  public. Accrediting Agencies Set Accreditation Standards, and Some Encourage Institutions to Promote the Consistent Evaluation of Transfer Credit

Accrediting agencies’ standards for evaluating transfer credit generally  reflect the three criteria specified in a 1978 joint national statement on the  transfer and award of credit: the educational quality of the sending  institution, the comparability of credit to be transferred to the receiving  institution, and applicability of the credit in relation to the programs being  offered at the receiving institution. Students’ Inability to Transfer Credits May Have Cost Implications, but Financial Effects on Students and the Federal Government Are Unknown

The inability to transfer credits may result in longer enrollment, more  tuition payments, and additional federal financial aid awards, but the full  extent to which such results occur cannot be determined because  institutions told us they do not collect specific data on students that are  unable to transfer credit. Our analysis of Education’s postsecondary education data found that  transfer students fare differently from nontransfer students. In addition, we spoke with national  experts and reviewed national studies related to the implications for  students and the federal government of student’s inability to transfer  credits. S.D.
Why GAO Did This Study

Each year thousands of students transfer from one postsecondary institution to another. The credit transfer process, to the extent that it delays students' progress, can affect the affordability of postsecondary education and the time it takes students to graduate. Seeking information on the processes and requirements that postsecondary institutions have in place to assess requests to transfer academic credits, Congress asked GAO to examine (1) how postsecondary education institutions decide which credits to accept for transfer, (2) how states and accrediting agencies facilitate the credit transfer process, and (3) the implications for students and the federal government of students' inability to transfer credits.

What GAO Found

When deciding which credits to accept from transfer students, receiving institutions consider the sending institution's type of accreditation, whether academic transfer agreements with the institution exist, and the comparability of coursework. However, institutions vary in how they evaluate and apply a student's transferable credits. Many officials from postsecondary institutions with regional accreditation told GAO that they would not accept credits earned from nationally accredited institutions. To streamline the transfer process, most institutions have transfer agreements with other institutions that generally provide for the acceptance of credits from the other institution without further evaluation. In some instances, institutions review student credits--not rejected for other reasons, such as accreditation--to determine comparability to their academic offerings. State legislation, statewide initiatives, and the accreditation standards that accrediting agencies set help facilitate the transfer of academic credits from one postsecondary institution to another. Among other things, states support the establishment of statewide transfer agreements, common core curricula, and common course numbering systems. Accrediting agencies facilitate the transfer process through the standards they set. The accrediting agencies that GAO reviewed generally adhere to the principle that institutions should not accept or deny transfer credit exclusively on the basis of a sending institution's type of accreditation. A student's inability to transfer credit may result in longer enrollment, more tuition payments, and additional federal financial aid, but current data do not allow GAO to quantify its effects on the students or the federal government. Data are not available on the number of credits that do not transfer, making it difficult to assess the actual costs associated with nontransferable credits.