TRANSFER OF CREDIT FROM U.S. ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
University Regulations for Transfer of Credit
All requests submitted to the Government Department for transfer of credit from US Academic Institutions must comply with Wesleyan's Academic Regulations for External Special Study Programs, which are described at https://catalog.wesleyan.edu/academic-regulations/external-special-study/
All such requests must be made before the first class meeting of the course whose credit you wish to transfer. We cannot, and will not, make exceptions to this pre-approval rule, because the rule is a University regulation stipulated at the website linked above.
The University's rule reads [emphasis added] "A student may obtain credit toward the Wesleyan degree for courses taken during the academic year at another accredited U.S. institution or in the summer session of another accredited U.S. or international institution if (1) the courses have been approved in advance by the relevant Wesleyan department, program, or college, and (2) the grades in the courses are C- or better."
Department Regulations for Transfer of Credit
Above and beyond the University's regulations, requests submitted to the Government Department for transfer of credit from US Academic Institutions will be granted if and only if courses are:
1. Upper division. Introductory courses may not be counted, except in the case of students who transfer to Wesleyan from another US academic institution.
2. In the field of Government (Department of Political Science; Department of Politics).
3. Equivalent in terms of contact hours, content, and requirements to Wesleyan courses.
4. Offered at a four year, accredited institution.
5. Graded. Credit/No credit courses may not be transferred.
How to Get Permission to Transfer Credit
Start by dowloading from the university's Student Affairs website a form entitled "Permission to Transfer Credit From Another College or University." If you provide the necessary information, your class dean will tell you what to put in the spaces for "number of course units" and "semester or course hours." State explicitly on the form (there is no specific place to do this, unfortunately, but you can write in in the margin) whether the course for which you wish to transfer credit is taught partly or entirely online. If so, it will probably fail to meet condition (3) above.
What you do with this form after filling it out depends on whether you are a Government major or a non-major. In each case, the signed and approved form has to be submitted on paper to the Office of Student Affairs (Deans Office). Government majors should get the completed form signed by their Government Department major advisor. Non-majors who seek to transfer to Wesleyan credit for a course taken in a Department of Political Science (Department of Government, Department of Politics) at another US academic institution should get the completed form signed by the Department chair. Majors and non-majors alike are required to present supporting material (see below) to the approving faculty member. The official Wesleyan faculty page of each Department member should have his or her current office hours.
Supporting material that should be noted on or accompany your filled out "Permission to Transfer Credit From Another College or University" form includes:
1. The name and location of the institution at which the course is being offered.
2. The course name and number, the "number of course units" the course was assigned at the other institution, and the Wesleyan-equivalent "semester or course hours" that number of course units corresponds to. Your class dean can help you figure out what these numbers should be.
3. A course syllabus (or some other document) stating the name of the instructor and the course requirements, including a list of assigned readings, a description of written and oral assignments, the number of examinations, and the method of evaluation. If your advisor (majors) or the Department chair (non-majors) has insufficient information to judge whether the course meets the five conditions stipulated at the top of this webpage, the Department will provide only contingent preapproval. If you have only contingent (rather than full) preapproval, then when you return to Wesleyan, you must show both the course syllabus and all of your own written work to your Government advisor (if you're a major) or to the Department chair (if you're a non-major). That faculty member in turn must certify that your performance in the course meets the five conditions stipulated at the top of this webpage. Such approval is not guaranteed.
Without proper documentation, or without timely pre-approval, students run the risk of taking courses that will not receive approval or credit from the Government Department.
Government majors should consult their advisors before choosing courses. A maximum of two transfer credits may be counted toward the major from courses taken at other US educational institutions. Each such credit you transfer, moreover, means one fewer that you may transfer from a study abroad program.
Students should give the approving faculty member an email address where they can be reached in case additional information is needed.
Approved by the Department of Government, August 16, 2007