Advising Transfer Students

 Transferring to a Montana University System institution has been streamlined by articulation agreements and transfer policies. Transferring to a private college or to a university in or out of state requires more research, planning, and working with our transfer advisor, Dan Voermans. (Should advisors be expected to contact cohorts at other institutions to clarify or assist advisee's?) The key is that all or as many as possible, lower division requirements are met to help with a smooth transfer. It is important to know that baccalaureate requirements vary among universities and although many transfer agreements exist, the granting of credits is determined by the receiving institution.

This is a list of minimal steps a transfer student should follow while attending FVCC.  Students should know that completing lower division general education requirements for a Montana public institution can be accomplished in four different ways:

• Completing an AA or AS degree
• Completing the FVCC general education core requirements (31+credits; your student does not have to complete an AA/AS degree (does need to apply core requirements completed stamped on transcript?)
• Completing the MUS Core of 30 credits of approved courses 
• Completing at least 20 credits of the MUS core and do the rest at the transfer school

Students should know that general education courses as well as those for their major must be completed with a grade of at least a “C-“ but there are some exceptions.  A helpful website to check minimum grades for some majors for some Montana institutions is mus.edu/transfer/highermingrades.asp. Here are more steps a student can take to be totally prepared in the transfer process:

 Create a file to keep academic records such as course syllabi, course descriptions, and deadlines

• Have an intended school and major in mind and research that school’s requirements, both for general education and for a major
• Follow the suggested program of study curriculum for your major and school as listed in the transfer section of the FVCC catalog
• If a program of study for a school is not listed, work closely with the transfer advisor to contact the 4-year school about the curriculum of your major
• Download applications to your transfer institution and specific department (i.e. nursing, education, and business) early to make sure you meet the requirements and deadlines, or contact the admissions department at your transfer college for an application, or use the transfer transmittal form (add link to form page) if going to a Montana public institution. This form can be obtained from our Admissions Office or from the Learning Center (this only costs $8 versus the $30 normal fee)
• Download scholarship applications early (attn: UM deadline is December 31 for fall semester)
• If transferring to a Montana public university, visit the Transferring in Montana website (below) from the Commissioner of Higher Education for transfer policies, requirements, and course equivalencies between campuses
• Plan at least a year in advance of your transfer enrollment term for the official procedures and deadlines for admission, housing, and financial aid, including scholarships
• Contact the admissions department at your transfer college for an application or apply on-line via the campus website. Use the transfer transmittal form if going to a Montana public institution. This form can be obtained from the Admissions office or from the Learning Center (this only costs $8 versus the $30 normal fee)
• Submit your FAFSA by the priority deadline for your intended school
• Upon acceptance, attend an orientation session including meeting with an advisor from the department of your intended major. For Montana schools a group transfer trip in the spring may be arranged to accomplish this. Contact the transfer advisor about this possibility
• Have a final transcript sent from FVCC to the transfer institution after the end of your last term

 LINKS:

MUS Core                                     http://www.mus.edu/transfer/MUScorebycampus.asp

Transferring in Montana                 http://www.mus.edu/transfer/index.asp

FAFSA                                          http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

FVCC Transfer advisor (Dan Voerman) dvoerman@fvcc.edu

MT Course Equivalency Guide          http://mus.edu/transfer/index2.asp

How Do FVCC’s Credits Transfer? Generally speaking all academic courses numbered above 100 transfer to any other accredited college. In Montana, we have online transfer guides (see link above) so you can be sure of articulation and fulfillment of major or general education requirements. Problems occasionally arise for several reasons:

• The student takes a course that transfers but it is not the course the transfer institution requires for the major (e.g., PLSC 250 Political Theory will not replace PLSC 100 American Government for elementary education majors at UM). While the course transfers as a general education course, is is not the course the School of Education requires for elementary education majors.
• The student changes major, perhaps several times, and the courses required for the first or second major don’t line up with the new major.
• A course has approximately the same title but is taught at the 300-400 level at the university (e.g., FVCC’s BADM 140 Principles of Marketing vs UM’s MKTG 360 Marketing Principles). UM won’t generally take a lower level course for an upper division course, so it transfers as an elective and the requirement is still unmet.
• Some departments (e.g., UM’s Journalism department) claim that to maintain national accreditation standards in the major they can’t accept transfer credits in the major (e.g., FVCC Journalism courses) unless the transfer school has the same accreditation.
• Some out-of-state schools, particularly expensive private schools, have little incentive to generously accept credit. Many limit to 60 the number of credits accepted from a 2-year school.
• Courses taken in career and technical areas may not transfer to some schools when pursuing 4-year degrees (e.g., UM will only take ten credits, even after petitioning, for courses rated as “Technical” for the bachelor degree except in the BAS (Bachelor of Applied Science) option through the College of Technology). and MSU Billings.

The transfer guides developed in the catalog are very reliable, but changes do occur. If you find something that isn’t working for you and the student contact Dan Voermans. If the advisor and advisee both follow the catalog together and check each other it seems to work best.

 A Word on General Education Requirements- While achieving the AA or AS degree fulfills the general education requirement at all Montana institutions, it may not mean that all lower level requirements in the major are completed. In fact, many majors dictate which general education courses are required by making them requirements in the major. For example, UM Social Work department will only take BIOL 101NL as the lab science and no other lab science will work. So the student might have taken a perfectly good chemistry course and have the AA degree in hand but still would have to take the biology course. Not paying attention to major requirements which double as general education requirements has caused a fair amount of heartache for transfers. (it also spreads the word that FVCC credits don't transfer,  I often advise students that they need to use the credits outside of the general education requirements of 30 as an opportunity to fulfill requirements for their major)