Undergraduate Transfer Policy

Students must submit official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended to the Judson University Registrar. This includes courses completed for dual credit; high school transcripts will not be evaluated for college credit. Students transferring courses from institutions outside of the U.S. must submit an official AACRAO, NACES, or InCRED evaluation.

The University reserves the right to accept only courses that are equivalent in content and objectives to those offered at Judson. Most college level courses earning a grade of C- or better will transfer from a regionally accredited college and/or university. Courses taken through an unaccredited college will be reviewed by the Registrar. 

Courses with a grade of P (pass) or S (satisfactory) will not transfer. The transfer of courses that are vocational or technical will be limited to 18 credit hours and will apply only as elective credit. A vocational or technical course may only be transferred if it meets the rigor and requirements of courses offered at Judson University. Remedial courses (those below 100-level) will not transfer.

Grades for transfer courses are calculated in the summary GPA for determining qualification for graduation with honors, class rank, the honors programs, and athletic eligibility.

If CLEP tests were taken at another college and/or university and the student wishes to receive credit, the student must request that an official score report be sent to the Registrar's Office for evaluation. CLEP credits will not be transferred to Judson University from other colleges and/or university transcripts as each institution has different standards for awarding credit for CLEP testing. Additional information regarding CLEP tests can be found in the Alternative Credit section of the catalog.

Advanced Transfer Approval

Students who have matriculated at Judson University must secure advanced approval from the Registrar before registering for a course at another institution by completing the Transfer Course Approval Form in MyJudson. All courses submitted for approval must meet the following criteria:

  • A minimum of 30 hours of coursework must be completed in residency.
  • A minimum of 40 percent of major coursework must be completed at Judson.
  • Students cannot transfer any coursework during the semester they plan on graduating.
  • The beginning and ending dates of a transfer course must fall within Judson's traditional term dates.
  • A transfer course may not cause a student an overload and may not be a course that is offered at Judson during the term in which the student is seeking to transfer.
  • The student must earn a grade of C- or higher to transfer a course (a minimum of C is required for English courses).

Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI)

Judson University is a participating institution in IAI. The IAI was designed to help Illinois college students transfer easily. All participating colleges and universities agreed to accept an IAI general education "package" for transfer students in place of the institution's own general education requirements. The IAI core must be completed by the time the student matriculates to Judson.

Students who transfer to Judson in pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts, who have already earned an Associate of Arts (AA) or Science (AS) or a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university with a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher upon matriculation will be deemed to have completed lower division general education courses except when specific general education courses are stipulated by the major and/or professional certification requirements. An Applied Associate degree will not be applied as meeting General Education requirements.

Upper division general education requirements may still be required; see the Graduation Requirements pages of the catalog for details.

These agreements do not guarantee that a student who transfers to Judson with an Associate's or Bachelor's degree will graduate in two years. The student is responsible to work with their Academic Advisor in developing a graduation plan to meet all graduation requirements.

In addition to the IAI, Judson has established specific articulation agreements with several local institutions to help ensure a smooth transition for transfer students:

  • Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies
  • Acadeum
  • BIR Training Center
  • College of DuPage
  • Contemporary Music Center
  • Elgin Community College
  • Harper College
  • Illinois Community College Board and Illinois Board of Higher Education
  • ISBM University
  • Kishwaukee College
  • McHenry County College
  • Rockford Career College
  • Rock Valley College
  • Saint Anthony College of Nursing
  • Tokyo Christian University
  • Waubonsee Community College, and
  • West Suburban College of Nursing.

Conversion Policy

Courses are offered based on the semester-hour system. Whenever students take courses at another university or college that is using the quarter-hour credit system, the following policy governs the number of credit hours that will transfer to Judson. Quarter hours convert to semester hours at the rate of 1 quarter hour = 2/3 semester hour. Multiply number of quarter hours by 0.67.

  • 5 Quarter Hrs. = 3.35
  • 4 Quarter Hrs. = 2.68
  • 3 Quarter Hrs. = 2.01
  • 2 Quarter Hrs. = 1.34
  • 1 Quarter Hr. = 0.67

A course from another university or college using the quarter-hour system may be approved to fulfill a general education requirement. However, students must be aware that the conversion formula may affect the student fulfilling the required 120 degree hours for the Bachelors degrees.