Students of Richmindale College transferring to other institutions must follow the Cancellation, Withdrawal and Refund Policy. See the important notice concerning transferability of credits and credentials earned at Richmindale College below.

The transferability of credits earned at Richmindale College is entirely at the discretion of the school to which the student may seek to transfer. Richmindale College cannot guarantee the acceptance of the credits awarded or the degree earned at the school by other institutions or employers.

Richmindale College evaluates transfer credit fairly, equitably, systematically, and consistently. Transfer decisions are based on the quality and comparability of the learning presented, its applicability to the student’s current Richmindale program, alignment of competencies and learning outcomes, the student’s preparedness, age or recency of the learning where academically relevant, the grade earned, credit value, degree level, and other academically appropriate evidence. A request will not be denied solely because of the accreditation status or accrediting agency of the sending institution. Richmindale may consider accreditation, recognition, institutional authorization, course documentation, faculty qualifications, and other indicators of educational quality as part of the total evaluation.

When applicants request a credit transfer evaluation, Richmindale charges a separate credit transfer evaluation fee of $75 for each application. The one-time registration fee and the credit transfer evaluation fee cost $175, payable when applicants/students sign the enrollment agreement.

Applicants are encouraged to request transfer-credit evaluation as early as possible so that the likely program requirements, remaining credits, expected time to completion, and estimated educational cost can be understood before enrollment. Richmindale may perform a preliminary evaluation before execution of the enrollment agreement when sufficient documentation is available. Transfer credit is final only after required official documentation has been received and verified. Any fee for transfer-credit evaluation is disclosed in the Tuition and Fees section and applicable enrollment documents.

For an undergraduate degree, at least 25% of the credits required for the degree must be earned through Richmindale College. Accordingly, transfer credit and any other non-Richmindale credit recognized toward the degree may not reduce the Richmindale residency requirement below 25% of the program, and any stricter applicable accreditation requirement will control.

For a graduate degree, more than 50% of the credits required for the degree must be earned through Richmindale College. Therefore, transfer credit may not equal or exceed 50% of the program. For a 36-credit master’s degree, no more than 17 semester credits may be accepted in transfer. If another applicable accreditation or regulatory requirement is stricter, the stricter limit controls.

Requests for credit transfer are evaluated based on their individual merit. Transfer of credits is not based solely on whether the post-secondary education institution or program from which the credit is to be transferred is accredited; and if accredited, the accrediting agency.

The following minimum criteria are used for transfer of credits:

Coursework must be comparable in scope and content;

Coursework must be applicable to the program into which transfer is requested;

Learning outcomes and competencies must be aligned with the program into which transfer is requested;

The age of the coursework is considered when recency is academically relevant to the subject matter. Richmindale does not automatically reject all coursework solely because it is older than a fixed number of years; however, it may require current evidence of competency for rapidly changing disciplines, prerequisite chains, technology-intensive subjects, or other courses for which currency is essential.

The grade earned must demonstrate satisfactory achievement for the course and program requirement. Ordinarily, undergraduate transfer coursework must have a grade equivalent to C or better and graduate transfer coursework a grade equivalent to B or better, unless Richmindale documents an academically justified exception consistent with the receiving program’s requirements. Pass/Satisfactory grades may be considered when the sending institution documents that the grade represents achievement at or above the applicable minimum standard.

Richmindale evaluates credit value and converts quarter, trimester, international, or other credit systems to semester credits using a documented methodology.

Transfer credit may satisfy a specific Richmindale course, an approved program requirement, or another documented curricular requirement only when the evaluation establishes appropriate equivalency or applicability.

Official documentation from the sending institution or an approved credential-evaluation source must be retained in the student record to support final transfer-credit awards.

If required, students are responsible for providing all information necessary for the validation of the credit claimed. For example, students may be required to furnish the academic catalog and/or the course outline from the school awarding the credit.

To apply for credit transfer, select the Apply for Credit Transfer option on the admission application. Applicants may apply for admission on Richmindale’s website at RSIS > Student > Apply for Admission, or copy and paste the link www.richmindale.com/rsis/admissions in a web browser. Applicants who intend to apply for credit transfer, but missed to select the Apply for Credit Transfer option on their admission application, may modify their admission application using the same website page and link. Changes to the admission application may require another round of review and evaluation of the application, and may cause delays in the admission approval process.

Applicants may apply for credit transfer separately on Richmindale’s website at RSIS > Student > Apply Credit Transfer, or copy and paste the link www.richmindale.com/rsis/creditTransfer in a web browser.

Richmindale College provides an applicant or student a written transfer-credit evaluation identifying the courses or credits accepted, how the accepted credit applies to the current program, the remaining program requirements, and any documentation still required. Richmindale normally issues the evaluation within 14 calendar days after all documentation reasonably necessary for the evaluation has been received. If additional information is required, Richmindale notifies the applicant or student, and the evaluation period resumes when the requested information is received.

For a newly admitted student, transfer credits officially accepted and applied toward the student’s current Richmindale degree program are included in the quantitative component of Satisfactory Academic Progress as both attempted and successfully completed credits and count toward the maximum timeframe. Grades earned at another institution are not included in the Richmindale institutional or SAP GPA.

Credit transfers not accepted or not applicable to the student’s current program are excluded from the SAP calculation. If the student later changes programs, previously accepted credit transfers are reevaluated for applicability to the new program; only credit transfers applicable to the new program are included in that program’s SAP pace and maximum-timeframe calculations.

Applicants may apply for reconsideration or appeal within 14 calendar days from the credit transfer notification date by completing an appeal form on Richmindale’s website at RSIS > Student > Credit Transfer > Appeal, or copy and paste the link www.richmindale.com/rsis/creditTransfer/appeal in a web browser. Applicants applying for an appeal must provide reasons for reconsideration and may provide additional information to support the appeal. Richmindale provides a response to an appeal within 10 business days of the appeal submission date.

Richmindale College does not award academic credit through prior learning assessment, experiential learning, challenge examinations, test-out examinations, portfolio assessment, or other equivalent-learning mechanisms. A documented course substitution or waiver, when academically appropriate and separately approved, does not award academic credit and does not reduce the total semester credits required for the degree unless credit has been earned or accepted under another published credit policy.