To: CAA
From: Articulation Office
Re: Questions students ask (or should!)
Here are a number of questions that we are sometimes asked, and warnings about situations that have caused some students grief. The key points are in bold, followed by details or clarification.
Q: Do online courses transfer?
A: Yes, but online lab science and foreign language courses receive elective units only, no subject credit.
Online language courses will not fulfill the level 3 language requirement (though students can always take the placement exam). We are not concerned about any other courses offered online unless we have already specifically identified them on the TCR (Transfer Credit Report), which students will see when they do a pre-approval).
However, it is hard to keep up with all the schools that may offer language and/or science labs online. If you are aware of a school that does this, yet our articulation agreement or history grants course equivalence, please let us know. Thank you!
Q: Can I take transfer GE courses P/NP?
A: Yes, but only one GE category can be fulfilled with P/NP, whether taken in transfer or at USC.
Students should review their transfer credit reports and STARS reports to make sure that they have not already satisfied a GE area with a P/NP course before they choose that grading option for another at USC. They should also be sure they have turned in all transfer transcripts with a P/NP grade. (Additional warning: you cannot fulfill the lower division writing requirement with a WRIT-130 equivalent transfer course taken P/NP.)
Q: Do I have to turn in all my college transcripts, even if I don’t want the credit?
A: Yes.
We have noticed an increasing number of students who are delaying submitting transcripts until they actually “need” the credit. Please remind your students that catalogue policy states:
Students are required to provide transcripts of all course work attempted at any post-secondary institution, regardless of the type of course(s) or the quality of the work. A student’s failure to provide transcripts for all course work attempted while away from USC may result in denial of transferred course work and a charge of a violation of the university’s academic integrity policies. http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2010/undergraduate/cwte_transfer.html
Failure to submit transcripts promptly can result in very serious consequences for students, and the articulation office is required to submit these cases for review.
Q: Where should I send transcripts?
A: Degree Progress Student Services
Transcripts should be mailed or hand-delivered to Degree Progress, not Articulation or REG (unless a student has received explicit instructions to the contrary!). Delivering transcripts to Articulation actually slows down the process of analyzing transfer records.
Degree Progress Student Services
700 Childs Way, JHH-010
LA, CA 90089-0912
Q: Where should I go if there are errors on my TCR?
A: Degree Progress Student Services
Degree Progress is responsible for entering transcript data to student records. Please contact Degree Progress (JHH-010 or dprogss@usc.edu) to report missing courses, incorrectly entered courses, terms, grades, etc., on a student’s TCR.
Q: I was recently admitted. When will I be able to access OASIS (e.g., to see my TCR)?
A: Three days after you pay your commitment deposit.
All applicants have an OASIS account. Three days after you pay the commitment deposit (“certify”), you should be able to go to www.usc.edu/firstlogin to activate your email account and access OASIS. If there is a problem, you should contact Admissions to ensure that your deposit has been credited.
Q: How do I get pre-approval to take summer courses overseas? (And who reviews them?)
A: File a paper pre-approval form, available at www.usc.edu/transfercredit. (Articulation reviews them.)
The Articulation Office has previously reviewed only course work taken by undergraduates at U. S. (domestic) institutions. Admissions reviewed transfer courses from international institutions. In the next few months, Articulation will begin articulating international undergraduate courses; we will let you know when this happens. We are already reviewing pre-approvals and requests for exception to residence for international undergraduate courses (both of these require PAPER forms).
Q: I’m a spring admit--what should I take in the Fall?
A: Go to a community college, or see our website.
Spring admits often want advice about courses to take before entering USC. These students should have received specific information from Admissions that they should follow: take courses at a community college, take writing and foreign language, and take G.E. courses if possible. Many students are not able to follow this advice, or prefer more specific programs before entering USC. If so, ask them to look at our website (www.usc.edu/articulation) under “Spring Admits: Information about transferring coursework before entering USC.” This webpage offers links to descriptions of Core requirements, transfer publications, the Transfer Planning Guide, and finally, if needed, a pre-approval form designed especially for spring admits. Pre-approvals cannot be done by email or on the phone.
Q: I took the lecture part of a transfer course that would have earned GE if I had taken the lab. Is there any way to get GE for it by taking a lab after starting at USC?
A: In rare cases—no short answer to this question.
As you know, students may not fulfill GE with transfer courses taken after coming to USC. Some students have taken the lecture portion of a basic science course which would have fulfilled GE category III if they had taken the lab (but they didn’t). If they ask you if there’s any way to get GE for this course, please note:
1. The simple answer is “rarely.” The recommended, and preferred, option is to take a GE III course at USC which treats different subject matter than their transfer course, so they will learn something new.
2. If you feel that a student’s timely progress towards degree will be hindered by the above, ask the student to file an articulation petition (if s/he has not already done so) for the lecture course, asking about taking a lab. In certain cases, some alternative options can be approved. We will review the situation, upon petition, to determine if one of these alternatives is available:
a) Several USC departments have created “special labs” for this situation. These allow students to enroll in a 1-unit lab that is part of a USC course sufficiently similar in content to the transfer lecture course that students will be prepared for the lab. The articulation office does a preliminary review of the student’s lecture course and, if it looks appropriate, advises the student to go to the appropriate advisor in the USC department with his or her petition. Students should not go to the department without filing an articulation petition first. The department decides whether the student may enroll in the lab. If so, once the student has passed the lab, the department advises the articulation office, which allows the original transfer course to fulfill GE III. These special labs, and their corresponding USC courses, are:
ASTR-104: ASTR 100; BISC-108: BISC-120; BISC-109: BISC-220;
CHEM-290abcd: CHEM 105ab or 322ab; GEOL-290: GEOL-105 or 107.
b) If the above possibility does not work, students may request an exception to be allowed to take the lab course in the summer at the original transfer institution. Students will not be allowed to “shop” for labs. The lab must be taken at the original transfer institution or a “sister” school in the same district, and it must be associated with the original lecture course or its equivalent. In this situation, a student must file a PAPER pre-approval form; this cannot be approved using the online pre-approval. Note, however, that with the current budget crunch, it may be difficult for students to find a lab at another institution in which they can enroll.
This is a special exception to University Policy and must be approved in writing by the articulation office in advance of the student taking the course. No exceptions will be granted after the fact. If you have any questions about this, please contact the articulation office. It is important that we screen students before sending them to the academic departments, so that the departments are not burdened with inappropriate requests.
Thank you very much.
Shelby King, Articulation Analyst,
David Van Dyke, Articulation Analyst,
Edwenna Werner, Articulation Officer
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