Transfer Credits

Once you have completed the Application for Admission and have been admitted to Vol State, you may earn transfer credit.

Students transferring from other colleges should request official transcripts be mailed to the Office of Admissions from each college attended.

Transcripts must be official and must be mailed directly from the school to Vol State. Vol State does not evaluate transcripts faxed or student copies. Transcripts should be mailed to:

Admissions Office
Volunteer State Community College
1480 Nashville Pike
Gallatin, TN 37066

Once your transcripts are posted as "received" in the Admissions Office, your transcripts will be forwarded to the Records & Registration Office to be evaluated by a Transcript Analyst.

How Will My Credits Transfer?

Students looking for how their classes will transfer from school to school may refer to the transfer equivalency guides for available articulations. All collegiate-level coursework for each transfer student will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • It is completed at a regionally accredited institution
  • Course content equivalent to a course taught at the same level at Volunteer State Community College;
  • The same credentialing requirements for faculty at the transferring institution.

Credits from institutions on the quarter hour system will be converted to semester hours by dividing the quarter hour by 1.5.

Courses that were taken at another institution at a junior level or higher generally transfer as Elective Credit. However, you do have the opportunity to request a review of the course by the respective Division for specific credit or other options as needed to meet graduation requirements.

Only grades of "D" or higher will be accepted for credit. Additionally, transfer grades are not calculated in the Vol State GPA.

Maximum External Credit Allowed From Various Sources

Not more than a total of 75 percent of semester hours credit can be granted by Vol State through any combination of external sources: credit granted for service in the Armed Forces (including physical education credit and credit for courses offered through the American Council on Education or other service schools), advanced placement credit (the Advanced Placement Program and College-Level Examination Program of the College Entrance Examination Board, credit by examination, or previous training or work experience qualifying for degree credit).

Should a student be granted the maximum total of. 75 percent of semester hours credit through external sources, he/she must still complete all specific degree or certificate requirements as given in an outlined Program of Study. In order to receive a credential from Vol State, students must meet the 25 percent of semester hours graduation residence requirement for conferral of the credential. At least 25 percent of semester credit hours applied toward a degree or certificate must be completed in residence at Volunteer State Community College.

International Transfers

We do not automatically award credit from international colleges. However, if you feel the course content is equivalent to a course taught at the same level at Vol State, you may submit an educational credential evaluation from one of the agencies provided at https://www.naces.org/members.

Upon receipt of the educational credential evaluation, the Records Office will distribute your request to the academic division for evaluation. If your coursework is approved by the academic division, you will be awarded transfer for credit of the approved course(s).

Viewing My Transfer Credit

To view your transfer credit evaluation, you may refer to the two options below:

Option 1 – View Your Degree Works Graduation Audit

  1. Log into My Vol State
  2. Click on the Degree Works icon.

Option 2 – View Your Transcript

  1. Log into My Vol State
  2. Click on the My Student Records folder.
  3. Click on the Unofficial Transcript icon.
  4. Click Submit.
  5. Click Transfer Credit.

Prior Learning Assessment and Alternate Sources of Credit

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is used to describe the evaluation of college-level learning that is gained outside a traditional academic environment. Credits are provided not only through classroom activities but also through other places in life. The following alternative sources of credit are outlined in this Transfer Credit and Articulation Policy.