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Undergraduate Student Transfer&Visitor Exchange

Policy Number T97-107
Effective Date December 03, 1997
Responsible Office/Person Board of Trustees
Doc. T97-107

Passed by the BoT
12/3/97

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS

POLICY ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT TRANSFER

AND VISITOR INTERCHANGE

1. Campuses shall provide opportunities for enrolled students to transfer with ease (transfer interchange) or to take courses (visitor interchange) at any other campus of the University;

2. The President and Chancellors shall take the appropriate steps to implement streamlined transfer interchanges and visitor interchanges.

3. Transfer interchanges and visitor interchanges, shall be available to students for the academic year commencing 1998-1999.

4. Chancellors shall distribute information regarding these programs to all undergraduate students.
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
POLICY ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT TRANSFER
AND VISITOR INTERCHANGE
(Doc. T97-107)

GUIDELINES

University of Massachusetts Policy on Undergraduate Student Transfer and Visitor Interchange
Amended

The President, after consultation with the Chancellors, issues the following amended guidelines in order to implement the “University of Massachusetts Policy on Undergraduate Transfer and Visitor Exchange” (Doc. T97-107). These guidelines supersede the guidelines issued November 6, 2001.

Transfer Interchange

  1. An intercampus transfer student who, at the time of application for transfer, is a matriculated undergraduate student at a University of Massachusetts campus who has completed at least one semester at that institution and earned a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in 12 or more credits at that institution- or- has earned a minimum 2.0 CGPA in 24 or more credits at that institution. A student who meets this definition is guaranteed general transfer admission at any other University of Massachusetts campus. Guaranteed admission applies only to the campus; admission to specific colleges, majors or programs will be at the discretion of the receiving campus.

International students should be aware that federal regulations and requirements may inhibit their ability to participate in the University Transfer Interchange. All conditions required for initial acceptance to a University campus must be met for transfer interchange as well.

2. Each campus will use its own existing transfer application; however, as a common application is developed, campuses shall modify this form to include an indication as to whether the student is applying as a “transfer interchange” student. The application should clearly indicate what portion must be completed by the transfer interchange student and what documentation must be submitted.

3. The application fee will be waived for transfer interchange students.

4. All coursework with a grade no lower than C/D or 1.5 will be accepted toward graduation credit at the receiving institution. In accepting such credit, it is the receiving institution’s decision as to whether or not such coursework is accepted toward the fulfillment of major requirements. Students who wish to be admitted to a major that requires specific courses or grades must meet those requirements.

5. To the extent possible, the receiving campus will give general education credit for courses taken with a passing grade as general education at the sending campus. It is the receiving institution’s decision whether such coursework is accepted toward fulfillment of major requirements. To assist with determining which courses would be counted toward general education credit at the sending institution, the transferring student will be requested to send a “degree audit” with the official transcript. If the student has not completed credits equal to the general education credit requirement of the receiving institution, the receiving institution may require the student to complete specific institutional general education courses.

6. Only coursework credit, not grades, will transfer to the receiving institution.

7. Transfer interchange students will be required to meet the receiving institution’s residency requirements.

8. Credits awarded through Advanced Placement, CLEP and similar programs at one campus will be honored at the others for transfer interchange students, except that major requirements of the receiving institution shall take precedence.

9. Transfer interchange students must apply for financial aid in accordance with deadlines and requirements of the receiving institution. However, the receiving institution should make every effort to evaluate the financial aid needs of the transfer interchange student in a timely way and to continue aid proportionate to the award at the originating campus. In the allocation of aid funds, transfer interchange students should take preference over transfer students from outside the University.

10. Information on the University Transfer Interchange program and procedures should be made available to students in the college catalog, web site and by other means.

Visitor Exchange

1. This program shall now be known as “University of Massachusetts Undergraduate Student Exchange Program” hereinafter referred to as UMass Exchange Program. The campus at which the student is matriculated will be referred to as the “home” campus; the campus that will host the student as a visitor will be referred to as the “host” campus. These guidelines are effective for students who wish to participate in the UMass Exchange Program as of Fall 2004.

2. The UMass Exchange Program is designed to allow matriculated students from one undergraduate University of Massachusetts campus who meet all eligibility requirements to attend another undergraduate University campus full-time for a period of not more than two semesters. The two semesters need not be consecutive. A student may attend only one University campus during the UMass Exchange semester. A student may participate in the UMass Exchange program for two semesters at any single University campus or an exchange semester each at two differing University undergraduate campuses.

3. To be eligible for the UMass Exchange Program, a student must meet the following criteria:

• Be in good academic, fiscal and disciplinary standing.

• Be a full-time matriculated student who has completed at least two semesters prior to the start of the Exchange with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0. Part-time students may participate in the Exchange Program after completion of 24 graded credits at the home institution with a cumulative GPA of 2.0.

• International students may participate if compliance with all federal reporting requirements can be maintained.

The home campus makes the final determination of eligibility for all students.

Implementation note: Students may apply for the UMass Exchange program during the second semester of full-time enrollment; approval would be contingent upon student meeting all eligibility requirements at the end of the second semester. It is the responsibility of the home campus to verify that the student has met and continues to meet eligibility requirements. Student must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the time of application and at the start of the UMass Exchange. The home campus may, even when a student has met the eligibility criteria, determine that a student is not an appropriate candidate for the UMass Exchange program and may deny the application.

International students are not prohibited from participating, however, such students should be notified that federal reporting requirements might limit or exclude their participation.

4. A student on UMass Exchange must enroll full-time in either the Fall or Spring term and may not enroll in Continuing Education courses as part of the UMass Exchange program enrollment unless permitted by host campus policies and practices with no additional reimbursement for Continuing Education charges.

Implementation note: The host campus is responsible for monitoring enrollment of UMass Exchange students through the add/drop period and reporting to the home campus.

5. A student will be billed by and will pay tuition and mandatory fees, excluding the health service fee, to his/her home campus. The host campus may charge the student a health service fee and other non-mandatory fees for services offered to matriculated students at the host campus. The host campus will charge room and board costs, as appropriate. The host campus may charge specific college or program fees for Exchange students if these fees are also charged to native students. Host campus charges will be billed separately from the home campus charges.

6. A student on UMass Exchange applied for and receives financial aid through the home campus only.

7. A student applying for UMass Exchange must meet all posted deadlines in order to qualify for Exchange. The student must meet the home campus deadlines to apply for financial aid. If the student meets all required deadlines, the host campus will provide information in a timely manner regarding registration deadlines and processes and will treat the UMass Exchange student as a native student with respect to course enrollment priorities and availability. UMass Exchange students must meet all host campus requirements regarding prerequisites or other requirements for course enrollments.

8. A UMass Exchange student has all the same access to services as a paying native student on the host campus.

9. Each campus will name a coordinator for the UMass Exchange program who will be responsible for all elements of the Exchange program. The coordinator will assist home campus students through the application process, verify eligibility of applicants, and ensure that credit taken at the host campus is posted at the home campus. The home campus coordinator will contact the host campus coordinator to place the student. The home campus coordinator will ensure the student is reported to the National Student Clearinghouse.

10. Each campus may determine if there will be a fee for UMass Exchange program applications and processing. These fees will be charged directly to the student by the respective campus.

11. The host campus coordinator will notify the home campus coordinator whether or not a student has been accepted. A host campus may deny a UMass Exchange student for reasons which include, but are not limited to, closed and/or limited access programs or other departmental restrictions.

12. Course work taken as part of UMass Exchange program will be transferred back to the home campus in accordance with home campus procedures for transfer credit. Students must follow the host campus procedures for requesting an official transcript to be sent to the home campus at the end of the Exchange semester. Only credit for course work taken will transfer; grades and quality points will not transfer. The home campus reserves the right to determine if credit earned on UMass Exchange will count towards residency requirements and/or any limitations on allowable transfer credit.

A review will be conducted after three years of implementation to determine any necessary changes to these guidelines.

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