Frequently Asked Questions

To be considered a transfer student, you must complete 24 or more transferable college credits. Applicants with fewer credits apply as first-year student or freshman.

If you are applying for admission to an NSHE institution beginning in the semester immediately after you graduate from high school, you are considered a first-year student or freshman for admission purposes. This applies regardless of how many college credits you complete or if you earned an associate’s degree while in high school. You may enter college with an advanced class standing (e.g., sophomore), based on the number of college credits you completed.

The beginning of the application period for transfer students may vary by NSHE institution, but it generally opens on September 1st for students who wish to start at the institution in the following Spring or Fall semesters. The deadline to apply for Fall is July 1st, unless an extension is offered. Note that scholarship and financial aid deadlines occur in the Spring for students planning to transfer in the Fall. It is, therefore, recommended to apply as soon as possible.

Each NSHE institution arranges campus tours for interested students and families. Go to the Admissions website of the institution you wish to visit to schedule a campus tour.

NSHE institutions have transfer agreements for each of their bachelor’s degrees. These agreements will help you select the courses at your community college that will also meet the requirements of your intended bachelor’s degree. Be sure to follow these transfer agreements when working with an advisor.

Reverse transfer allows a student to receive an associate’s degree from an NSHE community college after leaving to attend an NSHE university. By working with an advisor, you can select courses at the university that will also meet the requirements of the associate’s degree. Once you have completed the courses, send a final transcript to the community college and apply for graduation.

Meet every semester with your academic advisor at the community college, and at the university a semester before you plan to transfer. Utilize resources like transfer centers and other online tools: follow transfer agreements, research transfer admission requirements and deadlines, attend transfer fairs and information sessions.

Not necessarily. Completing an associate degree can guarantee admissions to NSHE universities, and provide a lower-division general education waiver. NSHE universities accept students who have completed a minimum of 24 transferable credits without a degree.

Yes. A completed Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Business from an NSHE community college automatically fulfills all lower-division general education requirements at any other NSHE institution. However, some programs require specific general education courses that meet both associate’s and bachelor’s degree requirements. Note that Associate of General Studies and Associate of Applied Science degrees do not guarantee completion of General Education requirements.

All NSHE courses share the same prefix, number, title, and credit value. This ensures that a course taken at one NSHE campus (e.g., “ENG 101”) is recognized and transfers as the same course at another NSHE institution.

Student transcripts sent from one NSHE institution to another under the “NSHE to NSHE” method are delivered free of charge, typically processed within 3–5 business days. Students must request that the Admissions and Records Office send their transcripts to the other institution. Transcripts are not exchanged between NSHE institutions automatically.

Most credits that a student completes are transferrable except for certain technical or vocational courses. The transferability of credits is not the same as applicability to the degree program students plan to study. A course may transfer as the same or similar course, or apply as a general education or major course, or general elective.

There are two types of associate degrees. Associate of Applied Science degrees (AAS) degrees are designed for immediate entry into the workforce. Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), or Associate of Business (AB) degrees are intended to be a path towards a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) degree. While there may be individual courses that could be applicable to a BA or BS degree, AAS degrees have a different set of general education requirements and have different outcomes and goals than an AA, AS, AB degree.

There is no maximum number of credits that may be accepted by NSHE universities. Referred to as the “residency graduation requirement”,  a certain number of credits are required to be completed at the university. Your upper-division major courses will be counted toward this graduation requirement.