Transferring Credit to Northwest University

Credit transfer is the process of receiving advanced standing toward a degree program at Northwest University based upon college/university work completed elsewhere. Students are eligible to transfer credits to Northwest in accordance with the regulations contained here. Additional credit transfer information can be found in Northwest University’s catalog.

To receive an unofficial review of your credits toward a degree at Northwest University, e-mail your unofficial transcript to --. Please include with your transcript your name, address, city, state, zip code, year of high school graduation and major of interest at Northwest University.

You can make an appointment to visit our campus and meet with an admissions counselor by calling Admissions at 800.669.3781.

To download this
Transfer Guide as a PDF , click here.

Admission to the University

For more information on admission requirements, visit the pages below:

Financial Aid

For more information on financial aid, click here.

Community College Direct Transfer Associate in Arts Degrees

Northwest University accepts the Intercollege Relations Commission (ICRC) Direct Transfer Agreement Associate in Arts (AA) degree from public community colleges in Washington State. For more information and a list of community colleges, click here.

Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations Equivalency Table

Northwest University accepts AP subjects with exam scores of three or higher and grants credit based upon program need. For more information and to see the Standardized Exam Equivalency Table, click here.

The Credit-Transfer Process

Prospective students are required to submit official transcripts to the Admissions Office as part of the application procedure. When approval is granted to the student’s Application for Admission, his/her transcripts are sent to the Transcript Analyst in the Registrar’s Office where an official evaluation of all college and university coursework is completed and a Transcript Review Report is issued. This report becomes a part of the student’s permanent academic record at Northwest University. The initial transcript review is produced based on the major indicated in the student’s Application for Admission.

Transcript Guidelines

A transcript is official if it bears the authorizing signature and official seal of the issuing institution. Transcripts must be sent directly to the Northwest University Office of Admissions by the issuing institution or hand-delivered in a sealed envelope to Admissions by the student. If the envelope is opened, the transcript is no longer official.

For non-enrolled students, the Office of Admissions will keep any transcripts or other credentials it receives for one calendar year.

Notification of Awarded Transfer Credit

Prospective students receive the results of their transcript reviews by e-mail to the address reported in the Application for Admission. If the student prefers, a hard copy can be sent to his/her mailing address. If the student is attending another college or university at the time of application for admission, a second transcript must be sent to Northwest upon completion of the classes/degree.

Quarter-Semester Credit Conversion

All credits accepted by Northwest University are transposed into and reported in semester credit hours. One quarter credit is two-thirds of a semester credit. Semester credits are calculated by dividing the total number of quarter credits by 1.5.

Class Standing

The number of accepted credits applicable to the student’s academic program determines class standing. The breakdown is as follows:

Class Standing	Semester Credits
Freshman	0-29.9
Sophomore	30-59.9
Junior	60-89.9
Senior	90+

Institutional Accreditation

Courses are accepted from institutions that are accredited by one of the six regional accrediting associations in the United States (e.g., Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, etc.) and/or the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC). Classes from institutions not accredited by a regional accrediting association or by the ABHE are considered on an individual basis depending on the institution’s general reputation, known academic strengths, academic format, academic qualifications of the instructors, and on the individual performance of the transferring student. The student is asked to validate transfer credit from such sources by completing two full-time semesters or 30 semester credits at Northwest University with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C average) or better. A maximum of 30 semester credits may be accepted from non-regionally/non-ABHE-accredited sources.

Grades

Courses must be graded a C- or better to transfer. Courses graded as Pass and Satisfactory need to be determined to have been at a C- level or higher in order for them to transfer. Some academic departments require higher grades than a C- to transfer.

College-Level Coursework

Courses must be considered by the original institution to be college-level. Older transcripts may contain courses in disciplines now considered college preparatory or remedial. These courses are not eligible for transfer.

Subject Matter Equivalency

Courses considered for transfer must possess content that comes reasonably close to the content of courses offered at Northwest University. Only courses satisfying a specific degree requirement are accepted. Classes that are technical in nature or that do not fall under the umbrella of subject matter taught by Northwest University faculty may be accepted on a course-by-course basis if they are determined to be college-level. If acceptable, they are limited to a maximum of 15 semester credits.

Alternative Means of Earning Credit

For information about other alternative ways to earn college credit, such as CLEP, DANTES, military training, and Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), click here.

Transfer Limitations

Physical Education Activity Courses are limited to four semester credits.
Ensemble Music is limited to eight semester credits for associate’s degrees and twelve semester credits for bachelor’s degrees.
PLA, CLEP, DANTES, IB, AP, Military Credit, and Departmental Exam credit are limited to 30 semester hours cumulatively from all eight sources.
The following Residency Requirements must be completed at Northwest University:
- 30 semester credits
- one-third of the major requirements
- the final semester of coursework
- one three-credit Bible or theology course
All credits earned through correspondence must be completed prior to the semester preceding graduation. Students should take no more than two correspondence courses concurrently.
Courses from two-year colleges are limited to 60 semester credits.

Running Start/College Credit Earned in High School

Northwest University accepts Running Start and college credits earned in high school provided that the courses appear on an accredited college/university transcript as college-level work with grades of C- or better. Students must submit official college/university transcripts for this type of work regardless of whether the courses appear on a high school transcript.

Transferring from Foreign Institutions

Academic course work from foreign institutions is also considered. An official transcript is required, or a certified copy if only one original is available to the student. The amount of credit acceptable in transfer is determined by the academic caliber of the institution. Many foreign universities use a different system for assessing learning than is practiced in the United States. In such cases, the student’s performance in courses must be comparable to C- level work in the American system. Universities using different calendar systems than a standard American quarter or semester system have their clock hours converted to semester hours based on the duration of class time at the foreign institution.

A transcript in a foreign language must be translated into English and be accompanied by the original transcript in the native language. If a translation is needed, please inquire at the issuing institution or consult a translation service, such as University Language Services.

In some cases, Northwest may require a professional evaluation from an agency specializing in the evaluation of international credentials, such as World Education Services.

Transferring with a Bachelor’s Degree

Transfer students seeking to earn a second bachelor’s degree at Northwest University have special consideration given to their transfer credit. Each case is examined on an individual basis to determine whether the previous program’s general education is sufficiently equivalent to Northwest University’s to warrant automatic exemption from General Education Requirements. If it is determined to be adequate, the baccalaureate degree is accepted as a transfer A.A. with regards to General Education and General Electives.

Transferring into an Education Major: Certification-Only Status

Students who have earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited institution and wish to pursue Washington State teacher certification at Northwest may be eligible to be admitted as Certification- Only students. Those students interested in this special status should contact the School of Education at Northwest University at 425.889.5299 for a transcript review and additional eligibility requirements.

Northwest also offers a Masters in Teaching program that provides teacher certification. This may be the best option for those who qualify. Contact the School of Education for more details.

Appeal Process

Students have the right to appeal decisions made by the Registrar’s Office with regard to their transfer credit to the Provost. It is recommended that the student direct questions and concerns to the Registrar’s Office for guidance as to how to best present his/her request for reconsideration.