Once COS receives transcripts and students receive an email confirmation of receipt, they must make a
to see a COS Counselor. Counselors will evaluate the external coursework and, if appropriate, file an
to use the external coursework towards the student's educational goal at COS.
CREDIT FROM EXTERNAL REGIONALLY ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS
To transfer credits from an external institution to be used towards a student's educational goal at COS, students must request an official transcript to be sent to the COS Admissions & Records Office. COS will evaluate and process external courses that have received a satisfactory grade.
Be advised that if your external transcripts show any In-Progress classes, no credits will be awarded. Once your in-progress coursework has been posted with a final grade on the external transcript, students will need to re-submit official transcripts to the COS Admissions and Records Office and meet with a COS Counselor to file a petition.
To current and prospective students: COS currently uses the following resources to determine how your external courses will transfer to COS (via TES) and how COS courses will transfer to the CSU/UC and, in some instances, In-State Private University (via ASSIST.org). Not every external course is in the TES system. Please consult with a COS Counselor. Course information in TES is subject to change as institutions, regulations, and evaluations are frequently evaluated, updated, or amended.
CREDIT FROM AP, IB, CLEP EXAMS
Credits from one or more of the examinations may be used towards satisfying a student's educational goal requirements at COS.
Students are highly advised to consult with a COS Counselor to determine how the external examinations will be used to meet the student's educational goal and/or transfer institution. Applying external examination credits to satisfy COS graduation requirements may differ from how the CSU/UC/Private Institutions/Out-of-State will award the credits. Please refer to the
COS Catalog to view how COS accepts AP, IB, and CLEP credits.
How do students request their AP scores to COS? Students must request their AP scores from
CollegeBoard to be sent directly to the COS Admissions and Records Office electronically or by mail: 915 S Mooney Blvd, Visalia, CA 93277. Our school code for AP is 4071.
Note: If it has been
more than four years since your last AP exam(s), your AP scores are archived. They cannot be viewed through the online score reporting system and cannot be ordered electronically. Please submit the
Archived Score Request Form. Our school code for AP is 4071.
Upper-Division Units
COS will accept coursework completed at the upper-division level at a regionally accredited college/university:
- deemed comparable as intent to the COS course by the Division Chair, designee, or articulation agreement
- courses maybe used toward a student's educational goal
- maximum of 12 upper-division units will be allowed
- courses may be used to satisfy CSU or IGETC requirements
CREDIT FROM MILITARY SERVICE, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING
Students interested in Credit for Prior Learning based on their military service/training shall receive credit as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) Directory and approved by the appropriate discipline faculty of the college under the following circumstances: The student shall complete the External credit petition available by meeting with a Counselor.
Official transcripts must be on file in the Admissions & Records Office; these may include Joint Services Transcript (JST), Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART), Army and American Council on Education Registry Transcript Service (AARTS), Coast Guard Institute (CGI), DANTES/USAFI, DLIELC (Lackland) Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), verified copies of DD214 (member 2 or 4) or any approved transcripts issued by the Armed Forces of the United States. Course credit shall be determined by the faculty of the appropriate discipline.
Community College of the Airforce, Air University, Air Force Institute of Technology, The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language (DLIFLC), and all other regionally accredited schools associated with the Armed Services will be evaluated per the guidance outlined in the catalog on Acceptance of Credit from other Institutions.
Veterans with an approved DD-214 or military transcript showing completion of basic training are exempt from the two units of physical activity courses and three units of health and wellness subject requirements for the associate degree.
An Approved DD-214 may also be used to fulfill the California State University 3-unit Area E General Education Breadth Requirement.
CSU GE or IGETC Certification
Students who complete the CSU GE or IGETC Certification will meet the lower-division general education for the CSU/UC.
A request can be made when:
- the student has been accepted/enrolled in a transferring university or in the last semester at COS
- all official transcripts from previous colleges/universities attended, or AP/IB/CLEP exams are on file, and students have filed an External Credit Petition along with a pass-along evaluation with a COS Counselor
- Students who are using high school coursework to satisfy the IGETC Area 6: Language other than English requirement must have the official high school transcripts on file before submitting the Request for GE Certification. Failure to have official high school transcripts on file may result in a partial or incomplete IGETC Certification.
- Requests require a minimum of two weeks for processing, so check your transfer institution's deadline.
When fully certified, students are also eligible to earn a certificate of achievement conferred by COS.
Students may be exempt from the Ethnic Studies general education requirement for CSU GE or IGETC, per the CSU Memorandum
AW SP to VPAA VPSA - Implementation Guidance for CSU General Education 08312021.pdf. Make an appointment with a Counselor to determine your eligibility.
CREDIT FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S. (FOREIGN COURSEWORK)
Note: there will be fees associated with these outside evaluation agencies. COS is not affiliated with these evaluation agencies and is not obligated to accept the evaluation from these approved agencies as-is. COS measures our own U.S. education system and local evaluation against the international program(s). For example, in some countries, a professional degree, such as medicine, is offered directly after completion of high school. However, you cannot get into medical school directly after high school in the United States. You typically have to complete a four-year undergraduate degree and then apply to medical school. We also see this with students who completed a professional teaching, engineering, and nursing programs. If the student proceeds with the foreign transcript evaluations, it will not guarantee that the foreign coursework meets the prerequisites or major courses for the 4-year university.
Please consider the following limitations before investing in a foreign credential evaluation service.
Limitations for CSU/UC TRANSFER:
- Foreign coursework CANNOT be applied to CSU GE Certification or IGETC Certification
- In unique cases, foreign courses may be applied to IGETC if the foreign institution has United States regional accreditation and if course equivalency may be determined by COS.
- COS will not determine course transferability to other colleges and universities.
- CSU/UC may accept foreign coursework to meet its degree/graduation requirements once you apply and are admitted. Students can contact their 4-year admissions/international office directly for more information.
- If you are planning to transfer to a 4-year college or university after completing your studies at COS, you must be aware that your next institution will evaluate your foreign transcript and may or may not award the same credit as COS.
Limitations for ASSOCIATE DEGREE or CERTIFICATE:
- Associate Degrees for Transfer (AA-T/AS-T) use CSU GE or IGETC transfer patterns, so foreign coursework CANNOT be applied to those degrees.
- Foreign coursework clearing prerequisite, major, GE, and elective requirements must have course syllabi, in English, along with the evaluated foreign transcript must be attached.
- Coursework toward the major (AA/AS/Certificate) must be substituted with the appropriate division for approval.
While rare, some foreign institutions have obtained and maintained U.S. regional accreditation, which you can verify on one of the U.S. regional accreditation directories.
If a particular foreign institution is U.S. regionally accredited, then we can evaluate it without requiring such transcript(s) to go through any of the other requirements listed on this page (i.e., that students obtain an AICE/NACES-approved foreign transcript service’s course detail report) provided that the transcript submitted to COS is in English and is an official transcript and displays all of the required pieces of information such as units, grades, etc.
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