Barriers when transferring credit

A study done by the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability (OPPAGA) an office of the Florida Legislature found that students encounter barriers when transferring credit from non-public institutions to community colleges.

Non-public colleges and universities may participate in the Statewide Course Numbering System to facilitate articulation for students transferring to a public community college or university. However, the system has only a limited effect in meeting this goal. Specifically, transcripts of a sample of students who transferred from non-public institutions to the state’s community colleges during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years showed that only 16% of the 3,630 courses these students completed at non-public institutions were eligible for transfer to a community college; the remaining courses were not eligible to transfer primarily because they were not included in the Statewide Course Numbering System; and community colleges did not award credit compliant with the Statewide Course Numbering System for nearly one-third (29%) of the 573 courses OPPAGA examined that were eligible to transfer.

As a result of these problems, students may be required to take additional courses or retake eligible courses they have already completed, thereby delaying and potentially deterring their educational progress.

The Statewide Course Numbering System was established in 1971 to facilitate the transfer of credit for academic courses between the state’s public community colleges and universities. In 1998, subsequent legislation allowed non-public colleges and universities to participate in the transfer system.

Currently, 24 non-public institutions participate in the system.
• Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
• Central Florida College
• City College
• City College-Casselberry
• College of Business & Technology
• Everest University (formerly Florida Metropolitan University)
• Everglades University
• Florida College
• Florida College of Natural Health
• Florida National College
• Full Sail Real World Education
• Hobe Sound Bible College
• Jones College
• Keiser Career College
• Keiser University
• Key College
• Miami International University of Art & Design
• Professional Health Training Academy
• Rasmussen College
• Remington College
• Southwest Florida College
• St. Petersburg Theological Seminary
• Trinity Baptist College
• Trinity College of Florida
Source: Florida Department of Education.

Institutions that participate in the Statewide Course Numbering System do not have to accept transfer credit for all courses that are included in the system. The institutions are required by law to accept credit for courses in the Statewide Course Numbering System only if they offer equivalent courses, and the courses to be transferred are taught by faculty meeting their faculty qualification

Most (20) of these non-public institutions are not accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), which is the accrediting body for all public community colleges and universities. Because public institutions require faculty to meet SACS guidelines, courses transferring from nonpublic institutions that are not SACS accredited must also meet those guidelines. Public institutions potentially risk their accreditation if they accept credit for courses taught by faculty that do not meet the same credentials of their faculty.