Transfer Credit Policy

The courses and credits completed with a grade of C or better at other accredited institutions are transferable to Dordt University, as long as the accrediting agency is one of the regional or national accrediting agencies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the United States Department of Education.

The transferability of credits from an institution that is not accredited by one of these agencies may be considered upon receipt of documentation that demonstrates equivalency regarding course information, content, and learning outcomes. It is the student's responsibility to provide this documentation.

The decision of whether a particular course transfers in to satisfy a specific course requirement for a student's program lies with the registrar. Credits transferred that do not satisfy a specific course requirement are counted as free electives and are applied to the credit hour requirement for graduation (60 for an associate's degree, 124 for a bachelor's degree).

For information on transferring credits from the University of Northwestern Saint Paul or Northwest Iowa Community College, view our College Credit Transfer Guide.

In certain situations, there are limits to the amount of credit that can be transferred to Dordt University:

• A maximum of 60 total credits may be transferred from two-year colleges and testing such as CLEP or AP exams.
• A maximum of 30 credits of CLEP, AP, and dual-enrolled credit may be applied to the minimum requirements for a degree when that credit is earned prior to earning a high school diploma. If an academic competency (mathematics, English, communication, foreign language) is met via a dual-enrolled course or CLEP/AP, those credits do not apply to the 30-credit limit.
• Courses and credits taken for dual-enrollment will be considered for transfer credit only if the high school credit received for the course was not already used to satisfy Dordt University's freshman entrance requirement (i.e., the course is not counted as one of the 17 required units of high school credit specified under the "regular admissions" section of the catalog).
• To earn a bachelor’s degree from Dordt University, a student must enroll at the university for a minimum of three semesters and complete a minimum of 36 credits at Dordt University. At least twelve credits of Core Program requirements, twelve credits of each set of major requirements, and nine credits of each set of minor requirements must be completed at Dordt University. At least 24 of the last 36 credits that apply to the degree must be completed at Dordt.