While the absence of accreditation raises questions concerning the nature and quality of an institution’s programs, SPU recognizes that institutions may not seek accreditation for a variety of reasons related to mission, sponsoring entity requirements, etc. SPU will, therefore, review credentials from unaccredited U.S. institutions* for potential transfer of credit at your request, provided the institution:
- Is a degree-granting institution and normally provides a transcript of academic work.
- Uses a grading system to evaluate learning.
- Is an educational institution officially recognized by a U.S. federally recognized, non-regional accrediting agency.
You must include an official transcript and copy of the unaccredited institution’s catalog or the website where the catalog may be found, along with a written request for review.
If SPU determines that an institution’s credits are acceptable, specific credits may be transferred with the following limitations and conditions:
- Only college-level academic courses will be transferred. Vocational, technical, and practicum/internship courses will be transferred only with faculty approval.
- To be accepted, a course must have received a grade of C (2.0) or better.
- Courses may be applied toward Exploratory Curriculum, University Core, Academic Inquiry and Disciplinary Writing (WRI) and foreign language requirements if course content is comparable to that of SPU courses that fulfill these categories, as determined by designated faculty members.
- A maximum of 15 credits in biblical studies, theology, or church history may be accepted by the University, and will transfer as elective credits only.
- No credits may be applied to University Foundations requirements.
- Application of credits to major requirements is a determination made by faculty in the individual discipline.
- The maximum number of credits transferred, when combined with credit for community and technical college courses and testing programs, will not exceed 90.
Except as outlined above, the conditions for students entering from accredited colleges will apply. If you are transferring from an unaccredited college, you may be required to present acceptable scores on either the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-I) or the American College Test (ACT).
*See how credit from international institutions transfers.