Prince Sultan University
PSU Policy Management System
Credit Transfer Policy


Policy Code: SM0003
Policy Name: Credit Transfer Policy
Handler: Deanship of Admissions and Registration
Date Created: 15 August 2020
Date of Current Review: 15 August 2020
Approved by: University Council
Date of Approval:

Overview

To students pursuing a bachelor’s degree, the Deanship of Admissions & Registration awards transfer credit according to the guidelines discussed here. DAR reserves the right to accept or reject credits earned at other institutions of higher education.

Purpose

This policy provides guidelines for dealing with credit equivalency for students who transfer from another university to PSU, students who transfer from one program to another within PSU, students who would like to study for a temporary period of time at PSU as visiting students, or those PSU students who would like to study at other universities as visiting students.

Scope

This policy applies to all incoming transfer students.

Transferring from Another University:

When identifying students with disabilities:

  • All transfer applications, along with an original transcript of academic record, are submitted to the Deanship of Admissions and Registration, which considers the application and ensures that the applicant has fulfilled the credit transfer conditions.
  • The transfer of a student from another University to PSU maybe accepted under the following conditions:
    1. No more than 34 credit hours (beyond the PYP) can be transferred for the student;
    2. The course to be transferred should had been taught using the same language on which the equivalent course is being taught at PSU.
    3. For a course to be considered for transfer, the student must have obtained a minimum of (C ) grade in that course;
    4. The course must be equivalent in content and in the number of credit hours to a course that is being taught at PSU;
    5. The student should have been enrolled at a college or university that is recognized by the Ministry of Education;
    6. The transferred courses must have been studied within the last five semesters before the transfer. The University Council however has the right to make any exceptions.
  • For any course to be considered for transfer, it must have been studied in a College or a University. Work experience and professional training programs cannot be considered as a basis for credit transfer.
  • Courses studied at associate degree programs are not
  • Courses studied through Distant Education are not transferable.
  • No. of Credits Courses studied in a Quarter-based System will be evaluated as 3/5 semester credit hours.
  • The Concerned College evaluates the courses that were taken by the student outside the University, based on the recommendations of the departments that offer equivalent courses. The courses evaluated as equivalent are recorded in the student’s academic transcript but are not included in the calculation of his/her cumulative GPA.
  • If it becomes evident, after a student’s transfer, that the student was dismissed for disciplinary reasons, his/her enrollment is considered cancelled from the date of acceptance of his/her transfer to the University. No refund of course fees will be given, and the student will be dismissed from the University.

Transferring between Colleges within the University:

A student may transfer from one college to another within the University in accordance with the following rules:

  1. A student may transfer from one college to another within the University prior to his/her completion of the sixth academic level.
  2. The student should continue to study all the courses for which he/she is registered at the level preceding the transfer and should comply with the rules of adding and dropping of courses.
  3. The process of transfer from one college to another is recorded in the student’s academic record, starting from the semester following his/her transfer.
  4. A student is allowed a maximum of two transfers from one college to another.
  5. Provide reasonable help in tutoring and assist with understanding assigned tasks such as planning and reviewing assignments
  6. All courses that have been studied by a student transferred from one college to another are recorded in his/her academic record, including the grades and the semester and cumulative GPAs obtained throughout his/her study at the respective University.

Transferring between Majors within the University:

A student may transfer from one major to another within a college, in accordance with the following rules:

  1. A student may transfer from one major to another within his/her college at any time prior to his/her completion of the sixth academic level. The College Council, however, may consider exceptional cases where students already have completed the sixth level.
  2. The transfer process is recorded in the student’s academic record at the beginning of the semester following the transfer.
  3. A student is allowed a maximum of two transfers from one major to another within the same college. The College Council, however, may consider exceptional cases.
  4. All courses that have been studied by a student who has transferred from one major to another are recorded in his/her academic record, including the grades and the semester and cumulative GPAs obtained throughout his/her study at the University.

Transferring Preparatory Year Credits from Other Universities:

  1. Preparatory Year Courses can be transferred from other Universities based on the following additional criteria
  2. If the student is transferring from a University that has a PYP similar to that of PSU in terms of the Number of Courses, Credit hours and Course Content, then all passed courses are transferred.
  3. If the student is transferring from a university with English as the medium of instruction in a native English-speaking country and the student has completed at least one semester of a University-level program, then the PYP program is waived.
  4. All other cases will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Research, The Dean of Admissions and Registration, and the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs in the College for Women, after consultation with the concerned PYP program director.

Visiting Students:

  1. A “visiting student” is a student who studies courses at another university without transferring. These courses are considered equivalent to those offered at the University, according to the following rules:
  2. The student must obtain a written approval of his/her college before he/she begins his/her studies.
  3. His/her studies should be at a recognized college or university.
  4. The course the student takes outside his/her college should be equivalent, in terms of content, to a course required for graduation.
  5. The maximum no. of credit hours to be allocated to a visiting student from outside the University is 34.
  6. The course grades credited to the visiting student will be recorded in his/her academic record, but not included in the calculation of his/her cumulative GPA.
  7. Any other conditions required by the University Council should be satisfied. For students enrolled at another university and would like to study for a temporary period of time at Prince Sultan University, the following rules apply:
    • The student must be enrolled at a college or university that is recognized by MOE.
    • The student must obtain a written approval from his current college/university stating the
    • PSU course(s) that he is allowed to study at PSU.
    • All Financial rules are applied.