Transfer of General Education Core Requirements

University of Hawaiʻi System

Memorandum of Agreement

Transfer of General Education Core Requirements

May 2010

The University of Hawaiʻi (UH), as a comprehensive state-wide system, offers instruction in a wide variety of programs located at campuses throughout the state of Hawaiʻi. It is committed to functioning effectively as a system, which requires facilitating the informed and transparent transfer of students who move among the campuses, colleges or schools of UH campuses. According to Board of Regents (BOR) policy, the transfer experience should be as simple and predictable as possible (BOR Policy Chapter 5, Section 5-13 and Executive Policy E5.209).

This MOA revises Executive Policy EP5.209 by expanding the conditions under which students’ completion of general education core requirements transfer among UH campuses.

Each campus requires full satisfaction of general education core requirements for students to earn an Associate of Arts or Bachelor’s degree. General education core requirements include foundations/basic and diversification/area requirements.

The following outlines the transfer of completed general education ore requirements within the University of Hawaiʻi System. It is based on the principle of mutual respect and trust of faculty who collaboratively developed general education core requirements for their own campus.

1. Core Requirements. Starting in Fall 2011, students who enter the UH System in Fall 2011 or later or students who “opt-up” to Fall 2011 core year and who complete the general education core (i.e., foundations/basic and diversification/area) requirements at one UH campus before transferring will be considered upon transfer to have satisfied the general education core requirements at any UH campus. Fulfillment of the general education core will be verified by the campus at which the student completed the requirements. Upon transfer, the transcript will not be subject to course-by-course review for the purpose of determining general education core compliance. However, course-by-course review may take place in order to determine whether or not the transferring courses satisfy specific degree requirements (other than GE core requirements) and/or satisfy pre-requisites for upper-division courses. Students must satisfy all other degree requirements of the campus from which they wish to graduate.

2. Foundation/Basic Requirement. Starting in Fall 2011, students who enter the UH System in Fall 2011 or later or “opt out” to the Fall 2011 core year and who have completed the general education foundations/basic requirement at one UH campus before transferring will be considered upon transfer to have satisfied the general education foundations/basic requirement at any UH campus. Fulfillment of the general education foundations/basic requirements will be verified by the campus at which the student completed the requirements. Upon transfer, the transcript will not be subject to course-by-course review for purposes of determining compliance of the foundations/basic requirement. However, course-by-course review may take place in order to determine whether or not the transferring courses satisfy specific degree requirements (other than GE core requirements) and/or satisfy pre-requisites for upper-division courses. Students must satisfy all other degree requirements of the campus from which they wish to graduate.

3. Diversification/Area Requirement. Starting in Fall 2011, students who enter the UH System in Fall 2011 or later or “opt out” to the Fall 2011 core year and who have completed the general education diversification/area requirement at one UH campus before transferring will be considered upon transfer to have satisfied the general education diversification/area requirement at any UH campus. Fulfillment of the general education diversification/area requirement will be verified by the campus at which the student completed the requirements. Upon transfer, the transcript will not be subject to course-by-course review for purposes of determining compliance of the foundations/basic requirement. However, course-by-course review may take place in order to determine whether or not the transferring courses satisfy specific degree requirements (other than GE core requirements) and/or satisfy pre-requisites for upper-division courses. Students must satisfy all other degree requirements of the campus from which they wish to graduate.

4. Diversification/Area Requirement. UH courses with diversification/area or equivalent designations that transfer to another UH campus are accepted with the sending campus’ designation. A single course at any one institution can carry only one diversification/area designation, with the exception of a 4-credit course with an embedded laboratory. Each campus will review its diversification/area designation criteria remain consistent with those of other UH System campuses, and will share this information with all other UH campuses. In addition, each campus will review each course’s diversification/area designation at least every five years, and will also make this information available to all campuses. The cross-campus transparency of this review will ensure that the course’s content and disciplinary methods remain consistent with its diversification/area or equivalent categorization.

This agreement amends Executive Policy E5.209 Section IV. B. 3. which states,

Students who transfer from one UH campus to another must satisfy the general education requirements of the campus from which they wish to graduate. The requirements that apply shall be those in force at the time the student entered the UH system, provided that the student has maintained continuous enrollment since that time and does not elect to graduate under requirements adopted more recently by the campus.

This agreement is in effect for five years until Spring 2016 and subject to review in Spring 2015 and will remain in effect until the review is completed.

Signatures

Review completed by campus Faculty Senates 5/10
Reviewed by CCAO 2/10
Reviewed by AATN (Academic Advisors and Transfer Network) 2/10
Final 5/10/2010