Beacon College reserves the right to accept or deny transfer of credit based on the guidelines in the Transfer of Credit Policy. Transfer of credit from other institutions is at the sole discretion of Beacon College.
Pre-Matriculation Transfer of Credit Policy
Transfer students are responsible for requesting an official academic transcript from any college previously attended. Official academic transcripts should be mailed to:
Beacon College
Attn: Office of the Registrar
105 E. Main Street
Leesburg, FL 34748
Official transcripts will be evaluated by Department faculty and transfer credits will be approved on a course-by-course basis. Beacon College participates in an articulation agreement with Florida community colleges. Students who transfer from a regionally accredited Florida community college with an Associate degree are admitted at the junior level.
Official transcripts required for transfer of credit must be submitted prior to the last day of the transfer student’s first academic term. The Transfer Credit Practices of Designated Educational Institutions (TCP) is used for assessing and documenting equivalent learning and qualified faculty from other institutions. Students may also be requested to present catalog course descriptions or a syllabus for a course.
Beacon College will consider for transfer credit:
- college-level courses completed at regionally accredited organizations, namely
- Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges – Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC-CIHE)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
- college-level courses completed at institutions accredited by organizations recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
Beacon College is generally unable to accept credits from institutions not accredited by either of the above. However, for certain Florida colleges, courses approved for academic transfer by the Florida Department of Education on its Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) website will be considered for transfer to Beacon College.
Students must have earned at least a C grade in a course that can be applied to Beacon College degree program requirements.
Beacon College awards semester credit only. Transfer credit measured in quarter hours upon acceptance will be awarded as follows: three (3) credit hours as the equivalent of 4.5 quarter hours. Transfer credits cannot exceed 30 credits for the A.A./A.S. degree or up to 90 credits for the B.A./B.S.. degree. Therefore, at least 31 credits for the A.A./A.S. degree and 30 credits for the B.A./B.S. degree must be earned through Beacon College coursework. For the B.A./B.S. degree, an additional two (2) upper level courses within the major will be required and also completion of the College’s Career Development course sequence namely COE 2606: Career Exploration, COE 3606 Career Planning, and COE 4606: Career Development.
Beacon College accepts the College Level Examination Policy (CLEP) for general education courses offered by the Institution in accordance with established policy. The College will accept a score of 50 on a scale of 20-80 to award credit for all CLEP General and Subject Area tests. CLEP scores must be received directly from Educational Testing Services (ETS). No more than three (3) CLEP course substitutions will be accepted into any degree program. A $100.00 CLEP processing fee is charged per CLEP course substitution.
Students seeking to transfer credit based on military and service school or passing scores on the Dantes examination will have such credit considered on an individual basis following the guidelines above.
Beacon College awards credit for Advanced Placement (AP) exams with a score of 3 or higher and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams with a score of 4 or higher.
Beacon College does award credit based on Educational Testing Service (ETS) advanced placement exams when the grade is equivalent to a C (a minimum ETS score of 3) or above.
Beacon College does NOT award transfer credit based on:
- training provided by non-collegiate institutions;
- experiential learning;
- professional certification;
- courses that are developmental
- courses determined to be occupational or vocational in nature; and
- courses in which Pass or Satisfactory are earned.
The Registrar’s Office will notify the student in writing of transfer credit accepted within five (5) business days of receipt of the official transcript.
Courses approved for transfer credit will be listed on the student’s SONIS account and his/her Beacon College academic transcript. Grades earned in transfer credit courses will not be used in calculation of Beacon College grade point average (GPA).
Post-Matriculation Transfer of Credit Policy
Currently enrolled Beacon College students may complete coursework at institutions outside of Beacon College. The student should have this course pre-approved for credit using the Pre-Approval of Transfer Credit Form. The student must take the form along with an official description of the course or program to his/her Academic Advisor. The Advisor will evaluate the course based on the Transfer Credit Policy guidelines detailed above. If the course is approved, the student and Academic Advisor will sign the form and forward it to the Registrar’s Office.
Transfer courses cannot be used to delete a prior “D” or “F” grade from a student’s cumulative grade point average at Beacon College.
Upon course completion, the student must request that an official transcript of completed coursework be sent to the Registrar’s Office at Beacon College. When the transcript is received, the credit will be applied automatically to the student’s Beacon College academic transcript, provided the student achieved a grade of C or better.
The Registrar will notify the student in writing of transfer credit accepted within five (5) business days of receipt of the official transcript.
Courses approved for transfer credit will be listed on the student’s Beacon College academic transcript. Grades earned in transfer credit courses will not be used in calculation of Beacon College grade point average (GPA).