Southwestern College grants credit for college units earned at any regionally accredited postsecondary institution (e.g., Western Association of Schools and Colleges) other than coursework identified by such institutions as non-degree level coursework. Southwestern College will honor articulation agreements made with other postsecondary institutions (BP & AP - 4050 Articulation).

Coursework deemed to be equivalent in scope and content to coursework taught at Southwestern College is determined by the Evaluations Office in consultation with the appropriate dean and/or faculty. Credits transferred from institutions on the quarter system will be converted to semester credits by multiplying quarter-unit totals by two-thirds. All credit summaries will be completed upon a student’s petitioning for graduation or through consultation with a counselor. In the areas of mathematics and foreign language, credit will not be granted for a lower-level course completed after the higher-level course.  

Students who wish to receive credit toward degrees at Southwestern College for coursework taken at an accredited foreign institution must have their foreign transcripts evaluated by a foreign transcript evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc. (NACES), preferably the International Education Research Foundation (IERF). The following items should be noted:

• Student needs to request a comprehensive evaluation report.  Official transcripts from the foreign institution are not required since the official transcripts were submitted to the foreign evaluation service.
• Courses will only be used to satisfy major requirements with a departmental approval on a Substitution of Major Requirement Form.
• Courses of a 3 unit value may be able to clear a Southwestern College General Education Requirement.
  • Credit cannot be awarded for English or speech courses.
  • Statistics courses evaluated at 3 units or more may be used to satisfy Mathematics Competency.
• Courses are not given course-to-course equivalency to Southwestern College courses. 
• Courses are not transferable.
  • Courses cannot be used to satisfy the CSU General Education Breadth or IGETC Requirements.