The position of transfer evaluator

There is a transfer evaluator at every college or university. In some of the larger schools, there may be more than one person in the position. In my case at Clayton State, I am the only person with the title of transfer evaluator, but the associate registrar also evaluates transfer credits, among other duties such as advising international students and evaluating their credits, attending meetings for readmission appeals, and authorizing CSU students for transient study.

Transfer evaluators at other institutions probably do not have other responsibilities besides evaluating credits. There are enough transfer students to keep us busy. After the evaluation is complete, I print out a transfer equivalency worksheet that specifies how each course was transferred and mail it to the student along with a letter. I also meet with students who have concerns about their transfer credits.

Who else can get involved in transfer evaluation?
At some schools, the departments are more involved with the transfer of credits that fall under the subjects they offer at the junior or senior level. I can understand the logic in this practice, since a professor of biology is much more likely to know whether a course from a private or out of state school is equivalent to his Animal Physiology class.

A transfer evaluator should have very few problems evaluating core level (freshman and sophomore) courses, even from out of state or private schools, because most basic curricula include courses in English, science, math, history, social science, and humanities. It is at the junior and senior levels that courses become more specialized and more confusing to someone who has never studying the subject beyond the introductory level.

The limitations of specialized knowledge
I can compare course descriptions, but I confess that I do not fully understand the terminology for each subject taught in college. As someone who majored in liberal arts, I know the difference between Naturalism and Romantic literature, and between Baroque art and Rococo, but I cannot tell you with any confidence what you might study in a class with a course description that includes solid state physics, ontogeny, or electronic structure and reaction mechanisms.

Because of my specialized knowledge, I can only look for similar words in course descriptions, while someone with a background in the subject can look for deeper compatibility. This is why it may be necessary for a department head to give permission for a course to transfer that was originally deemed not equivalent by a transfer evaluator. The transfer evaluator could have assigned the course as elective credit; if the student believes it should be an exact equivalent, he or she would need to consult with the appropriate department head and provide course descriptions and/or sample syllabi. If the student is not satisfied with the decision of the department head, he or she should arrange a meeting with the dean of the college.

Will it ever end?
So, until universities begin hiring a transfer evaluator for each academic discipline, this practice of department head approval will continue. It’s true that this may be inconvenient for the student, but like most other aspects of college, it’s just something that requires some time, energy, and research.