The governing board of the Montana University System, known as the Board of Regents, adopted several policies in March and May 2005 that govern the transfer of credits, establish procedures for the analysis of transfer credits and create alternatives for the completion of general education requirements in four-year degree programs.

A brief summary of the policies is set out below, with links to more specific information about each policy. This information is only a summary of the transfer policies. Please use the links to learn more detailed information about each policy.

The relevant policies are:

  • General Education Transfer policies that create three different opportunities for transfer students within the Montana University System to satisfy the freshman and sophomore-level requirements in a general education program. Those three options are:
    1. completion of all of the lower-division (100- and 200-level) coursework in a campus-specific general education program;
    2. completion of the Montana University System general education core, if the transfer student has successfully earned more than 20 credits in that core at the time of his/her transfer; and
    3. completion of an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree.
  • An Outdated Coursework  policy guaranteeing that coursework completed in the last five years will be reviewed for possible use in a student's specific program of study; and coursework completed in the last fifteen years will be reviewed for possible use in a student's general education program or as elective coursework. Campuses are also free to review and accept coursework older than the guarantee periods.
  • A Minimum Course Grades policy that requires students to earn a C- or better in courses required for a major, minor, option or certificate; a C- or better in all general education courses; and a D- or better in elective courses.
  • A policy on Demonstrating Math Proficiency for students transferring from two-year to four-year programs. There are four different ways for transfer students to demonstrate proficiency, including achieving satisfactory scores in selected coursework and testing.
  • Policies on Writing Proficiency (301) and Composition Placement (301.17) govern admissions and placement, requiring that students demonstrate basic writing skills in order to be placed into college-level composition (such as WRIT 101 College Writing I).  
  • A Single Admissions File policy that permits students already in the Montana University System to request that their admissions file information be sent to another unit of the System rather than creating an entirely new admissions file at the new campus.
  • An Undergraduate Degree Requirements: Associate Degrees policy that sets out the differences and expectations for an Associate of Applied Science degree, an Associate of Arts degree and an Associate of Science degree.
    • An Associate of Applied Science degree is ordinarily not a transferable degree and the coursework in that degree may not be accepted if a student decides to go on to a four-year program.
    • Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees are designed for transfer into four-year programs.
  • A Transfer of Credit policy that establishes an appeal process for students who want to question or review the decisions that have been made about their transfer credits.
  • A System of Controls policy that establishes deadlines for evaluation of transfer credits, documentation of evaluation decisions, and centralization of all evaluation records.
  • An Assessment Plan that establishes procedures, reports, audits and periodic reviews to monitor the effectiveness of the transfer policies adopted by the Montana Board of Regents.