CREDIT TRANSFER PROCESS

If a student applies for a credit transfer when they change from one school or college to another, their credits are transferred from their old school or college to their new one, this process is referred as credit transfer or credit equivalence which shall occur due to several reasons of which the few that are the most common ones are listed below. As in many countries, especially the MENA region where non-traditional education in not directly accepted unless it is transferred or equalized according to the country’s standards of education for which they provide non-traditional universities their complete support.

Furthermore students while completing different academic programs which may or may not have certain requirements of practical credit hours and research papers to be defended are required to transfer their credits through the United States Higher Education Commission to a traditional university where they may continue their practice credit hours as per the degree program’s requirement which may vary from engineering to medicine or management.

CORPORATE TRANSFER

A student can be working full time while being enrolled in a university where in case due to job requirements they have to move to a different country. Some can be transferred internationally or across the United States, aborting their studies in mid-course. They also complete corporate university courses, which have been reviewed by American Accreditation Council for Business Education.

ONLINE AND DISTANT LEARNING COURSES

Online courses are another reason why university credit transfer process has been widely used. As students can study courses through a self-paced medium. Due to many online education providers follow international educational standards which may or may not be directly accepted regionally in certain cases, the US education board facilitates such students with credit transfer process towards state listed university. This affects the perception of college transfer and how credits earned from online courses are assessed, counted or discarded often due to issues of accreditation.

COURSE DURATION & FLEXIBILITY

Ranging from 10% to 15% students, in order to convert their program from 4 years to 2 years and 30% to 40% students convert their programs from 2 years to 4 years through the credit transfer process in order to facilitate their goals related to the balancing of education and professional life.

CHANGING MAJORS

In case you decide to change your majors that your university isn’t offering a credit transfer would be your first preference. As if you are studying an engineering degree and shift towards the management field where your education provider does not offer certain courses or you are not satisfied with the ones it offers.

RETURNING TO YOUR COUNTRY

In case you are not able to continue international education for any reason and decide to switch to one of your local education providers due to any reason you may apply for a credit transfer process.

FINANCIAL REASONS

Many students find it difficult at some stage to continue international education nowadays due to high fees and charges which is why at a stage like such in order to complete their remaining program they decide to apply for credit transfer and to switch to an education provider according to their budget.

TRADITIONAL TO NON-TRADITIONAL TRANSFER

Students explore self-paced, online learning courses that are offered by across hundreds of universities on the web today. The open courses enable students to study and learn at their own pace, but have little support services compared to traditional courses or other online courses for which a student pays. Still, these courses do get assessed and the learning is counted as transfer credit. In case they want to again transfer to traditional status, in relevance to any cause related to its acceptance or value it shall be easily transferred upon the submission of the transcript and other related documents for transfer towards an A-listed university.

NON-TRADITIONAL TO TRADITIONAL TRANSFER

Students pursuing non-traditional or distance learning programs may apply for a credit transfer to a traditional campus based university for any reasons such as practical credit hour requirements, Thesis & research defending, Educational enhancement and international outreach etc. Transfers can occur between the same or a different state without any difficulties under the supervision of the relevant State Division.

Note: All required standards and protocol shall be the responsibility of the United States Higher Education Commission towards all credit transfers, contrarily the cost of credit transfers vary depending on the type, program, major, reason or equivalence that is required. Transfers can be done on traditional (through travelling) as well as non-traditional (practical credit hours registration or fellowship/internship as research registrations). All transfers are made not relatively to an affiliation or partnership amongst the universities, but it shall be under the United States Higher Education Commissions accredited list to proceed with a credit transfer. All the batches are confirmed and registered under the United States Higher Education Commission. Any kind of external process or transfer process shall not take place unless an approval is issued through the United States Higher Education Commission.

PROCESS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:

For the processing of I-20 and Visa for Undergraduate Students, your completion date is considered to be the last day of final exams of the semester as your degree requirements are fulfilled.

PROCESS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS:

If you do not have a research component to your degree program (such as in the MBA program or other professional schools), your completion date would be the last day of final exams of the semester your degree requirements are fulfilled.

GRACE PERIOD

Once you have completed your program, you are allowed a 15-day grace period to travel to the United States, request a credit transfer, or change your status. Note: Students who are interested in working in the U.S. following their program completion must apply for Optional Practical Training work authorization at least 30 days before the actual program completion date, which will be guided by the career counselor at the time of graduation, the university’s legal department will do all the paperwork for the work permit to be applied afterward.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - ENTRY VISA

To enter the United States, all international candidates are required to have the proper visa stamp placed in their passports, where the reason for travel shall be mentioned along with the NOC for traveling which shall be applied before the departure through the United States Higher Education Commission by the University attorney.

VISA EXPIRE AND LENGTH OF STAY IN THE USA

Every visa has an expiration date, it does not determine how long you can remain in the U.S. (a visa is an ENTRY document only). Once you are in the U.S., other factors determine your length of stay. In case your main concern is to apply for the nationality, you must inform your counselor before traveling so that documents and paperwork can be arranged where through the job fair and job placement program the student can get a job where he can serve for several minimum 18 months to earn a green card leading towards completing the American citizenship program through one of the grounds that suites the student’s profile best.