"Advanced standing" is also used to describe the status of a student granted credit, as distinct from normal course entrants who commence the stream of study at the beginning.
When a student transfers, he or she usually provides his or her academic transcript(s) which lists the course taken, grade, and other attributes from each institution they attended when applying for enrollment.
Often, some prior course credit completed at another institution is not counted toward the degree requirement, extending the student's time to graduation.
Unanticipated factors and the general mobility of society create numerous circumstances under which students may move from one institution to another.
College transfer can be complex, because disparate and sometimes non-comparable coursework is brought together, often without prior involvement of the institutions from which the student enrolls and expects to graduate.
Prior to college transfer, a student may engage and receive different levels of advising and counseling from an institution they attend.
This involves enrollment, transfer professionals and the faculty, and requires an in-depth analysis of every course taken by a student at another college or university and/or also including the evaluation of prior life experiences.
The transcript and course evaluation process can be divided into three distinct stages which result in judgments independent of the student.
Finally, the coursework for which credit is granted must be determined to be applicable to the program of study for which the student has applied.
Historically, two-and four-year college transfer and articulation agreements were primarily institutional initiatives rather than state mandates.
Now, nearly every state has some policy on college transfer of credits for students moving from public two- to four-year institutions.
[1] There still remains striking differences across the United States because there is no federal or national policy to support college transfer.
College transfer has been problematic and costly to students, institutions and the states subsidizing higher education.
States such as Florida, Minnesota,[2] Ohio,[3] Arizona, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Washington, California, Texas and Pennsylvania[4] have stepped in to define regulations, methods and standards of practice for institutions to follow when evaluating college transfer applicants.
[5][6] ONCAT is a non-profit organization that holds collaboration as its core value to create appropriate and accessible pathways for student mobility.
Nationally accredited schools are predominantly for-profit and generally offer vocational, career or technical programs.