Transcript Credit Evaluations

Highline College will accept transfer classes with a minimum grade of D or 1.0 in each class. The cumulative combined GPA for all accepted classes must be 2.0 or better.
The school you attended must be regionally accredited and/or recognized.

• To check if your college or university is regionally accredited in the United States, you can search from our list of regional accrediting agencies. Be careful to look for regional, not national or other levels of accreditation.

The courses must fulfill Highline College graduation requirements.

• The maximum number of credits we can transfer in is about 75% of the credits required towards a program (for example, 67 credits maximum for an associate degree). We want to make sure we only bring in the classes you can use.

Credit will be awarded within the distribution area of the subject matter for each Cambridge International (CI) Examination for scores of E(e) or higher on A and AS levels. Credit will be awarded on the basis of official Cambridge International Examination results, not transcript notation.  Duplicate credit for the same subject taken on different exams will not be granted.  No grades are posted for A-level exams.

With a DD-214 our office issues 3 credits of PE activity for US military experience. A Joint Services Transcript (JST) we will issue the 3 credits of PE activity and may also issue up to 15 credits of restricted occupational elective credits.

Highline requires translation and evaluation of the student’s academic record from an agency that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.

• Local agencies include FIS, WES, and Josef Silny & Associates.
• The costs of agency services are the responsibility of the student.
• Only transcripts for students enrolled for the current or upcoming quarter will be evaluated by Highline. New students can provide NACES-evaluated transcripts to academic advisors during their enrollment process for the purpose of first-quarter course selection and placement.

• Submit online the Transcript EvaluationRequest Form.
•  More information: incomingtranscripts@highline.edu

Processing time begins when all documents (transcripts and the request form) have been received. Once your file is complete, please allow 14 weeks for processing.

Students will receive notification of completed evaluation via email, as well as have access to view transfer courses in Academic Advisement Reports (AAR). Make sure your email address is correct in our system by logging into ctcLink and updating your contact information. The next step would be to meet with a Faculty Advisor or Running Start Advisor depending on the student’s type. Make an appointment to meet and discuss your academic goal.

Accreditation is a process of external review used by the higher education community to assure quality and ongoing improvement. A regional accrediting agency is recognized by the Federal Department of Education and will accredit entire colleges and universities within a designated region of the United States. Most nonprofit institutions are regionally accredited.

To find out if your school is regionally accredited, use the link for your school’s region from the table below.

If you plan to earn a degree or certificate at Highline. It is not necessary, however, if you do not plan to earn a degree or certificate at the college. 

If classes elsewhere apply to a pre-requisite for a Highline class, you may use an unofficial copy of your transcript to get an entry code to override prerequisites.

Email the Coordinator to start the process.

Dear  Name of Department Coordinator,

I attended  Name of School    and took  Name of Course . I am requesting to get direct equivalency for this course. I believe that it is Highline’s   Highline Course Name . Please let me know what type of documentation you need from me to make your determination (such as a course syllabus or course description). If you determine that the transfer course I took is a direct equivalent to the Highline course, please email incomingtranscripts@highline.edu so that the Credential Evaluator can update my records.

Thank you for your time,

Student Name
Student Identification Number (SID)

Email incomingtranscripts@highline.edu to confirm the receipt of transcripts.  When you email this question be sure to include your name, your student ID and any previous names that may be on the transcripts.

Students are required to submit for evaluation all applicable college transcripts. Highline will not transfer credit from an unofficial transcript.

Students do not have to wait until the official evaluation is done to take classes though. Many classes do not have prerequisites and for classes that do, often instructors will be willing to give entry codes by looking at an unofficial copy of your transcript from another college. See Entry Codes for more information.

Highline College will only transfer credit from a regionally accredited college or university.

As a general rule your High School transcripts should go to the Placement Center, not the Registration and Records Office.  

Generally, yes, though sometimes it is better to have the transcript evaluated by a Foreign Evaluation Service for specific credit and grades which they will translate. If your non-US transcript is in English, includes credit hours (either semester or quarter) and has letter or decimal grades (on a 4.0 scale), we typically can evaluate it as we would a domestic transcript.

If your non-US transcript is in a language other than English, or lists only hours and test scores, consider using a professional credential evaluation agency listed on the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) Website.

We reserve the right to request translations and/or professional agency evaluations for any foreign transcript.

Official Transcripts must be kept sealed when delivered for evaluation.

Students will receive what is considered generic credit, listed with the discipline and generic 800 or 900 number instead of a direct equivalent (Ex: HIST 900 instead of HIST&116). Work closely with your program advisor if you are working towards an AAS, BAS or certificate program. These classes may work for distribution or electives in a DTA.

Students should multiply the semester credit times 1.5. For example, 3 credit semester class equals a 4.5 quarter credits.

No time limits for an AA-DTA. Some programs have specific time limits on transfer credit, like the Registered Nursing AAS. The Requirement of each major is changed from time to time. I f you leave the studying for a while, we can not grantee that we will transfer all your old credits.  Read your program requirements carefully.