Admission of Transfer Students

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Transfer students are those who were previously enrolled at a college or university other than the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Students who are transferring to UH Hilo must arrange for all official college transcripts to be sent to the Admissions Office directly from institutions previously attended. Those who have completed fewer than 24 acceptable semester hours of college-level work or who have enrolled in an unaccredited institution must also submit their high school transcript and SAT or ACT results. Transfer students who have completed at least 24 semester hours in a curriculum comparable to UH Hilo from an accredited U.S. college or university with a minimum GPA of 2.0 will be evaluated for transfer on the basis of their college transcripts.

All students with fewer than 48 transferable semester credits must have obtained a high school diploma from a regionally accredited high school, General Equivalency Diploma (GED), or competency-based high school diploma prior to enrolling at UH Hilo.

Transcripts Required

Students who have enrolled at other colleges and universities may not disregard their records at such institutions. Students are required to file complete official transcripts of any and all academic work taken at other institutions. The final grades for courses-in-progress of admitted students are required to be on file at the Admissions Office no later than the deadline stated in the official letter of acceptance from the Admissions Office. Students who do not submit final, official college transcripts will not be permitted to register for classes.

Failure to report previous college attendance and/or to file all required transcripts is sufficient cause for the cancellation of the student’s admissions acceptance, denial of registration, and/or dismissal from the University.

Transfer Credit

Formal evaluations will be completed after students register for classes at UH Hilo. To assist with registration and advising, evaluations will be processed by the Admissions Office upon receipt of a non-refundable, partial, advanced tuition deposit. Prospective students may meet with an admissions officer for a personal preliminary evaluation prior to applying. This service is normally conducted in person.

Coursework eligible for transfer credit must be of baccalaureate-level and must be from regionally accredited institutions if from the U.S. or from nationally recognized institutions if from a foreign country. Grades in these courses must be “C-” or above to transfer, except for courses completed at other campuses in the University of Hawaiʻi system (for which any passing grade will be accepted). Students transferring with any work done more than ten years prior to their admittance to UH Hilo may find such work subject to further evaluation by the individual academic department.

To complete an evaluation, the Admissions Office must be in possession of the previous school’s catalog, bulletin, handbook, or other institutional document which describes the courses completed. Students may be asked to submit course descriptions from previous colleges attended.

When applicable, transfer credits may be counted towards the specific requirements of a program; otherwise, they will be counted as general electives. However, neither grade points nor grade point averages earned at other institutions are used in the computation of the UH Hilo cumulative grade point average.

Students transferring into UH Hilo from outside the UH system with a transferable A.A. degree from an institution accredited by a U.S. regional accreditation agency will be exempted from the General Education requirements, unless specific course requirements are needed for a given major or specialty. The A.A. degree must have been completed prior to initial matriculation to UH Hilo. This policy applies to transfer students admitted to UH Hilo in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and Economics, and Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language beginning with the Fall 1999 semester; continuing students enrolled at UH Hilo prior to Fall 1999 are not eligible for the waiver of General Education requirements. The policy also applies to transfer students admitted to the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management beginning with the Fall 2003 semester.

Students from within the UH system, who have six credits or fewer to complete their University of Hawaiʻi community college A.A. degree, may transfer to UH Hilo and be exempt from the UH Hilo General Education requirements providing the community college A.A. degree is completed in the first semester at UH Hilo.

All other transfer students must fulfill the General Education requirements appropriate to their major and degree as stated in this catalog.

If a transfer student has concerns over the evaluation of transfer credit awarded them, they should appeal to Mr. James Cromwell, Director of Admissions, for a review of their concerns and for reevaluation.