Transferring into
Technology & Geomatics Programs

Transferring Technical Associate Degrees
and Other Undergraduate Credit

The ETSU Department of Technology & Geomatics programs are uniquely suited for transfer students. Throughout the years, students have entered ETSU with transfer credit: some students have already completed an Associates of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree program and have years of industrial experience while others have taken only a few classes at another university or community college.

First, all prospective students have to apply for acceptance into ETSU. After following the necessary admissions procedures, a prospective student's completed on-line application (or hardcopy application for admission in PDF format), application fees, and institutional transcripts (all colleges and, if required, high school) have been received by ETSU Office of Admissions, their course work will be evaluated for transfer by an admissions analyst. To see what courses directly articulate as ETSU credit, visit Admissions' Transfer Course website.

All non-technology course work such as math, science, and English is evaluated for transfer by an analyst in the ETSU Office of Admissions. The departmental faculty and admistrators have recently approved increasing the minimum transfer standards to include a minimum grade of 'C' in math, science, and communications (i.e., English 1010/1020 and Speech 2300).

• Course work must have been taken at a regionally accredited two- or four-year institution.
• Course work must be equivalent to an ETSU course;  if not, it will count as elective credit (up to the program-specific allowable limit).
• Only courses for which a grade of "C" or higher was earned will be accepted for transfer credit in the major.

In consultation with the associate dregree-holding student, an agreement will be written listing the course work that must be successfully completed by the student to receive a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. All interested transfer students should

1. read the ETSU Transfer Admission Requirements and associated web pages regarding undergraduate transfer student admissions at the East Tennesse State University and
2. confer with a Department of Technology program faculty or academic advisor.

B.S. & B.A.S. Degree Options

ETSU has two Bachelor degree opportunities for transfer students:

1. Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Engineering Technology. The B.S. Engineering Technology degree is the recommended degree program and is available in the following program concentration areas: Biomedical Engr. Technology, Construction Engr. Technology , Electronics Engr. Technology, Industrial Technology, and Manufacturing Engr. Technology. Additionally, students can transfer credits into the other two B.S. degree granting programs offered through the department Digital Media and Surveying & Mapping.
   
   Most prospective transfer students enter ETSU desiring to enter into one of the above programs and concentrations. The transfer of credits into one of the above concentrations is reasonably straight forward for students transferring from accredited institutions that have either established program articulation agreements with ETSU or have technical classes similar to those offered at ETSU.
   
   
2. Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) with a minor in Engineering Technology. The B.A.S. degree option was recently introduced by ETSU and approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) to assist students with existing technical (A.A.S.) degrees that do not "match" or articulate directly into existing ETSU program offerings and/or coursework. Offered through the ETSU School of Continuing Studies Division of Cross-Disciplinary Studies, the B.A.S. degree program allows technical professionals the opportunity to pursue a four-year degree with a minor in Engineering Technology by building upon their existing academic background. For more information about the B.A.S. option, please visit the B.A.S. Degree Information Page.

Revised Course Numbers & Names

Beginning in the Fall of 2001, a common course numbering and naming convention (called "rubrics") was adopted by all Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) institutions. Although the end result of this welcomed standardization effort will mean easier transfer of college credit in the long run, in the short run it means that things will be even more confusing for students, admissions analysts, program advisors, and graduation analysts. To make this change a bit more comprehensible, an on-line version of the Rubrics Chart is available listing the old ETSU course numbers and titles and their corresponding new, common TBR course numbers and titles.

Please note that these changes became effective with the Fall 2001 semester. Students admitted to ETSU prior to the Fall 2001 semester may have the "old" ETSU course numbers listed in their transfer articulation correspondence. Students first admitted to ETSU during and after the Fall 2001 semester will see only the common TBR course numbers and names under the column listing ETSU courses.

The revised course numbers have been used for registration and grading since the Fall 2001 term; students following the curriculum of ETSU Undergraduate Catalogs prior to the 2001/02 academic year (i.e, any time prior to Fall 2001) should refer to the on-line Rubrics Chart when scheduling and enrolling in classes.

Transfered Course Appeals

Not every course a student takes at another institution will articulate directly into the ETSU curriculum. While there are numerous reasons for this unfortunate situation, the most typical are:

• Courses were taken at an institution not accredited through a nationally-recognized regional accrediting agency (e.g., SACS);
• Technical courses were vocational and therefore not designed for transfer;
• A course was not formally articulated into ETSU under a particular course number and counts initally only as elective credit;
• A course has no corresponding ETSU program "match" and cannot be transferred into a B.S. Engr. Technology concentration option; or
• A non-technical course (e.g., history, math, English, humanities, etc.) did not meet the specific criteria for one of the ETSU General Education courses and has been assigned either another course number or elective credit.

Appeals for General Education course substitutions must be made through the ETSU Advisement Resource Center [Voice: (423) 439-8650] located on the 2nd floor of the D.P. Culp Student Center on the main ETSU campus. Technical and technical support course substitutions are coordinated through the Freshman/Transfer Mentor &/or the appropriate program advisor; appeals may be made for course substitutions through the department's chair, Dr. Keith Johnson, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean of the College of Business & Technology, Dr. Carroll Hyder.

Graduation & the "50/32" Rule

The minimum number of credit hours to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in a major offered through the ETSU Technology & Geomatics department is 128 for ABET-accredited programs and 120 for all others. The final number of credit hours required to graduate in any particular program concentration cannot be determined until a full transfer analysis is completed by one of the program or academic advisors and course substitutions are finalized and approved by the department chair.

ETSU recently revised B.S. degree graduation requirements such that no fewer than fifty (50) credit hours must be taken through an accredited four-year degree-granting college or university (e.g., ETSU, UT Knoxville, UT Chattanoog, Tennessee Tech, etc.). Additionally, the Tennessee Board of Regents' (TBR) Policy for Undergraduate Degree Requirements requires that no fewer than 25% of a program's credit hours (typically from 30 to 32 credit hours) be taken through the specific degree-granting institution (i.e., ETSU). Students should therefore be very careful when signing up for general education and technical support classes at local community colleges to ensure that the credits will count toward graduation.

It should be noted that once a student's 50/32 credit hour obligations have been fullfilled, the student can take the remaining courses required for graduation and have the course credit transferred to ETSU. The last few credit hours do not have to taken at or through ETSU. Instructional methods available include credit awarded:

• at any accredited institution (4-year university &/or 2-year technical community college campus as applicable);
• via ETSU Distance Education in an Internet-based course offering;
• through ETSU Instructional Television System; or
• through Tennessee Board of Regent (TBR) Regents On-line Degree program [RODP] offerings.

ETSU General Education Proficiency Rqmts

ETSU has adopted an aggressive stance in trying to ensure literate and technically competent graduates. This requirement is manifested by courses that reinforce academic proficiency in (a) writing, (b) oral communications, and (c) using information technology. Accordingly, ETSU has designated certain courses as writing intensive [WI], oral intensive [OI], and/or using information technology intensive [UIT] and has set minimum requirements of attendance in such courses. With only very few exceptions (e.g., Northeast State Tech.), only identified ETSU courses meet the intensive criteria.

Transfer students with an A.A.S. degree or greater than 60 transferable hours of credit must take a minimum of two (2) WI, one (1) OI, and two (2) UIT courses to graduate. Intensive requirements are significantly increased for students without transferable A.A.S degrees &/or less than 60 credit hours of transferable credit. (See the appropriate ETSU Undergraduate Catalog for details.)

Many transfer students have already taken one or more courses in technical writing, supervision, &/or industrial safety and want to know why the program advisors recommend that they enroll in the ENTC 3030 Technical Communications, ENTC 4017 Industrial Supervision, and the ENTC 4777 Safety Management courses. Rest assured that the reason is not to generate redundant credit hours. The Department of Technology has only a limited number of intensive courses "registered" with the University. Four of the intensive courses are required upper division courses:

Students who choose to receive substitution credit for any of these particular courses must find other ETSU writing &/or oral intensive courses to meet the minimum requirements. Obviously, each student should see his or her program advisor when deciding to request substitution credit for any course, especially those that also meet intensive requirements.

For More Information

For more information about transferring into any ETSU Technology & Geomatics program, please visit the Engineering Technology Off-Campus Cohort program pages, the various undergraduate program information web pages, or contact Dr. Keith Johnson, Technology & Geomatics Department Chair.