Evaluation of course credit earned at other institutions by the Transfer Evaluation Office does not decree approval of the credit for use toward degree requirements. Only the academic dean of the college offering the program in which a student is enrolled has authority for determining which courses will be applied toward any specific program. The only exception to this rule is that no transferred course completed with a grade below C- may be applied to fulfill course requirements in majors, minors, or specializations.

Applicants must submit official records from all accredited institutions attended. Official transcripts must be sent directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. All college-level, nonvocational courses completed with a passing grade of D or above at regionally accredited colleges and universities (not including trade or technical schools) will be evaluated for acceptance of transfer credit by the Transfer Evaluation Office. The Transfer Evaluation Office determines acceptable transfer credit on the basis of an evaluation of course content as described from the sending institution's catalog and in consultation with the appropriate academic units at Texas Tech University as necessary for clarification. While all credit hours presented on the sending institution's transcripts will be evaluated, and equivalent college-level courses posted to the student's academic record, a maximum of 80 semester credit hours from two-year colleges may be applied towards degree requirements. Students may apply up to 90 semester credit hours provided that a minimum of 10 degree applicable hours are upper division (3xxx/4xxx) and from a four-year institution.

Students are encouraged to meet with the academic advisors of the college in which they plan to enroll to discuss that college's policies on applicability of transfer credit for degree purposes. Credit hours will be applied to degree programs and majors when courses are deemed equivalent to the Texas Tech courses that satisfy various program requirements by the college in which the student is seeking a degree.

Students wishing to transfer credit to Texas Tech from a nonaccredited institution must (1) complete 30 semester credit hours of work in residence at Texas Tech with at least a 2.0 GPA and (2) receive approval from the academic dean in order to validate credits for transfer.

The following guidelines apply to the transfer of college credit

• Original copies of official college transcripts will be reviewed and coursework evaluated before transfer credit will be posted to a student's permanent academic record. Courses that may have been accepted for credit by another institution will not necessarily be accepted by Texas Tech.
• Nonvocational, college-level courses completed with a grade of D or above at another accredited institution (including courses taken on a pass/fail basis and passed) will normally be accepted for transfer. No transferred course completed with a grade below C- may be applied to fulfill course requirements in majors, minors, or specializations.
• Courses completed with codes indicating no grade or credit will not be transferred. This includes courses from which a student has withdrawn or received a grade of incomplete.
• Vocational and technical courses normally not accepted for transfer may be transferred as credit with departmental approval. However, only the student's academic dean can determine the applicability of such credit towards a degree.
• Transferability of courses will not be affected by a student's academic standing (i.e., probation, suspension), but credits earned while on academic suspension from Texas Tech University will apply to a degree plan only if approved by the student's academic dean.
• Remedial courses will not be accepted for transfer and the credit hours will not be reflected on the student's academic record at Texas Tech.
• Nonvocational, college-level courses from a nonaccredited institution may be posted to the student's academic record only after the student has validated the credits for transfer with the student's academic dean according to Texas Tech policy.
• Credit by examination will be accepted when the student provides documentation of appropriate test scores on an original score report from the national testing organization or official high school transcript. Credit is awarded according to Texas Tech University's credit by examination guidelines.
• Credit granted for nontraditional educational experiences by community colleges or other universities will not be accepted for transfer. These include courses taken at a nondegree-granting institution, life or work experience, and work completed at specialized proprietary schools.
• Credit for specialized support courses such as math, science, and English intended for use in an occupational program will not be transferred.
• Credit hours taken at a junior or community college may not be transferred as upper-division work, even when the Texas Common Course Numbering System designation indicates similar course content.
• When a course has been repeated at another institution, only the most recent course and grade will be transferred and posted to the student's academic record, unless the course is designated in the institution's catalog as “may be repeated for credit.”
• Texas Tech will not transfer credit for any college course documented only on a high school transcript.

If a dispute occurs involving the transfer of lower-division courses, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has established the following procedures to resolve the dispute:

• If an institution of higher education does not accept course credit earned by a student at another institution of higher education, the receiving institution shall give written notice to the student and to the sending institution that transfer of the course credit is denied. A receiving institution shall also provide written notice of the reasons for denying credit for a particular course or set of courses at the request of the sending institution.
• A student who receives notice as specified in subsection (1) may dispute the denial of credit by contacting a designated official at either the sending or the receiving institution.
• The two institutions and the student shall attempt to resolve the transfer of the course credit in accordance with Coordinating Board rules and guidelines.
• If the transfer dispute is not resolved to the satisfaction of the student or the sending institution within 45 days after the date the student received written notice of denial, the institution that denies the course credit for transfer shall notify the Commissioner of Higher Education of its denial and the reasons for the denial.

The Commissioner of Higher Education or the commissioner's designee shall make the final determination about a dispute concerning the transfer of course credit and give written notice of the determination to the involved student and institutions. The Coordinating Board shall collect data on the types of transfer disputes that are reported and the disposition of each case that is considered by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee.

If a receiving institution has cause to believe that a course being presented by a student for transfer from another school is not of an acceptable level of quality, it should first contact the sending institution and attempt to resolve the problem. In the event that the two institutions are unable to come to a satisfactory resolution, the receiving institution may notify the Commissioner of Higher Education, who may investigate the course. If its quality is found to be unacceptable, the Coordinating Board may discontinue funding for the course.

Students who are registered at Texas Tech and wish to register concurrently at another institution must obtain prior written approval from the academic dean of the college in which they are enrolled. This approval applies to all courses in progress elsewhere at the time of registration and those begun during the semester. A student registered at another institution but wishing to enroll concurrently for credit at Texas Tech will be considered as a freshman or transfer (where appropriate) student and will be required to meet the standards for such students. Concurrent registration resulting in a combined enrollment beyond a maximum load at this institution will not be permitted.

The Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS) has been designed to aid students in the transfer of general academic courses between Texas public colleges and universities throughout the state. The system ensures students that courses designated as common will be accepted for transfer and the credit will be treated as if the courses had actually been taken on the receiving institution's campus. Texas Tech courses identified as common will have the Common Course Number listed in brackets in each course description. For more information concerning the Texas Common Course Number System, please visit the TCCNS Web page at www.tccns.org.

In accordance to the rules mandated by the Texas legislature concerning the transfer of core curriculum:

Click here for more information concerning the Texas Tech Core Curriculum

Credit may be given for formal service school courses completed in the armed services after evaluation of official documents by the Transfer Evaluation Office. The student's academic dean decides if credit awarded for such courses will be applied toward requirements for the bachelor's degree.