Students may receive credit towards their degree program without taking an in-person course in a UAF classroom. Alternate ways to earn credit are viable, and in some cases, advantageous options for students to consider.
UAF Residence Credits
Some alternate ways to earn credit provide residence credits. Course credits may be used to determine full-time/part-time status and eligibility for financial aid and scholastic action. The grade for the course will average into the student’s semester and cumulative GPAs.
eCampus & Distance Credits
Online, or audio-based UAF courses are considered residence credits. Some UAF online and audio-based courses are offered by academic departments or rural campuses. Courses offered through eCampus (EDE) are semester-based, thereby following the regular semester schedule. EDE year-long independent learning courses have been discontinued. EDE provides a list of upcoming semester EDE courses and EDE Core courses available for registration each semester.
Servicemembers’ Opportunity Colleges (SOC)
UAF participates in the Servicememers’ Opportunity Colleges (SOC) program as a SOCAD-2 and SOCAD-4 Degree Network System Core member school. Military students may complete a college degree program without losing credits due to frequent changes in duty stations. Eligible degree programs include:
- Applied Accounting (AAS)
- Associate of Arts (AA)
- Culinary Arts (AAS)
- Homeland Security & Emergency Management (BEM)
Study Away
Study Away programs affiliated with the Office of International Programs & Initiatives (IPI), including University of the Arctic courses
Tech Prep
The Tech Prep program allows students at all Fairbanks North Star Borough School District high schools, and other participating high schools throughout the state to earn credits toward a UAF Occupational Endorsement (OE), Certificate program (Cert), or associate of applied science (AAS) degree by completing career and technical education classes in high school that have been approved for college credit by UAF. Tech Prep courses cost $25 per credit and there is no limit to the number of credits earned.
UAF Advanced Placement Credit
UAF provides institutional advanced placement credit for Alaska Native Languages, English, and Mathematics. UAF advanced placement credit is not the same as credit earned by students taking the College Board Advanced Placement test.
Students who place above the 101 course for an Alaska Native Language and earn a B (3.0) grade or higher may ask the department to receive credit for up to two immediately preceding prerequisite course(s).
Students whose ACT or SAT Writing score is within the placement requirements for ENGL F211X or ENGL F213X may receive credit for ENGL F111X once they have completed the ENGL F211X or F213X course with a C (2.0) grade or high and completed an Application for ENGL F111X Credit Form. The form is available at the Office of Admissions and the Registrar in 102 Signers’ Hall or the Director of University Writing.
Students who placed in an advanced math course and who completed MATH F201X, 202X or F302 at UAF with a C (2.0) grade or better may receive credit for any prerequisite calculus course(s). Students should contact the Department of Mathematics and Statistics to request credit.
UAF Specialty Courses
UAF Specialty Courses such as trial courses, individual or directed study, research or thesis options, and alternatively numbered non-English language courses
Transfer Credits
Students may also take courses at other universities within the University of Alaska (UA) system, or at other institutions, and then transfer approved credits back to UAF. Since UAF is on the semester calendar system, transfer credits from schools with a quarter calendar system is the equivalent of 2/3 of semester credit. Ex. A 5-credit course at a school on the quarter system would transfer in as 3.33 credits, but is considered to be the equivalent of UAF’s 5-credit course.
Credit by Certificate or License
Military Service Credit
Students who have served in a branch of the military must submit their transcripts to the Office of Admissions and the Registrar. Credits from the Air Force are through the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), while credits from Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and Marines are through the Joint Services Transcript.
Credit may also be based on the Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services (ACE Military Guide) which includes all evaluated courses and occupations from 1954 to the present.Acceptance is typically posted as elective credit.
Non-UAF Distance Programs
The University of Alaska System hosts a website outlining all three university’s distance programs from Occupational Endorsements to Master’s Degrees. Credits from UAA or UAS Distance Programs are considered transfer credits.
Students who want to use correspondence study credits from a school other than UAF to satisfy degree requirements, must have approval for those courses by the dean of the school or college from which they will graduate; otherwise, they take the risk of not having the courses accepted.
National Standardized Exams
Study Away
Students have the option to create a Study Away experience that is not affiliated with UAF as an Independent Program or under Direct Enrollment. Transfer credits are subject to approval from the academic department.
UAF Exams and Credit for Prior Learning
Transfer Student
A transfer student is defined as someone coming into the university with at least 30 transferable semester credits. Transfer students are eligible for admission to a baccalaureate program if they have a C- (1.7) GPA in their previous course work (D- or 0.7 for courses transferred from UAA or UAS) and left their previous institution(s) in good standing.
Transfer students who have completed a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution will be considered to have completed the equivalent of the Core curriculum. Transfer students who have completed an AA or AS degree, or the equivalent of the baccalaureate general education requirements, from a regionally accredited institution will be considered to have completed the equivalent of the lower-division Core courses. Students must contact the Office of Admissions and the Registrar with documentation of completion of their transfer institution’s general education requirements.
Transfer students who have completed the baccalaureate general education requirements from a regionally accredited 4-year institution is considered to have completed the equivalent of the Core curriculum except for the upper-division Writing-Intensive (W) and Oral-Intensive (O) courses. Transfer students may also receive credit for military service, government and professional certifications, and training programs that have been approved by UAF academic departments.
Transfer Credit Equivalencies
UAF students taking courses from the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) or the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) must contact the Office of Admissions and the Registrar to have those credits posted on their UAF transcript. Students do not need to submit an official transcript from UAA or UAS, an email alerting the Office of Admissions and the Registrar will suffice.
Transfer credits within the UA System equivalent to UAF’s Core curriculum are outlined in the UA System Table of Substitutions transfer credits outside the UA System equivalent to UAF’s Core curriculum are outlined in the Non-UA Institutions Table of Substitutions and in the UAF Catalog.
Once the student’s transfer credits have been evaluated, the credits are posted on UAOnline and details about the transfer courses that have been evaluated are viewed at the Transfer Credit Equivalency Report.
The Transfer Credit Resource Site on the home page of UAOnline provides students and academic advisors a way to view courses from other institutions that have transferred to UAF in the past. This is a useful tool for students who plan on taking a distance course or a course from their home location.
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