Determination of Equivalent Credit

Evaluation of courses to be used for substitution in degree plans shall include the following:

1. Prior LC courses
   1. Courses offered prior to 2001 will usually have included crosswalks in the course equivalency segment of PeopleSoft. These crosswalks will be honored.
   2. Courses not appearing as equivalency will be examined for inclusion.
2. WECM courses
   1. Automatic substitution of identical rubric and number
   2. Review of description and objectives of WECM course. If all objectives are covered in the WECM, the course may be approved for substitution. If objectives do not meet all LC course objectives, the course description will be reviewed online or upon receipt of materials from transferring college.
3. Non-WECM/out-of-state courses
   1. Online comparison of objectives (if available) or
   2. Course description (with objectives) should be reviewed for a determination of comparable outcomes.
   3. Courses will only be considered from a college that is accredited by a regional accrediting agency listed in the Higher Education Directory.
4. International courses
   1. Courses from foreign institutions must be evaluated by an evaluation service approved by the College. A copy of this evaluation must accompany any request for course substitution.
   2. The evaluation will be reviewed for determination of equivalent course outcomes.
5. Clock hour courses
   No credit is given for clock hour courses
6. Courses for which there is not a direct equivalent at Lee College.
   1. If the course is a core course from another Texas college, substitutions will be made based on the transcripting college’s core designation.
   2. If the course is not a designated core course, the decision to substitute for will be made by the appropriate dean based on equivalent body of knowledge.
7. More advanced courses
   1. A more advanced course may be substituted for a lower level course if the course outcomes of the lower level course would have been met or required as a prerequisite by the higher level course.
   2. A higher level course that is required for the program in addition to the lower level course may not satisfy the requirements of both courses.

The student who requests a course substitution should take appropriate supporting documentation and a substitution form to the department chair. The chair, in consultation with the lead instructor as appropriate, will make the initial determination of comparability.

The student, after obtaining the chair’s signature, will take the form to the appropriate dean who will make the final determination after verifying the above guidelines. The dean will either recommend or reject substitution (with written justification), sign the form, and distribute the form as designated (to the student, dean’s office, and record’s office if for degree substitution and chair’s office if for certificate substitution). The amount of credit applied toward degree or certificate requirements will be equal to that awarded by the original institution or agency.