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Secondary Credit Reviews and Evaluation

This page offers guidance to help campuses fulfill SUNY’s Seamless Transfer requirements, as established through prior Board of Trustees policies, presidential memoranda, and the approved objectives outlined in the Transfer Task Force Report.

Specific objectives have been introduced to strengthen and revitalize the Seamless Transfer initiative by the Transfer Task Force. These enhancements aim to provide additional guidance, tools, and communication frameworks that reinforce and expand upon existing policies and procedures—ensuring campuses are well-equipped to support student mobility across the SUNY system.

Transfer Task Force Report objectives that directly relate to the evaluation of student transcripts include the following.

Procedural Guidance for Second Reviews

Transfer Task Force Objective 1.10

To fully support the full implementation of Objective 1.10, SUNY will develop an enhanced data collection process that will (a) enable the capture of additional transfer-related data, and (b) allow for the tracking of reasons behind course denial decisions.

Rationale

Simply establishing and clearly communicating expectations for formal secondary review procedures, whether through structured workflows or integrated practices, has proven to be a high-impact strategy for improving the accuracy and completeness of transfer credit evaluations. These processes help ensure that students receive the maximum applicable credit for prior learning, thereby supporting their academic progress and reducing unnecessary barriers.

Clearly communicating the expectation of thorough and verified reviews fosters a campus-wide culture committed to recognizing and honoring students’ prior academic achievements. Embedding these expectations into daily operations reinforces our broader commitment to student success and institutional effectiveness, while promoting consistency and equity in transfer credit practices.

Campus Process

Effective Fall 2025, campuses will be required to establish internal procedures for conducting automatic second reviews of any courses not accepted for transfer prior to issuing final transcript evaluations to students. This requirement is intended to ensure that each denied course receives a second review by a different evaluator, set of evaluators or via an advising or orientation process.

Each campus will develop its own procedures, which may reflect its specific institutional processes and requirements. Campuses must submit documentation of their procedures by December 15, 2025. The processes shall be used for any transfer records evaluated after  this date, where the student is part of the 2026-2027 AY admission cycle. 

Minimum Review Requirements

Receiving campuses are expected to conduct a secondary review for any course that is denied transfer credit when both of the following conditions are met:

  1. the course was awarded credit by the sending institution, and
  2. the student’s grade meets or exceeds the receiving campus’s minimum overall grade threshold for transfer credit.

If a course meets the general grade threshold but does not satisfy a higher standard required by a specific program or major, a secondary review should still be conducted to determine whether the course may fulfill other degree requirements.

This secondary review must be a distinct process, carried out by – or in collaboration with – a different evaluator than the one who conducted the initial review. Campuses may implement this in various ways; it is not required (for example) that two evaluators perform a review in immediate succession to meet the second review standard. Campuses are always encouraged to engage faculty, advisors, or other support staff in the process. Many existing campus practices may already meet this standard. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • A second evaluator reviews the course immediately following the initial evaluation.
  • A faculty member or advisor conducts a follow up review as part of a departmental or major-specific evaluation.
  • An advisor reviews the evaluation during orientation or new student onboarding to for accuracy and credit applicability.

Campuses have flexibility in determining the appropriate roles or positions for any second reviewers, based on their staffing models and organizational structure.

Collaborative reviews that include consultation with the original evaluator are permitted; a fully independent review process is not required.

Documenting Reviews

Campuses are required to document secondary reviews only when transfer credit is denied following the second review. This documentation must include confirmation that the review occurred and a reason for a denial. Campuses may use a documentation method of their choosing to record this information, and should have it available for the purposes of a transfer credit appeal only.

For additional guidance and answers to common questions, please refer to the Automatic Review FAQ.

Support Materials

Access materials, documents and ways to communicate and receive added training.

Current Relevant Seamless Transfer Policies and Procedures

Timely Transcript Evaluation

Students transferring must receive a preliminary transcript evaluation for received transcripts as close to the time of admission as possible. Prior policy guidance has stated that students must receive an evaluation no later than payment of their enrollment deposit or upon written request after acceptance. (SUNY MTP 11-1)

Evaluation Details

The transcript credit evaluation must detail how prior courses will be accepted. The evaluation shall indicate how the courses will be applied to the SUNY General Education Requirements, as well as the major and elective areas of their intended program. This can also be acheived using a preliminary degree audit. (SUNY MTP 11-1) 

Notification of the Right to Appeal

If any credits are not accepted for transfer, students must be informed of their right to appeal the evaluation decision at the time the evaluation is issued. Campuses must provide students with a description of the appeal process, and a link to or copy of the relevant policy or procedure. (SUNY MTP 11-1) 

Appeal Process Availability

Per SUNY policy (see MTP 13-3), each campus must maintain a transfer credit appeal webpage that is easy to locate, transparent, and clearly written. Each campus must also designate an appropriate office or officer(s) responsible for overseeing the appeal process. The name(s) and contact information for this office or individual must be posted on the campus website, and shared with SUNY System Administration for publication on SUNY.edu.

Campuses may submit this information through their Transfer Liaison or by using the SUNY Transfer Equivalency Platform’s campus profile tools. If you need assistance submitting this information, please contact our office.

You may also learn more about the transfer appeal processes on our faculty guidance pages.

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