Transfer Credit Policies for ISUComm Foundation Courses

NOTE:  The First-Year Composition Program became the ISUComm Foundation Courses Program beginning in Fall 2007. As part of this process, English 104 and 105 have been renumbered (English 150 and 250); refocused from an emphasis on writing-only to an integration of written, oral, visual, and electronic communication (WOVE); and restructured (shifting the second course to the sophomore level).

How do transfer students fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses requirement?

Students transferring to Iowa State University with credit deficiencies in the ISUComm Foundation Courses should be advised to complete the requirements for their ISUComm Foundation Courses as soon as possible. Eleventh-hour requests for credit waivers may delay a student's graduation.

NOTE:  Transfer credit must be earned from an accredited English-speaking college or university in the United States.

Students who plan to study abroad may not transfer credit for an English course from an institution in a country where English is not the first and main language spoken.  This is a university admissions policy.

• Transfer students without credit for English 150 or 250. Students who enter Iowa State University without credit in the ISUComm Foundation Courses will have an opportunity to earn credit for English 150 if their ACT-E or SAT-V meets the placement criteria as described on the English 150 Placement information page.  Other transfer students are encouraged to take the English 150 Placement Assessment during an orientation testing session.

• Transfer students with only English 150 credit. If the transfer students are freshmen or sophomores, they must take English 250. If the students transfer in as juniors or seniors, they should be encouraged to take English 250, or they may be able to take an advanced communication course (English 205, 302, 309, 313, 314) if they receive written approval (waiver) from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses and permission from their adviser. Transfer students may also choose to take the 250 Test-Out Exam.

• Transfer students with only English 250 credit. These students do not need to take English 150. Instead, they will need to take an advanced communication course (English 205, 302, 309, 313, 314). Before this is done, they must receive written approval (waiver) from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses and permission from their adviser. These students cannot take the English 150 Placement Assessment. The English 150 Placement Assessment is only for students who have been placed directly into English 150 due to ACT-E/SAT-V scores or no scores at all.

• Students who transfer Rhetoric 010:003 from the University of Iowa with a "C" or better meet the ISUComm Foundation Courses requirement. These students will receive 3 credits of English 250U (the designating transfer credit from the University of Iowa). These students, however, will not receive credit for English 150. An English waiver is not required, but the student's adviser must document the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with 3 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).

• Students who transfer 2 credits of English 150 and 2 credits of English 250 from the PAIDEIA course (also includes 2 credits of HIST 2T**-PAIDEIA I and 2 credits of HIST 2T**-PAIDEIA II) from Luther College with a "C" or better meet the ISUComm Foundation Courses requirement. An English waiver is not required, but the student's adviser must document the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with 4 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).

• Transfer students with a total of 5 credits in English 150 and 250. Transfer students with 5 credits in English composition will have the remaining 1 credit automatically waived. These students do not need a waiver from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses. The student's adviser must indicate the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with the 5 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).

• Transfer students with quarter credit. Students enrolled in schools with 9 or 10 quarter-credit English composition programs are advised to complete the full sequence at those schools before transferring to Iowa State University. Six quarter-credits transferred in ISUComm Foundation Courses will not meet the Iowa State University requirement.

• Transfer credit for non-composition English courses. Courses not clearly identifiable as English composition (e.g., Introduction to Literature, Humanities, Colloquia, etc.) transfer as humanities or elective credits, but not as English composition credits. However, some transfer courses in various disciplines are designated as "writing intensive." Students who believe their transfer credit may be equivalent to our English 150 or 250 must provide the ISUComm Foundation Courses office a Request for Department Review of Transfer Course form filled out with their adviser's assistance and signature. In addition, students must provide the following:

  • catalog course description
  • syllabus and course schedule
  • all major assignments composed in class

This information will be reviewed by the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses to see if the transfer credit can apply to English 150 or 250.

•  Exemptions from other schools. Exemptions from Foundation Courses requirements at other schools will not be applied to the ISUComm Foundation Courses requirement at Iowa State University unless those exemptions carry with them academic credit. However, as outlined above, this policy does not apply to students who transfer Rhetoric 10:3 from the University of Iowa.

What are the requirements for students with undergraduate degrees?

• Students who are seeking a second undergraduate degree do not have to fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses requirement unless their undergraduate degree was earned from an institution outside the United States or from a non-English institution in the United States.  A waiver must be processed for these students.

  Student who are in graduate school do not have to fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses requirement.

ISUComm Foundation Courses Office
Department of English
229 Ross Hall
Ames, IA 50011-1201
(515) 294-6814 (FAX)

Director
Dr. Barb Blakely
(515) 294-3217
blakely@iastate.edu

Secretary
Deanna Stumbo
(515) 294-3516
stumbo@iastate.edu