Most students transfer to other institutions with few, if any, problems. Occasionally difficulties arise, however. If a student has any trouble with the transfer of courses, Northwest may be able to help resolve problems. Contact the Dean of Instruction for help. Northwest can provide additional course information, such as the course description for the course, to the transfer institution. This often clarifies questions the transfer institution has about a particular course.

However, students should understand that there are legitimate reasons why a course does not transfer. The following list outlines the most common reasons why a transfer institution will not count a course taken at Northwest towards its degree:

• The course is developmental.(Below 1000 level.) It's not college level work. It is not supposed to transfer. It does not count towards NWC's graduation requirements, either.
• The grade for the course is below a C. (This varies depending upon the transfer institution and the major. Sometimes a D will transfer. Often it does not.)
• The course is an occupational or technical course not designed to transfer into a baccalaureate degree program, or, more rarely, the course is a general education course not required in a technical program. Students who switch from a welding or photography major into a sociology major, for example, will find that the technical courses do not count towards a bachelor's degree.
• The course actually transfers, but even though it met a general education requirement at Northwest, it does not fulfill a general education requirement at the 4 year school and transfers as an elective. This may well be the most common of all transfer problems. The course is not lost, but it becomes an elective which does not meet the transfer institution's general education requirements.
• The student has taken more hours at the freshman/sophomore level than the 4 year college will allow to count towards a degree. Most four year colleges and universities require 60 hours at the junior and senior level. If a student has taken more than 70 hours at Northwest, then it is likely that those additional hours will not count because of the minimum number of upper division hours necessary for graduation.

Please note: many of these problems are not the result of transferring to another institution -- they merely show up during the transfer process. Changing majors at a university, for example, may require a student to spend an extra semester or year to earn a degree. Some institutions will not accept a grade of D in a major, regardless of where it was earned. If a student needs developmental work, then that work is necessary, regardless of the institution. The bottom line remains that careful planning can reduce or eliminate these problems.