Transfer of Credit from Other Colleges

Units earned at other institutions for courses completed with a grade of "C" or better may be found sufficient for registration purposes. Students who have completed coursework at another institution should meet with a counselor with unofficial transcripts. Counselors can verify completion of prerequisite courses for registration purposes.

Students who wish to obtain a degree or certificate from College of the Desert and have completed coursework at other regionally accredited institutions must provide an official transcript when they request an evaluation of other college coursework.  Students need to meet with a COD Counselor and request a formal transcript evaluation. 

Students may also have a formal transcript evaluation by submitting a Degree Application online via the MyCOD Student Portal, Admissions & Records Forms when they have completed 40 units, with at least 12 units completed in residence at COD. (Approved regional accreditation associations: NASC, NCA, NEASC, MSA, SACS, WASC)

To determine General Education and/or Associate Degree equivalency, the course must be easily identifiable by a commonly used course prefix and title.   To be verified, sufficient information including course descriptions and prerequisite information must be available from the accredited institution.  The College reserves the right to deny acceptance of any course for the purpose of General Education, Associate Degree graduation requirements, or subject requirements.

Transcripts are not considered official unless they arrive in the Admissions & Records Office unopened. Official transcripts received from other institutions become the property of College of the Desert and cannot be returned to the student or forwarded to other institutions.

Students are encouraged to visit the Counseling webpage and review the Transfer Equivalencies link to determine if courses completed at other institutions are an allowable equivalent for credit at College of the Desert.

Understanding Your Transfer Credit

As a student with transfer credit, you may be wondering exactly how your previously completed courses fit into your intended degree program or if they can be used to meet prerequisite requirements for courses you wish to enroll. Students with transfer credit should review the College of the Desert Transfer Course Equivalency Database (TCED) to determine if previous coursework from another college has already been equated to a COD course. The database is located on the Counseling webpage. If the database does not identify an equated COD course, please consult with a counselor.

For registration clearance of prerequisites, students are encouraged to visit the TCED webpage, print out the course equivalency (if available) and meet with a counselor to have the prerequisite validated and cleared for registration.

For degree completion, students are encouraged to visit the TCED webpage to determine if previously completed courses at another institution meet their intended degree requirements at COD (print out your research results).  It is recommended students bring their research results to meet with a counselor before the end of their first semester in order to verify course equivalency and develop a Student Education Plan (SEP).

Foreign Transcript Evaluations

Students entering COD who have earned university/college credits in foreign countries and believe the courses are comparable to those offered at COD can meet with a COD Counselor to start the process of having the credits evaluated.  Before meeting with a COD Counselor make sure the foreign coursework has been evaluated by an evaluation service and the official results are on file with Admissions and Records.