Transfer Dispute

Overview

The goals of this required process include:

  • Protecting a student’s ability to transfer credits between public institutions in Texas
  • Ensuring transparency in transfer of credit decisions and denials
  • Ensuring fair and timely decisions to inform student degree progress
  • Providing a clear process for resolving disputes

Required Transfer Dispute Process

Denial Notice & Appeal

If an institution denies transfer credit for a Core Curriculum or Texas Direct/Field of Study course, it must send electronic written notice to the student and the sending institution. The notice must include:

  • The reason for the denial
  • The steps to dispute the decision at the institution
  • Contact information for a designated official at your institution
  • Instructions for appealing to the Commissioner of Higher Education

To submit information related to a credit denial dispute, please use the following form: Transfer Dispute Information Form

Commissioner Review Process

  • The Commissioner (or designee) will review the dispute once submitted to the Coordinating Board
  • A final decision will be issues within 20 business days
  • All parties will receive written notice of the decision
  • If the Commissioner decides the credit must be accepted, the institution must apply the credit towards the students degree progress
  • The Commissioner’s decision is final and can not be appealed
Date ReceivedSending InstitutionReceiving InstitutionIssue SummaryResolution Summary
2-13-25Houston Community College (HCC) University of Houston – Downtown (UHD)UHD denied credit for courses taken through a third-party vendor that HCC applied to the student’s core curriculum requirements.  THECB upheld UHD’s decision to deny the transfer credit. The credits at issue in this matter were not earned at a Texas public institution higher education; therefore, UHD is permitted, but not required by law, to count those credits.
  • Core Curriculum – Texas Admin Code 4.28(c), Texas Education Code 61.822(c) 
    “(c) If a student successfully completes the 42-semester credit hour core curriculum at a Texas public institution of higher education, that block of courses must be substituted in transfer to any other Texas public institution of higher education for the receiving institution’s core curriculum. A student shall receive academic credit for each of the courses transferred and may not be required to take additional core curriculum courses at the receiving institution.” 
  • Field of Study- Texas Administrative Code 4.32 (e) and 4.32(f) 
    “(e) A receiving general academic teaching institution shall determine whether a transfer student is Field of Study Curriculum complete upon the transfer student’s enrollment. If a student successfully completes an approved Field of Study Curriculum, a general academic teaching institution must substitute that block of courses for the receiving institution’s lower-division requirements for the degree program for the corresponding Field of Study Curriculum into which the student transfers. Upon enrollment, the general academic teaching institution must grant the student full academic credit toward the degree program for the block of courses transferred.” 
    “(f) If a student transfers from one institution of higher education to another without completing the Field of Study Curriculum, the receiving institution must grant academic credit in the Field of Study Curriculum for each of the courses that the student has successfully completed in the Field of Study Curriculum of the sending institution. After granting the student credit for these courses, the institution may require the student to satisfy remaining course requirements in the current Field of Study Curriculum of the receiving general academic teaching institution, or to complete additional requirements in the receiving institution’s program, as long as those requirements do not duplicate course content the student previously completed through the Field of Study Curriculum.” 

Contact

For questions about transfer disputes or instructions on how to submit a dispute, please contact Brittni Hollis, Assistant Director for Transfer Pathways, at brittni.hollis@highered.texas.gov