For business student Connie Lee, transferring to UNM was a learning process in itself.
Lee said she dealt with the long, difficult process of getting classes to count for credit toward her degree when she transferred to UNM in fall 2003. She said living in California where she attended California State University at Fullerton was becoming expensive, so she made the move to New Mexico.
"It was worth it for me to transfer to UNM," Lee said.
She said she ended up with a lot of extra credits because some required classes at Cal State Fullerton are not required here.
Transfer students make up more than half of the population of each entering undergraduate class, according to UNM's Transfer Admissions Office Web site.
The Web site states transfer students have made up 40 percent of the baccalaureate recipients for several years.
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All transfer students must have their transcripts evaluated for credit at UNM, said Robin Ryan, associate director of admissions.
She said when students apply to UNM, they submit a transcript, and the admissions department gives it an initial assessment. Ryan said the department evaluates general education courses to check credits.
A student must have a D or better for a class to count from an in-state school and a C or better from an out-of-state school, Ryan said.
For Lee, the initial process was like a matching game. If a course didn't match up exactly to a class at UNM, it didn't count toward her curriculum.
"Even if the class was the same, but the numbers were different, they won't take them if they don't match up exactly," Lee said.
She said none of the classes she took at Cal State Fullerton counted toward UNM's required credits based on her evaluation.
After she finished her initial evaluation, she had to fill out a transfer credit equivalency form, which she said was basically separating all classes by departments and finding their equivalent at UNM.
Ryan said specific colleges determine how credits apply toward a degree program.
Lee had to go to each department and show advisers the course syllabus or course description of every class she took at Cal State Fullerton and compare them to class descriptions of UNM courses. Academic advisers have to sign off on similar classes. Lee got all but two classes to count toward her degree, but she said it shouldn't have been that hard.
"It's really too much for students to do," Lee said. "It's an unnecessary process to go to each and every department."
Ryan said UNM has transfer credit agreements with all two-year colleges in New Mexico and a couple of schools in California. These schools, including TVI, are listed on the UNM Web site.
Despite the hassle of getting all her classes to count toward her degree, Lee said she's not too far behind. She is classified as a junior and is taking summer school classes to make up credits that didn't cross over when she transferred to UNM last fall.
Specific information on transferring can be found on the UNM Web site.
