How do I get one more hour (credit) at the last minute?

December 10, 2010 1:29 AM

I'm transferring in the Spring (January) and by my stupidity and ignorance, I am short of one credit to transfer. They need 60, I only have 59.

I've found out recently that a 3 hour credit class I took is not going to transfer.

I'm in a community college in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have been admitted, but can be rejected because of this. I really don't want to stay here for just one credit.

I need your help. They don't have any winter session classes and the last class I can take is about smog check (I don't even have a car!). I asked both my photography and philosophy professors about receiving an extra hour credit; however, the head of the department seems uncooperative. Although its understandable since its almost the end of the semester.

Has anyone gone through this miserable hellhole of a predicament? Are you guys aware of any other way I can have that one elusive credit? :(

posted by mrspeacock to education (15 answers total)

Take the smog check; it may not be anything you'd care to study, but the course will include research gathering, independent study and group interaction skills that satisfy the transfer credit. Your other option is to ask your advisor for a Phys Ed credit in the spring.
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:44 AM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Just take the smog check class. It can't be that hard if it is only one credit.

Or maybe there is some general ed. class you can test out of for some quick credits? An easy math class, perhaps?

Didn't you have letters of recommendation for your transfer application? Ask your letter writers if they can work anything out with you. (I assume they are professors.)
posted by twblalock at 2:18 AM on December 10, 2010

Get in touch with your counseling department. They may be able to advise you. Alternatively, you can get in touch with the university you are planning on transferring to, explain the issue, and they may be able to help you.

You can also see about proposing an independent study option.
posted by gryftir at 2:22 AM on December 10, 2010

Can you possibly take a class at another institution that does have winter school classes and apply that to your old/new degree? By transfer I take it you mean transfer from the community college to a university?

That aside, I want to say I feel your pain! I have/am going through similar trials/ tribulations with the bureaocracy, where one little technicality which you weren't aware of can throw your entire life into uncertainty. And you think why can't they just let me do what any reasonable individual who wasn't bound by the silly rules would probably allow. This is life in academy I'm afraid.
posted by strekker at 2:24 AM on December 10, 2010

I would look into online winter sessions at other community colleges. I don't even think you should limit your search to California, assuming that credits from out-of-state community colleges would transfer.
posted by craichead at 3:08 AM on December 10, 2010

Take a CLEP exam. Most colleges accept them as long as you get a certain score, and youll probably find at least one that you can pass without too much cramming/studying. I took the equivalant of POL 101 exam and passed - 3 credit hours for about 3 hours of studying and $150 to sit for the exam. Anyway, take one and pass and you're home free.
posted by QUHZK at 3:26 AM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Seconding the CLEP exam idea, also look and see if the class that you took that won't transfer could be written in the books as a class that would transfer through some sort of course substitution.
posted by deezil at 4:25 AM on December 10, 2010

CLEP, yes! Or search your college website for "credit by examination", some colleges also have internal programs for this stuff.
posted by anaelith at 5:06 AM on December 10, 2010

Online winter session. USM has one, as do many others.
posted by theora55 at 5:12 AM on December 10, 2010

I would contact the admissions office of the university you're transferring to as soon as possible and explain what happened. I really doubt being one credit short will be an issue. If that doesn't work, you still have time to enroll in an online winter class.
posted by shoreline at 5:37 AM on December 10, 2010

On the contrary, 59 credits is not the same as 60 credits, and no university will pretend that it does. You need to find some credit equivalent - as others above have said, credit by examination is probably the way to go here.
posted by philokalia at 6:45 AM on December 10, 2010

oops, IS, not DOES.
posted by philokalia at 6:45 AM on December 10, 2010

I was one credit short to graduate. I ended up finding a teacher to sponsor me and I did an independent study on Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut and the concept of absurdism. So, a 20-page paper ended up getting me that last credit. Why not try making up your own mini-class or project?
posted by Ostara at 7:24 AM on December 10, 2010

I would contact the admissions office of the place you are transferring to, and ask what other students in your position have done. When you do that, get the name of the person you're talking to. That way, you have someone who's heard of you before to talk to as you track down solutions, and can call them directly to ask whether that solution will be acceptable.

I also advocate getting documentation of any agreement -- these days, an email might be sufficient: "Hi, Glenn, I just wanted to confirm my understanding from our phone conversation that ______ will be acceptable as a transfer credit for my entry in Spring 2011". It's also a good idea because sometimes points get dropped in those phone conversations! Also, because the person who gives you a verbal in good faith may be unavailable when push comes to shove. (This happened to me. The dept. decided to let it slide, but I might have been out my BA if they hadn't.)
posted by endless_forms at 8:28 AM on December 10, 2010

Begrudgingly (not because its smog check update, but because I don't know anything about cars) took the smog check class today, got extremely confused the first 2 hours, and talked to the professor. I explained him my situation and how my advisor told me I can take the class. It's a credit/no credit class, and he's giving me the credit, without taking the painful exam (for the license, I think). Yay, for the kindness of people!

I was going to take the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature from CLEP, however the school I'm transferring to doesn't accept it. So, if anyone else is in the same situation, make sure to call the school on what exams they take and the respective score.
posted by mrspeacock at 3:57 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]