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Statewide Reverse Transfer Articulation Agreement

Reverse transfer is the process by which a student is awarded an associate degree after transferring to and completing A.A. Degree requirements at a four-year institution.

To facilitate the seamless articulation of student credit between Florida’s public postsecondary institutions, s. 1007.23, F.S., was amended by the 2019 Florida Legislature to include the stipulation that the statewide articulation agreement must include a provision for reverse transfer.

Excerpt from s. 1007.23(8), F.S.
“(8) The articulation agreement must specifically provide for a reverse transfer agreement for Florida College System associate in arts degree seeking students who transfer to a state university before earning an associate in arts degree. Students must be awarded an associate in arts degree by the Florida College System institution upon completion of degree requirements at the state university if the student earned more than 30 credit hours toward the associate in arts degree from the Florida College System institution. State universities must identify each student who has completed requirements for the associate in arts degree and, upon consent of the student, transfer credits earned at the state university back to the Florida College System institution so that the associate in arts degree may be awarded by the Florida College System institution.”


STUDENT ELIGIBILITY Student Eligibility more copy arrow

  1. Be currently enrolled in a state university;
  2. Earned more than 30 hours of college credit at a single FCS institution;
  3. Transferred to a state university before earning an A.A. Degree;
  4. Not previously earned an A.A. Degree from the state university;
  5. Completed a minimum of 60 hours of college credit;
  6. Completed general education requirements of either the home FCS institution or the SUS institution;
  7. Not earned a baccalaureate degree;
  8. Be in good academic standing and be current with financial obligations at the SUS institution;
  9. Be in good academic standing and be current with financial obligations at the awarding FCS institution;
  10. Have met the civic literacy requirement per section 1007.25(4), Florida Statutes;
  11. Have met college-level communication and computation competency per SBOE Rule 6A-10.030, Florida Administrative Code;
  12. Demonstrate competency in a foreign language per s. 1007.25(8);
  13. Consent to allowing the SUS institution to transmit the necessary information to the FCS institution; and
  14. Meet any other A.A. Degree graduation institutional requirement of the degree-granting FCS institution.

REVERSE TRANSFER PROCESS Reverse Transfer Process more copy arrow

Annually, SUS institutions shall determine which students meet the eligibility criteria outlined above to identify potential degree candidates.

Once potential degree candidates are identified, each SUS institution shall provide notification to potential candidates about the reverse transfer provision of the statewide articulation agreement. This notification must:

  1. Specify that “opting in” does not guarantee the student will automatically be awarded the AA; it simply means the FCS institution will evaluate the student’s transcript to determine if they are eligible for the degree.
  2. Include the statement of purpose, the name of the FCS institution to which the student’s information will be sent, and instructions for opting out of the process at any time.

Upon consent by the student, the SUS institution will transmit transcripts or academic data files for potential candidates to the FCS institution with a notation that the student has indicated that they intend to seek a reverse transfer.

The FCS institution will conduct a degree audit to determine whether the potential candidates meet all eligibility criteria, including criteria specified in subsection IV.

A student who intends to seek an A.A. Degree under the terms of this Agreement will be governed by the graduation requirements set forth by the FCS institution.

Upon the successful completion of the degree audit described and, if applicable, the successful completion of any additional procedures or requirements, the FCS institution will confer the A.A. Degree during the semester in which the audit was successfully completed. The FCS institution will notify the student of the award of the A.A. Degree. The student’s transcripts will be updated accordingly to reflect the awarding of the A.A. Degree.

The FCS institution will inform students who are not eligible to be awarded a degree which course(s) and/or other requirement(s) remain to be completed. Students shall be afforded due process under the appeals process and procedures outlined in the catalog at the degree-granting FCS institution. The FCS institution will notify the registrar at the SUS institution regarding the outcomes of the degree audits.

REVERSE TRANSFER PATHWAY Reverse Transfer Pathway more copy arrow

REVERSE TRANSFER STUDENT PATHWAY:
FLORIDA COLLEGE SYSTEM THROUGH STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

  • Student attends an FCS and completes 30+ credit hours.
    • ⬇
  • Student transfers to an SUS.
    • ⬇
  • Student completes 60 credit hours and the requirements for an Associate in Arts (AA) degree.
    • ⬇
  • SUS notifies the student that they are eligible for their A.A. Degree from the FCS and the student may request the degree to be awarded.
    • ⬇
  • Student requests degree audit and awarding of their A.A. Degree of their college through their university.
    • ⬇
  • SUS sends the student’s transcripts to the FCS.
    • ⬇
  • FCS reviews the student’s transcript and either:
      Awards the student the A.A. Degree or
      Notifies the student of any incomplete degree requirements.

PARTICIPATING COLLEGES Participating colleges more copy arrow

PARTICIPATING FLORIDA COLLEGE SYSTEM INSTITUTIONS

  • Broward College
  • Chipola College
  • College of Central Florida
  • Daytona State College
  • Eastern Florida State College
  • Florida Gateway College
  • Florida SouthWestern State College
  • Florida State College at Jacksonville
  • Gulf Coast State College
  • Hillsborough Community College
  • Indian River State College
  • Lake-Sumter State College
  • Miami Dade College
  • North Florida College
  • Northwest Florida State College
  • Palm Beach State College
  • Pasco-Hernando State College
  • Pensacola State College
  • Polk State College
  • Santa Fe College
  • Seminole State College of Florida
  • South Florida State College
  • St. Johns River State College
  • St. Petersburg College
  • State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
  • Tallahassee Community College
  • The College of the Florida Keys
  • Valencia College

PARTICIPATING STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM INSTITUTIONS

  • Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University
  • Florida Atlantic University
  • Florida Gulf Coast University
  • Florida International University
  • Florida Polytechnic University
  • Florida State University
  • New College of Florida
  • University of Central Florida
  • University of Florida
  • University of North Florida
  • University of South Florida
  • University of West Florida

FAQs FAQS more copy arrow

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A student has completed the requirements for an A.A. Degree at an SUS institution after completing 40 hours at an FCS institution, but does not want the FCS institution to award their A.A. Degree. May the SUS institution award the degree?
Yes; the SUS institution may award the student an A.A. Degree if the student requests the degree and has met the requirements for the degree.

If a student has attended more than one FCS institution, which would be the degree-granting institution?
If a reverse transfer candidate attended more than one FCS institution prior to transferring to an SUS institution, the degree-granting institution will be the FCS institution where the student earned the most credits, provided the student earned more than 30 credits at that institution. In the event the student has earned the same number of credits and meets the degree requirements at two or more FCS institutions, the FCS institution that the student attended most recently will be considered as the degree-granting institution.

What information should be included in the notification?
The notification must specify that “opting in” does not guarantee the student will automatically be awarded the AA; it simply means the FCS institution will evaluate the student’s transcript to determine if they are eligible for the degree. It must also include the statement of purpose, the name of the FCS institution to which the student’s information will be sent, and instructions for opting out of the process at any time.

What if a student opts in for reverse transfer, the SUS institution sends the information to the FCS institution, and then the student opts out?
A student may opt out at any time up to the point that the FCS institution has been informed.

While electronic data exchange is optimum, can data be exchanged in other ways, including sending paper transcripts, if necessary?
State policy requires the use of FASTER to transmit student records between and amongst Florida’s public secondary and postsecondary institutions.

How will both FCS and SUS staff involved in the reverse transfer process know who the point of contact is at each institution?
The Office of Articulation is collecting this information to share with the institutions.