Never does college accreditation mean all credits transfer.
The short answer is no; college accreditation does not guarantee credit transfer to any other university, accredited or not. Alternately, it does raise the chances of the transfer of more credits. Indeed, schools are posh enough that they will reject credits due to a variety of reasons and although the decision to reject credits can be appealed, there are some policies that cannot be circumvented.
Factors That Influence Credit Transfer
There are two different overall factors that contribute to a decision to accept or reject credits: standards set by a college or university and the nature of the credits to be transferred. Regarding a college or university’s standards, the most influential aspect is the number of credits a school is willing to accept. New York University, for example, will not transfer any more than 65 credits. Thus, it is most prudent to sit down with an advisor and hand pick which credits in particular one is most interested in transferring. The second consideration is the actual grade received for the credit. Generally speaking, schools will not accept credits received through a grade less than a “C,” or a 2.0, but some will reject everything below a “B,” or a 3.0. Moreover, a school often rejects all credits that do not apply to an intended major as well as credits for courses that are not offered at that particular institution. Indeed, none of these considerations has anything to do with accreditation, but there is one rule that does: accredited institutions almost never accept credits from a school that is not accredited.
What Can One Do To Increase Credit Transfer?
Indeed, one can appeal credit rejection. Due to the transparent nature of colleges and universities (especially for students and parents—their primary stakeholders), any questions regarding decisions that affect students can be asked, those regarding credit transfer included. If any discrepancies are identified or the student presents a good enough case, it is likely that more credits will be accepted by the school.
Furthermore, one of the determinants for credit transfer is relevance to an intended major. One can easily circumvent this by delaying the declaration of a major or changing his or her major. Once this occurs, one then visit the registrar to have his or her transcript reevaluated (one would request a “transcript audit”), which can very well result in the transfer of more credits. Unfortunately, this can result in the retraction of credits that were already transferred initially, particularly for those schools with transfer caps. Alternately, one must be sure to render his or her intended major obscure only after acceptance, as any perception of an undecided major by a transfer student often compromises chances for acceptance.