Transferring Your Credits

At Grand View, we keep our transfer process simple and our transfer policies friendly. All college-parallel credits from accredited institutions are typically accepted.

Track Your Progress

If you have completed college coursework, the Transfer Hub is a great place to get a snapshot of how your credits will transfer! The Hub, which is designed for students who have not yet applied to Grand View, contains all the resources you need, will let you track your transfer process and give you access to a transfer counselor.

Go To Transfer Hub

Here's a short video that shows you how easy it is to get started:

Transfer Information

Credit From Other Colleges & Universities

Grand View does not limit the number of credits accepted from other four-year colleges and universities.

Grand View accepts up to 75 semester hours of credit from community colleges. 

All students receive an official degree audit upon acceptance to Grand View.

Course equivalency guides between one college or university and another allow for seamless transfer of credit. The community colleges in Iowa have developed common course numbers to help with the transfer process. Here's a list of courses that all Iowa community colleges have in common, along with Grand View’s equivalent course. Please note that this is not a complete list of courses that Grand View accepts for transfer.

Cross Enrollment

In 1975 the Des Moines Area Consortium for Higher Education implemented a Cross-Enrollment Program, extending the course offerings available to students attending Grand View, Drake, and Des Moines Area Community College. Under this program, full-time students at Grand View may enroll for one course up to three credits offered at Drake University or Des Moines Area Community College during the Fall and Spring semester. Students are responsible for all books, supplies, fees and additional tuition charges over the three credit limit. The Grand View University Registrar's Office coordinates this process and must be notified prior to registration for the class. Cross enroll courses do not interrupt nor add to the last 30 hours of Grand View requirements.

If a Grand View student is interested in cross enrolling at Drake or DMACC:

  1. Students must discuss what class they are interested in taking and how it will transfer back to Grand View with their academic advisor.
  2. Students must complete an add slip with course information and advisor signature and submit it to the Registrar’s Office. Students will be asked to complete a cross enrollment tuition waiver form (must be completed in our office).
  3. The Registrar’s Office will scan and email the form to the appropriate school.
  4. The student will receive a confirmation email to confirm their registration. 

The guest school will automatically send transcripts to the home school at the end of the term. 

Off-Campus Programs

Grand View also awards credit for off-campus educational programs that have been evaluated by:

  • The American Council on Education (ACE)
  • The Armed Services
  • The Association of Executive and Administrative Professionals (AEAP)
  • The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)
  • The Insurance Institute of America
  • The Life Management Institute (LOMA)

In addition, you may earn college credit through the successful completion of:

  • College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests
  • DSST Exams
  • Proficiency Examination Program (PEP) tests
  • Grand View departmental exams
  • Experiential learning (life experience) portfolios

Grand View's Testing Equivalencies

Up to 32 hours of credit by examination and/or portfolio assessment may be counted toward the Grand View baccalaureate degree.

The Associate in Arts degree (AA) satisfies the Grand View University General Education Core requirements for the baccalaureate degree except for the composition and quantitative reasoning courses (unless fulfilled by transfer coursework), Core Seminars II and III, and the required number of outcome iterations (number determined by class status on entry to the University as defined above).

Placement Testing

You may be required to take a placement test for math or English placement based on what you bring in for transfer credits. Your admissions counselor will notify you if you are required to do placement testing or feel free to reach out to them should you have any questions regarding placement testing.

*Placement tests are automatically loaded into blackboard for all students, regardless if they need to take them. Please check with your admission counselor or wait until registration to find out if you must complete a placement test.

Writing Placement

You will have five hours to write a single essay response to a provided prompt. Essays will be read by at least two faculty members in the English Department. Based on faculty assessment, you will be placed in an English course to best meet your needs. Do not use outside assistance or resources (other than a dictionary) to complete the Writing Placement.

  1. Log into myGVU and select Blackboard on the left-hand side under Common Apps.
  2. Log in to Blackboard using your username WITHOUT "@grandview.edu."
  3. Under the Courses tab, click on the Writing Placement course. Please read the instructions before you begin.
  4. Complete the "Prior Credit Form" - enter your answers and click "Save and Submit."
    • If you have completed college credit, then you may exit Blackboard.
  5. If you have not completed college credit, select Academic Honesty Policy and read the document. If you have questions, contact Josh Call at jcall @ grandview.edu or (515) 263-2904.
  6. Click Reviewed after reading and agreeing to the Academic Honesty Policy.
  7. When you are ready to begin, click Online Writing Placement Test and Begin. This test is timed; you will have five hours to take the test after you click Begin.
  8. When you are finished, click Save and Submit.

Math Placement

You will have 60 minutes to complete the test. Based on assessment of the scores, you will be placed in a math course that will best meet your needs. Do not use outside assistance or resources to complete this test.

  1. Log into myGVU and select Blackboard on the left-hand side under Common Apps.
  2. Log in to Blackboard using your Grand View username WITHOUT "@grandview.edu." 
  3. Under the Courses tab, click on the Math Placement course. Please read the instructions before you begin.
  4. From the left menu, click on the Test Homepage link.
  5. Complete the "Prior Credit Form" - enter your answers and click "Save and Submit."
    • If you have completed college credit, then you may exit Blackboard.
  6. If you have not completed college credit, carefully review the additional information about the placement exam to determine if you would like to take the placement test or use your math ACT score for placement.
  7. If you decide to take the placement, select Academic Honesty Policy and read the attached document. If you decide not to take the placement, you may exit Blackboard.
  8. Click Reviewed after reading and agreeing to the Academic Honesty Policy.
  9. Once you are ready to take the test, click FALL (TERM) Mobius Placement Test and Begin. You must start and finish the test in one sitting; you cannot continue taking the test at another time. This test is timed; you will have 60 minutes to take the test after you click Begin. Do NOT click "Grade" during the test.  This will stop your test inappropriately and you will need additional technical assistance to finish.
  10. When you are finished, click Grade. You should end on a thank-you page with your score. On the thank-you page, click Quit and Save to finish the process.
  11. Should you have technical difficulties during the test taking process, contact our Help Desk (515) 263-6100 or helpdesk @ grandview.edu.
Transferring From DMACC

Multiple agreements have been established between DMACC and Grand View to streamline the transfer process, including Transfer Resource Initiative (TRI), a collaboration to offer students who plan to transfer the benefits of being a Grand View student while taking classes at DMACC. Learn more by clicking the button below.

Learn more

Indian Hills CC Athletic Training 2+2+2 Pathway

Grand View University has partnered with Indian Hills Community College to offer a 2+2+2 pathway from the AAS Physical Therapist Assistant to GVU's Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Health Promotion and Master of Science in Athletic Training programs. 

Students enrolled in this accelerated program must complete the first year of graduate coursework before graduating with their undergraduate kinesiology degree. Upon successful completion of the undergraduate degree, students will continue their studies and earn the Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) by the end of the sixth year of study. Students will apply for admission in the MSAT during their first year of undergraduate coursework at GVU. Admissions and program requirements can be found on the MSAT website.

Learn More

Transfer Credit Policy

Transfer from an Accredited Institution

Grand View University follows the Transfer Credit Practices published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). The transfer of credit from one institution to another involves at least three considerations according to AACRAO. Grand View will take into consideration, when evaluating transfer credit, the following:

  1. The educational quality of the learning experience.
  2. The comparability of the nature, content, and level of the learning experience.
  3. The appropriateness and applicability of the learning experience to the programs offered at Grand View.

The department chair of the courses being evaluated has the ultimate approval of transferability of the courses. Official transcripts must be submitted from all institutions attended whether coursework was completed or not. Transcripts must be mailed or sent electronically directly from the originating institution to Grand View University.

Only credits and grade points earned at Grand View will be used to calculate a student’s cumulative grade point averages. Credits with grades of D- (D minus) or above that transferred from an accredited institution can be used toward graduation and may be used to meet requirements and prerequisites for specific courses, but not necessarily toward students’ majors. Students awarded Latin honors must receive at least 45 credit hours from Grand View from which the grade point average will be calculated. The maximum number of transfer credits accepted from junior/community colleges is 75 semester credits. All transfer coursework is accepted at the course level from the originating institution.

Important: Courses at Grand View and the community colleges change every year as do the equivalencies listed in our transfer planning guide. This is only a guide, and not a transfer equivalency contract. This guide will be updated as frequently as possible, but you are always encouraged and advised to contact your admission counselor or academic advisor to determine how particular courses will transfer to Grand View.

Transfer from a Non-Iowa Community College

Grand View University accepts all AA and AS degrees that were earned from any accredited community college in the United States.

Transfer from a Non-Accredited Institution

Grand View University may refuse to recognize credit from an institution that is not accredited by a regional accrediting organization or may accept credit for approved Core and/or major courses successfully passed with a C- (C minus) or above. Credit may be given for courses equivalent to the core courses required of every Grand View graduate.

Associate of Arts or baccalaureate degrees from an institution which is not regionally accredited will not automatically satisfy the Grand View General Education Core requirements; however, credit may be given for courses equivalent to the core courses required of every Grand View graduate.

At the discretion of the Registrar’s Office and the major department, courses may be counted toward the major. Additional coursework may be considered for elective or vocational-technical credit. . These credits count toward hours required for graduation but do not meet any specific degree requirements. The transferability of coursework follows the principles outlined in Transfer from an Accredited Institution.

No grades from non-accredited institutions are averaged into the cumulative GPA.

Transfer of Coursework Completed Outside of the United States of America

To receive credit for coursework completed outside of the United States of America (U.S.A.), the student must have the transcript evaluated by a transcript evaluation agency in the U.S.A., at the student’s expense. The evaluation must be completed on a course-by-course level. Evaluation by a transcript evaluation agency provides a guide for evaluating international course work; however, Grand View University retains the right to determine transferability of courses and degrees. Students may need to provide Grand View with additional information about coursework, if requested. To receive transfer credit for English composition, international students must take an equivalent course from an accredited institution in the United States or pass the Grand View Composition requirement. In some cases, transfer credit can be granted if the course work is transcripted by a college or university in the U.S.A. that sponsored the study abroad or semester at sea experience, but this situation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.