George Mason University/Northern Virginia Community College Articulation Agreement

PURPOSE

The purpose of this articulation agreement is to assist students at various levels of higher education to achieve their goals in an efficient and timely way. This purpose may be achieved through the coordination between George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College of transfer policies, enhanced advising, and acceptance of equivalent courses. This agreement is in support of the State Policy on Transfer.

ELEMENTS OF THE AGREEMENT

1. Admissions Practices
   1. George Mason University (Mason) accepts applications from students who wish to transfer from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) into any baccalaureate degree program at Mason.
   2. NVCC students applying to Mason by the posted semester transfer application deadline who graduate with an AA or AS degree, have earned at least 24 semester (or 36 quarter) hours of transferable work at NVCC, and have an NVCC cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least a 2.75 are guaranteed admission to Mason, with the exception of cases where factors in a student’s academic or personal record may be considered in denying the benefits of this agreement. The guarantee of admission to Mason does not imply admission to a particular Mason degree program.
   3. Students transferring from NVCC to specific Mason programs must meet the same prerequisites, GPA and other admission criteria as for other transfer or native students applying to those programs.
   
   
2. Acceptance and Application of Credits
   1. Students completing an AA or AS at NVCC, who meet all other requirements of this agreement, will be considered to have met all of Mason’s lower division university general education requirements.
      1. Mason degree, major and unit specific lower division requirements are not included in this agreement.
      2. Students completing an AA or AS degree at NVCC who have earned a grade of “D” in an NVCC course may be required to repeat the course at Mason in order to have met all lower division general education requirements at Mason.
   2. Students completing an AA or AS degree at NVCC who meet all requirements of this agreement will be awarded a minimum of 60 hours of total transfer credit. The 60 hours is inclusive of any direct equivalencies and any generic credit. At Mason, students with 60 credit hours on their record are considered to have “junior standing” at the university.
   3. To be considered for transfer credit, course work must be graded “C” or better for both NVCC graduates and students who did not graduate. Grades for transferred courses do not enter into the computation of GPA at Mason.
   4. Only courses taken at NVCC are covered by this agreement. Credit awarded by NVCC for AP, CLEP, or any other sources based on work not completed at NVCC, including credit by internal exams, will be reevaluated by Mason. Credit is not guaranteed for these sources, and will be reviewed for credit consistency with Mason standards.
   5. Mason will maintain an online transfer guide allowing students to view course equivalencies. Wherever possible, this information will be maintained with the most recent NVCC information compared to the most recent Mason course offerings.
   6. Students transferring from NVCC will be required to complete a minimum of 45 semester hours of upper division coursework to be eligible for the Mason degree.
      1. As defined in the Mason transfer guides, 100/200 level courses may be used to fulfill certain 300/400 level requirements of a degree at Mason. However, no NVCC courses may be applied toward the requirement for 45 upper-level course credits.
   7. Transfer credit will not be granted for NVCC courses numbered below 100.
   8. Two courses with essentially the same content (as determined by Mason) cannot both be counted toward the same degree.
   9. Transfer of credit does not necessarily imply applicability to specific degree requirements.
   10. If a student completes an AA or AS at NVCC and transfers to Mason, Mason will honor the Mason catalog degree requirements in effect for the two years prior to the student’s most recent admission into Mason following the award of the NVCC AA or AS degree.
   11. If a student transfers to Mason prior to receiving the AA or AS degree, the benefits of this articulation will only be available if the student submits to Mason an official NVCC transcript with the associate’s degree posted prior to accumulating 90 credit hours at Mason, inclusive of transfer credit, and if the student meets all requirements of the articulation at the point of graduation, as noted above. Students are strongly encouraged by both institutions to complete all requirements for their associate degrees prior to starting Mason course work and/or completing the transfer process.
   
   
3. Quarter Issues
   1. Students will not be required to take the third course in a three-course sequence taken on the quarter system in order to satisfy Mason general education requirements.
   2. One quarter hour is equated to a 2/3 semester hour; fractions are retained in cumulating hours transferred. Substitution for a Mason one semester course (3 semester hours) can sometimes be made by a NVCC one quarter course (3 quarter hours), especially outside the major field.
   3. Hours or fractions of hours waived in accepting course substitutions must be made up by elective credits to meet the total semester hour requirement for a degree at Mason.
   
   
4. Update/Report/Relationship
   Mason and NVCC agree to meet annually to review this agreement and relevant transfer course equivalencies. Each institution will designate an individual to serve as liaison for the purpose of monitoring this agreement. Each institution agrees to provide updated catalogs to the other immediately upon their availability.
   
   
5. Amendments and Term of Effect
   1. This agreement may be amended, as needed, for specific program articulation without affecting the currency of the master agreement. All course-by-course transfer guides may be amended as needed.
   2. This master agreement will go into effect for those NVCC students entering Mason Fall 2007, and remain in effect until terminated by either party upon written notice to other party of an intention to terminate. Such notice will be effective only if given 180 days prior to the intended date of termination. In the event that this agreement is terminated, the terms of the agreement contained herein will remain in effect for the maximum of two years.
   
   

Dr. Alan Merten President George Mason University	Dr. Robert G. Templin , Jr. President Northern Virginia Community College