Transferring to LWTech

Paper Transcripts and Documents

If you have completed classes at other colleges or universities, transferring credit to LWTech may help you complete requirements. The easiest way to transfer credits is to contact the transcript office of your previous college(s), and have your official (sealed) transcripts sent to:

Enrollment Services
Lake Washington Institute of Technology
11605 132nd Avenue NE
Kirkland, WA 98034

Electronic Transcripts (E-transcripts)

If your former college offers the option to send an official e-transcript to LWTech at the following email address:

• admissions@lwtech.edu

Electronic transcripts must be sent directly by the institution. We cannot accept copies that are forwarded from your personal email account. If the electronic transcript was downloaded and viewed by anyone else, we cannot use it for transfer credit. 

How Long Does It Take?

Due to high demand for evaluation services, students are encouraged to submit official transcripts at the time they apply to LWTech. Evaluation results will be available 2-4 weeks after the receipt of official transcripts. 

In general, LWTech only transfers in general education classes that meet the following standards:

1. Academic classes can only be accepted from institutions accredited by one of the following associations:
   • Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACCJC)
   • Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
   • Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS)
   • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
   • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
   • Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
   • New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
   • WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
2. In general, LWTech only transfers the courses you need for your declared program. If you change programs, you may need to request for your transcript to be re-evaluated.
3. LWTech only transfers in courses completed with a 2.0/C grade or higher.

Technical coursework may be accepted based on individual faculty review. Students may be required to provide course syllabi and/or pass a demonstration of skill assessment in order to receive credit for classes. In all cases, transferring in technical coursework must be accompanied by a Substitution Form.

Time Limits

In general, LWTech does not have a time limit for past college coursework to fulfill degree requirements. However, there are select programs that have time limits on science courses.

Science Time Limits for some programs:

The following programs have time limits on science courses.

• Dental Hygiene: 7 years from the program application deadline
• Nursing: 7 years from the program application deadline
• Physical Therapist Assistant: 10 years from the program application deadline

Technical Classes:

• Some technical classes may be deemed significantly out of date, which will be determined by the Department Chair/Faculty Director. A student seeking to complete their degree seven years after beginning technical classes must document their exceptional circumstances via a General Petition, which will be reviewed by the appropriate professional-technical faculty.

You can meet with an academic advisor while you wait for your credits to transfer. Advisors can give an unofficial review to help you plan your classes . 

Advisors cannot guarantee that a course from another institution will transfer to LWTech or that it is equivalent to a course LWTech requires. 

ALL students must submit an official transcript to the college for evaluation to receive a final decision on whether or not a course will transfer.

Nursing and Dental Hygiene Applicants

Students pursuing admission to Nursing or Dental Hygiene are strongly encouraged to review the information about transfer credits on their webpages:

• Nursing Advising
• Dental Hygiene Advising

Courses Without Decimal or Letter Grades

For selective Nursing, Dental Hygiene, and Physical Therapist Assistant ONLY: LWTech does not accept transfer credits from colleges that do not provide a decimal or letter grade for completed classes. Classes from any college that are graded only as a “pass” or “satisfactory” or credits earned via CLEP, AP, IB, or other testing process will be converted to a 2.0 in the admission process which may make you ineligible for admission.

Did you attend another Community or Technical College in WA?

Washington state two year schools use a common course numbering system. Common courses have the ampersand symbol (&). For Example, ENGL& 101 is a common course. If you took ENGL& 101 at a different school, it will transfer to LWTech as ENGL& 101. If there is no ampersand (&) symbol, it is not a common course and is not guaranteed to be equivalent.

Satisfying General Education Requirements

The table below provides examples of the types of courses that can transfer to LWTech and satisfy General Education requirements. Some programs may require that a specific course be taken to satisfy an General Education requirement. Check with your faculty advisor or academic program for details.

Requirement	Webpage with further Details
Written Communication	Only courses equivalent to ENGL& 101 (English Composition 1) , 102 (English Composition 2), or 235 (Technical Writing)
Humanities	Art Music History Foreign Language/American Sign Language Drama/Theater Communications/Speech Literature
Quantitative Reasoning	Typically any math course with an intermediate algebra prerequisite
Social Science	Political Science Criminal Justice Economics Psychology Sociology

 

LWTech will award unrestricted elective credit for an International Baccalaureate (IB) score of 4 on standard-level or higher-level IB exams. Credit will be awarded on the basis of official IB results, not transcript notation.

LWTech will award transfer credits for these IB exams.

Students who complete college-level work in high school may receive credit at LWTech based on scores on the Advanced Placement examination administered by the College Board. In all subject areas, credit is awarded for scores of 3 or higher. LWTech's College Board code is 1453. 

LWTech will award transfer credits for these AP exams.

CLEP provides students the opportunity to earn college credit for knowledge obtained in non-traditional settings (self study, job training, internships, personal interest, etc.) Additional information about CLEP exams can be found on the College Board website. Information about taking CLEP exams at LWTech can be found on our Assessment Center webpage.

LWTech will award transfer credit to students who pass the following subject exams:

*Passing the CLEP exams listed above counts as transfer credit and does not count as actual credit earned at LWTech. Transferability of these courses to other institutions is at the discretion of the receiving institution. Please consult with those institutions regarding their CLEP policy.

Prior learning is the knowledge and skills gained through: work and life experience; military training and experience; and formal and informal education and training from in-state and out-of-state institutions, including foreign institutions.

LWTech recognizes that students may come to the college with skills and knowledge acquired through prior learning, some of which could meet regular credit course requirements. Identifying credit for prior learning can be accomplished by an assessment process conducted by qualified faculty and may result in a course or several courses being posted to your transcript. Current accreditation standards suggest that no more than 25% of the credits earned through the PLA process may be applied toward degrees or certificates.

Learn more about Prior Learning Assessment

LWTech welcomes military veterans on campus and encourages students to submit official copies of their Joint Services Transcript (JST) or other official record of military training (such as AARTS, SMART, or CGI) for review to the enrollment services office. If you believe your military training allowed you to gain competency in areas not listed on your JST, consider speaking with your faculty member about the college's Prior Learning Assessment process.

Lake Washington Institute of Technology will award unrestricted elective credit for a Cambridge (CI) score of E on A and AS level exams. Credit will be awarded on the basis of official CI results, not transcript notation. Credits granted for general education or major requirements will be 
specified by the receiving institution’s CI credit policies; otherwise, elective credit will be granted.
Requirements of the Associate of Arts (AA) General Transfer degree allow ten (10) credits maximum 
from any single department for Humanities Social Sciences and Natural Sciences distribution 
requirements. A maximum of five (5) credits of World Language can be used for Humanities 
distribution.

LWTech will award transfer credits for these Cambridge International scores.

Transferring into Bachelor of Applied Science Programs at LWTech

Lake Washington Institute of Technology is committed to helping students complete the education they need. Therefore, we have partnered with other colleges and universities to establish articulation (transfer) agreements. These articulation agreements formally recognize that these colleges as educational partners in providing opportunities for currently enrolled and potential students. 

In signing an articulation agreement we commit to facilitating the transfer of students from lower-level approved degree programs into higher level Bachelor of Applied Science Programs (BAS) programs, allowing for maximum transfer of credit and a seamless transition of students.

Interested students should meet with an advisor to minimize their time in school and discuss financial aid options.

Accepted Transfer Institutions

Behavioral Healthcare BAS

The following associate degree programs have articulation agreements to facilitate upward transfer into LWTech’s BAS in Behavioral Healthcare.

Cascadia College

• Pre-Nursing DTA/MRP

Columbia Basin College

• Health Science AS

Highline College

• Community Health and Wellness AAS
• Criminal Justice AAS
• Human Services AAS
• Substance Use Disorder Professional AAS (previously CDP)

Whatcom Community College

• Substance Use Disorder Professional AS (previously CDP)

Transportation, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management BAS

The following associate degree programs have articulation agreements to facilitate upward transfer into LWTech’s BAS in Transportation, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management.

Shoreline Community College

• Purchasing & Supply Chain Management AAS AND Purchasing & Supply Chain Management Certificate*

*Students must have both the certificate and the AAS earned to qualify for entry into the program.