Consideration of Older Coursework
We can and do consider older courses for use toward your doctoral degree program, but only after a student has been admitted to the program. In such cases, you must file an appeal to the Graduate College that includes a description of how the skills and knowledge from any “older” course is still being maintained and updated even now. For example, if you are a classroom teacher who completed a master’s degree in education a decade ago, then it’s very likely that some courses like “Curriculum Design,” or “Classroom Management” are still very much part of one’s job. Another example might be a course about learner assessment, but over the past number of years, the student (now a school administrator) has done PD for teachers on the topic multiple times.
What are the age limits on my Pre-Program Courses (PpC)?
Courses completed six years ago or sooner (from the start of one’s EdD program) will be recommended and approved if they comply with the guidelines listed in the section below. We can and do consider PpC completed more than six years before one’s start date, but only after a student has been admitted to the program (see “About Older Courses” below).
For the initial PpC request sheet that you will complete at the start of your program (if applicable), you do not need to describe a justification for the older courses; we assume that you can provide it at a later date. For courses taken outside of Boise State University, you must be able to produce a transcript for any PpC you wish to use, no matter its age.
About Older Courses
The goal of the Graduate College is that each doctoral candidate, when they graduate, will have the most current knowledge of topics and research in their field of study. Therefore, it helps if the graduate has done coursework completed within the time allowed to complete the doctorate, which is 10 years. An “older course” is one that was completed more than five years from the time the student starts the doctoral program.
Based on our records for many dozens of EdD graduates, we can project that a student completes the degree in 4.5 years from the time they start. One’s “completion clock” starts from the date of the first PpC applied to the plan of study. Thus, courses taken five years ago (or sooner) would fit within the 10 year window.
PpC that will be more than 10 years old at the projected time of graduation must first be reviewed by the coordinator. After the coordinate gives tacit approval of them, it’s incumbent upon the student to complete the cover page of the Graduate College’s appeal form and submit a one-page letter that justifies why the older course(s) should be approved for use in the plan of study. If this is necessary, we will help you with the process.
The student’s justification for their use or inclusion cannot be a consideration of cost savings or time-to-completion. Instead, the rationale must specify how the knowledge or skills attained in the older course are still relevant to the student’s professional work, or have been updated through professional development, and so on.
The appeal cover page and the letter then get sent to the coordinator, who must submit a letter of recommendation and the appeal packet to the Graduate College. Ultimately, the Graduate College Dean will decide which older credits can, or cannot be, applied. Courses that will be more than about 15 years old at the time of graduation will not be considered for use.
Appeal Process for Courses
[Step 1] Complete the “Transfer Course” and/or the “Carry-over Course” worksheet(s) and share it with coed-rdp@boisestate.edu. You’ll want to be sure your last name appears in the file name when you save it.
[Step 2] Share course information & syllabi with the program area coordinator (PAC). You can do this through a shared Google Folder or via attachments to an email sent to coed-rdp@boisestate.edu
[Step 3] Once the PAC indicates that one can move forward with some or all of the requests listed here, you must initiate compose a 1-page letter that justifies how each older course has impacted your professional life, how you’ve used the knowledge from them regularly, and how you’ve continued to keep the content from the course(s) current since the time they completed them (through PD, training others, etc.)
[Step 4] Complete and sign the cover page for the Graduate Appeal Form (a PDF) and send it as an attachment (or include it with the shared folder of syllabi).
[Step 5] The PAC will also write a letter of support, and it will include the list of courses for the appeal AND include a “Timeline to Degree” for the student’s catalog year. The PAC will send the packet to the Graduate College Dean. Generally speaking the older that the courses are, the less time you’ll have to complete the degree (but it will never be less than five years total).
[5a] If the older courses are being transferred from outside of BSU, then after the receipt of a Graduate College approval of the appeal, the student needs to complete the Transfer Request Form. The form can only be initiated if one is logged in with BSU credentials.
[5b] If the courses are from BSU, there are no other forms to complete at this moment. Carry-over credits will be placed on the “Application for Admission to Candidacy” form when it is time to complete that (close to Comp Exam).
Once the transfer form appears in the BSU Perceptive, the program coordinator will sign it. If there are questions about course replacements, the program coordinator will seek input from the professors who teach those courses and/or the student’s advisor.
Finding Syllabi for Older Courses
For courses where you’ve not kept (or cannot find) the syllabus, you have a couple of options.
- Use a search engine to see if you can find an older copy still around.
- Use the “”WayBack”” machine to see if it’s archived in some corner of the internet.
- Reach out to one or more classmates to see if they’ve retained a copy
- Reach out to the faculty member who taught the course (if they are still employed at the University/College where you took it).
- Reach out to someone in the department and/or program area where you took the course to see if they have an archive.
Even if the only thing that can be provided is a syllabus that is “”younger”” than the course you took, we might still be able to use it if the course has not undergone significant changes. We cannot endorse for transfer any course (old or new) that is not accompanied by at least that part of the transcript that describes work requirements and grading.
A Case Example of Older Courses
Janice is a middle school teacher, one of the school’s specialists in neurodivergent learners and those who have differing physical or psychological needs. She’s been admitted to the EdD/C&I program, which she’ll start in Fall 2025. She started a M.A.Ed. in 2017 and completed it in 2021 (she would have finished in Summer 2020, but … the pandemic). She completed one introductory research course, another covering curriculum development, and the balance are courses related to special education. She has also completed two graduate courses as part of the Boise State University Ed.S. in Educational Technology program in 2023, but did not complete that program. At the start of her doctoral program, she has about 15 credit hours that are between 6-8 years old, and a few courses are 4-5 years old, and two courses that are now two years old. Janice would like to use as many PpC as possible toward her degree.
Janice completed the transfer worksheet to all of the courses from her M.A.Ed. completed at Kansas State University and the two others from BSU, for a total of 36 credit hours.
N.B. The case example follows procedures and regulations in place as of Spring 2026. Actual policy will be followed at the time the student makes a request, and this may or may not be reflected above at that exact time.
KSU Course 1. Education generalist course, Fall 2017, Grade: A-
Example of our Evaluation: The course is 8 years old. Janice can submit an appeal for the course to be used as part of her plan of study. She can show continuous use of the course knowledge, and how it’s been updated via professional development, for the past several years as part of her job. She will need the syllabus from KSU to accompany her appeal. The 3 credits will count toward her cognate requirement.
KSU Course 2. Advanced Educational Psychology, Fall 2017, Grade: B-
Example of our Evaluation: Courses (either transfer or carry-over) have to have a grade of B or better to be used for a degree plan. Since her grade was a B-, she will not be able to use it.
KSU Course 3. Course focused on Special Education, Spring 2018, Grade: A
Example of our Evaluation: 7 years old. Janice can submit an appeal for the course to be used as part of her plan of study. She can show continuous use of the course knowledge, and how it’s been updated via professional development, for the past several years as part of her job. She will need the syllabus from KSU to accompany her appeal. The 3 credits will count toward her cognate requirement.
KSU Course 4. Course focused on Special Education, Summer 2018, Grade: A
Example of our Evaluation: 7 years old. Janice can submit an appeal for the course to be used as part of her plan of study. She can show continuous use of the course knowledge, and how it’s been updated via professional development, for the past several years as part of her job. She will need the syllabus from KSU to accompany her appeal. The 3 credits will count toward her cognate requirement.
KSU Course 5. Course focused on Special Education, Summer 2018, Grade: A
Example of our Evaluation: 7 years old. Janice can submit an appeal for the course to be used as part of her plan of study. She can show continuous use of the course knowledge because she helps instruct new teachers in the content she had for the class. She will need the syllabus from KSU to accompany her appeal. The 3 credits will count toward her cognate requirement.
KSU Course 6. Curriculum course, Spring 2019, Grade: A
Example of our Evaluation: 6 years old. The course is “one the border” with respect to age, but Janice can provide a solid rationale for how she uses this knowledge and how it’s updated regularly. She will need the syllabus from KSU to accompany her appeal. The 3 credits will count toward a core requirement for the EdD C&I, EDU 641: Curriculum
KSU Course 7. Intro to Research in Ed course, Fall 2019, Grade: A-
Example of our Evaluation: 6 years old, but it cannot be appealed for use in Janice’s plan of study because she has not done any research projects since taking this class. It would behoove her to refresh her research knowledge in any case, as the EdD is a research-based degree program.
KSU Course 8. Education generalist course, Spring 2020, Grade: A-
Example of our Evaluation: 4 years old. No appeal is necessary. This can be listed on the Transfer Request form. She will need the syllabus from KSU to accompany her appeal. The 3 credits will count toward her cognate requirement.
KSU Course 9: Education generalist course, Spring 2021, Grade: B+
Example of our Evaluation: 4 years old. No appeal is necessary. This can be listed on the Transfer Request form. She will need the syllabus from KSU to accompany her appeal. The 3 credits will count toward her cognate requirement.
KSU Course 10. MA.Ed. Final Project, Spring 2021, Grade: Pass
Example of our Evaluation: This cannot be listed as a transfer credit because it’s a capstone course.
BSU Course 1. Ed.S. in EDTECH degree program, EDTECH 513, Spring 2023, Grade: A
BSU Course 2. Ed.S. in EDTECH degree program, EDTECH 541, Summer 2023, Grade: A+
These are “carry-over” courses, no syllabus is necessary, and they do not get listed on a “Transfer Request” form. They will appear on the Janice’s plan of study worksheet, and made official on Graduate College forms that are submitted after about 18-24 months into the program. The courses become part of her “Cognate” requirement for the EdD C&I.
OVERALL EXAMPLE EVALUATION
Janice has a total of 12 graduate courses, 7 of which are eligible for transfer, and 2 of which are “carry over” courses. She cannot use KSU #2 because of a lower grade, KSU #7 because of lack of ongoing use, and KSU #10 because it’s a capstone course.
The KSU courses #1, #3, #4, #5, and #6 have to be accompanied by the Graduate College appeal forms and letters. Each must have a syllabus to accompany the transfer request (which happens after the appeal is granted).
KSU courses #8 and #9 can be listed on the Graduate College’s Request for Approval of Transfer courses (with attached syllabi); no appeal is necessary. The two BSU carry-over courses meet the grade and content requirements and these can be applied to her plan of study; no “transfer request” is necessary.
A student normally has 10 years to complete the Ed.D. program. However, given the age of the earlier courses, that timeline is shortened somewhat. In the appeal to the Graduate College, the coordinator’s letter of support will indicate that the approval of 6-8 year old courses means the student has to complete the Ed.D. by 2031 (so, within 6 years). At that time, the oldest course will be 14 years old. Six years is well within the time people typically complete their doctoral program. If the student needs yet more time after 2031, a new appeal has to be created and it’s possible the oldest courses will no longer be considered. Keep in mind that the student’s “completion clock” starts from the earliest date of courses on the student’s plan of study.
In the end, the Graduate Dean approves the appeal for the five older courses. Janice then completes the necessary forms for a request for transfer. One course (KSU #6) will take the place of EdD core course EDU 641, as it’s the same content. The other courses (KSU #1, #3, #4, #5, #8, #9 and BSU #1 & #2) are applied to Janice’s “cognate” requirement. The eight courses applied to the cognate total to 24 credit hours, which means Janice will have to complete one more course to complete the 26 hour cognate requirement. In total, Janice used 27 total hours toward her Ed.D., meaning she has to complete 33 more credit hours (23 hours of course work, 1 hour of comp exam, and 9 hours of Dissertation).
