Pre-program Credits or Courses

Note: We refer to a “transfer course” as a graduate course taken outside of Boise State University. A “carry-over” course is a graduate course taken at Boise State University. The policies pertaining to each are slightly different. For the purpose of this document, we’ll refer to both Transfer and Carry-over courses (or credit hours) as “pre-program credits,” or PpC.

Limit on total PpC

Graduate College policy allows our program to recommend up to 30 credit hours of PpC to be used toward either EdD program. Thus, if a person had completed 30 hours of course work prior to enrolling in the doctoral program, and all those credit hours are recommended by the coordinator and approved by the Dean, then the student will have 30 credit hours to complete to earn the doctorate.

Students in the EdS/EdTech program can request approval for up to 9 hours of PpC, but that expands to 30 if they then are admitted to the EdD program. Graduates of EdS in Executive Educational Leadership program at BSU can have all 30 hours applied to the EdD should they be admitted to it.

How can the PpC be used?

Previously completed credit hours can be applied to selected “Core” courses, research courses, cognate courses, and elective courses.

If you wish to use any courses from BSU or another university, please complete this separate sheet before listing them on your plan of study. The coordinator will review the courses and let you know what’s possible. Do not list courses that do not match the criteria listed under the “Guidelines & Rules” section below.

What are the age limits on my PpC?

Courses completed five 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 five 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. Only courses taken five years ago (or sooner) would fit within the 10 year window, as one’s “completion clock” starts from the date of the first PpC applied to the plan of study.

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 (linked form its Student Forms page) and submit a one-page letter that justifies why the older course(s) should be approved for use in the plan of study.

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.

See the bottom of this page for a case example.

How does the Transfer/Carry-over & Appeal process work?

There are of course forms that have to be submitted. However, the very first thing to do is to make a copy of the EdD TRANSFER & CARRY-OVER COURSE TEMPLATE, follow the instructions there, and wait for further instructions.

GUIDELINES & POLICIES

• Any course that a student wishes to use as a transfer credit must be consistent with the program of study planned by the student and her/his advisor and supervisory committee.

• No undergraduate course (even upper level) will be recommended as PpC

• Any previously completed course must have a grade of B or better.

• PpC cannot be for graduate courses that are a culminating activity or for experiential learning (ex., portfolio or thesis). Furthermore, no transfer of Comp Exam, Seminar, or Internship hours will be accepted.

• Credits earned for post-graduate work, but which are not graduate courses (ex., professional development workshops) cannot be used for transfer credit.

• Any course used in a plan of study must have been taken at an accredited institution.

• All *transfer* courses that students wish to be considered must be accompanied by an official course syllabus. If the applicable syllabi are entirely unavailable, then evidence of substantive course work can be considered. This will be evaluated as part of the review of credit hours. For carry-over courses (i.e., graduate courses completed at BSU), one does not need syllabi.

• Graduate credits earned either as part of a master’s degree, or taken as part of a graduate degree that was not completed, are eligible for transfer. Courses ineligible would be those restricted by other elements of the transfer course policy.

Who decides about the PpC?

The Research & Doctoral program coordinator is responsible for making the final decision about recommending any PpC for use in a student’s plan of study. When necessary, the coordinator will consult with the student’s research advisor to see if they are comfortable with courses a student is trying to have applied. Ultimately, the Graduate College Dean decides whether or not PpC can be applied, taking into consideration the coordinator’s recommendation.

Do I have to pay anything for my courses to be reviewed or applied to my plan of study?

• No.

How do I find a syllabus for a course that I’ve taken?

You ONLY need a syllabus (or syllabi) for graduate courses taken outside of Boise State University. If you took the course at BSU, no syllabus is necessary. For courses where you’ve not kept (or cannot find) the syllabus, you have a couple of options.

(1) Use a search engine to see if you can find an older copy still around.

(2) Use the “WayBack” machine to see if it’s archived in some corner of the internet.

(3) Reach out to one or more classmates to see if they’ve retained a copy; use LinkedIn or Facebook to find them.

(4) Reach out to the faculty member who taught the course (if they are still employed at the University/College where you took it).

(5) 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

Additional Considerations (for EdD/EdTech)

• All students enrolling in the EdD/EdTech  program will have to take EDTECH 601: Intro to Doctoral Studies. Both cognate and elective requirements can be replaced by previous EDTECH courses (or other approved courses taken at Boise State) that are in keeping with the general policies detailed below.

• For the Ed.D. student seeking the Ed.S., we see two scenarios: 1) The student cannot complete the dissertation (for whatever reason), and her or his committee recommends the Ed.S. as a degree option. 2) The student wishes to earn the Ed.S. while earning the Ed.D.

• In Scenario 1, the student has to formally apply to the Ed.S. program when asked to do so by the doctoral program coordination team. All credits taken toward the Ed.D. (except EDTECH 691 or EDTECH 693) can be applied to the Ed.S. The student must at least complete the Ed.S. capstone course before being awarded the degree. At the completion of the Ed.S., the student will not be admitted to a future Ed.D. cohort.

• In Scenario 2, the student must apply to the Ed.S. program BEFORE the end of her or his first year of studies. The student should be on schedule to complete all Ed.S. cognate and elective courses by the end of his or her second year in the Ed.D. program. Finally, the student must complete the Ed.S. capstone course (which will not count toward the doctorate) in order to earn the Ed.S. In this scenario, the final Ed.S. project must be completed before a student attempts to complete the doctoral comprehensive examination (EDTECH 691)

Additional Considerations (for EdS/EdTech)

Courses taken in BSU’s Educational Technology program can be applied to the Ed.S. program, with the understanding that:

• • The culminating activity for the Ed.S. cannot be replaced by any course already taken in any other program

  • At least 1/2 of the EdS credits must be earned after the student applies to it

  • Credits earned as part of a *completed* master’s degree can only be applied to the EdS program on a case-by-case basis (EDTECH is seeking a program-specific exemption to this policy).

  • At least 15 credit hours of all courses used toward the Ed.S. (not including the culminating activity) must be courses offered by the Department of Educational Technology (EDTECH)

  • All regular course credits earned in the EdS program CAN be used toward the EdD program should a student be admitted to it (the only course that does not carry-over is the capstone course, EDTECH 680)

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.

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).

N.B. The above case example follows procedures and regulations in place as of March 2025.  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.