Transferring Courses to Western

Transferring courses from a Washington community college

Western has compiled a listing of Washington community college courses which are equivalent to Western courses. The complete listing for all Washington community colleges is provided on the Office of Admissions website at www.admissions.wwu.edu/transfer/. This list includes information not only for business courses, but for other courses as well.  This list also includes the names of the specific Associates transfer degrees that are accepted by Western. Students with transfer degrees are generally considered to have met their General Undergraduate Requirements (GURs).

Transferring courses from a 4-year Washington state university

Western has compiled a listing of courses from Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, University of Washington, and Washington State University which are equivalent to Western courses. The complete listing for these 4-year Washington state universities is provided on the Office of Admissions website at http://admissions.wwu.edu/. This list includes information not only for business courses, but for other courses as well. Courses not listed may be evaluated, at the request of the student, on an individual basis. The transfer equivalency form and instructions are available in the "Transfer Student Information" section of Applying to CBE on the College of Business and Economics website.

Transferring accounting or business courses from a college or university outside Washington state

An overall evaluation of course equivalents is done by the Office of Admissions once a student commences studies at Western. In addition, a specific evaluation of the seven business foundation courses is done by the College of Business and Economics (Parks Hall 419) at the time a student applies for admission to the College of Business and Economics. Other accounting and business courses may be evaluated, at the request of the student, on an individual basis. The transfer equivalency form and instructions are available in the "Transfer Student Information" section of Applying to CBE on the College of Business and Economics website.

Transferring non-business courses from a college or university outside Washington state

An overall evaluation of course equivalents is done by transfer credit evaluators in the Office of Admissions at or about the time that the student starts classes at Western. These evaluators determine which specific courses count as replacements for General Undergraduate Requirements (GURs) at Western. The College of Business and Economics does not evaluate the transferability of non-business courses.

Running Start

Running Start credits earned through Running Start are community college credits and are accepted by Western as such. A listing of Washington community college courses which are equivalent to Western courses for all Washington community colleges is provided on the Office of Admissions website at www.admissions.wwu.edu/transfer/.

Maximum Number of Credits Transferable from a Community College

Effective fall 2005, Western Washington University allows a maximum of 105 lower division credits to transfer in from any combination of regionally accredited 2-year and 4-year colleges.  While additional credits earned at the community college level don't count toward your degree at Western, they may be used toward the hours needed for the "5th year" if you choose to pursue CPA certification and licensing.

Courses to take at a community college

Ideally, you should have a transfer degree AND have completed the equivalent of the seven business foundation courses before arriving at Western. The equivalents for these seven courses for Washington community colleges are listed on the following website: www.ac.wwu.edu/~admit/bus_ccequiv.html, and for Washington 4-year universities are listed at www.ac.wwu.edu/~admit/bus_univequiv.html. We have binding contracts with the Washington schools for these courses. Transfer credits from other colleges and universities are evaluated on a course-by-course basis.

Graduating in two years with a transferable AA from Community College

Yes, you should be able to finish a BA in Accounting within two years assuming you take ACCT 341, 342, 343 in sequence your first 3 quarters, AND you take at least 15 credits per quarter. (This assumes that you have completed the seven business foundation courses prior to your arrival at Western.) If you have completed the seven business foundation courses, have a transfer degree (and therefore have 90 credits transfer to Western), 76 additional credits of accounting and business courses are required for the BA in Accounting. Since 180 total credits are required to get a Bachelors Degree from Western, you will still have 14 credits to take (180 credits – (90 transfer credits + 76 additional credits for the accounting major) = 14 credits remaining). In order to comply with the AACSB accreditation 50/50 rule, no more than 6 of these 14 credits may be business courses. In other words, at least 8 of the 14 credits must be courses outside of the College of Business and Economics.

MATH 157 (Business Calculus) 

If you have not taken MATH 157 (or its equivalent) before arriving at Western, you must take the Math Placement Test to determine which Math courses (if any) you must take before taking MATH 157. MATH 157 is one of the seven business foundation courses, so should be completed as early as possible.

Scholarships

A number of scholarships are available for qualifying CBE students. For more information please see the CBE Scholarship page. 

Declaring a Major or Minor

Program Options: Majors and Minor

The primary degree offered by the Department of Accounting is the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting (B.A. Accounting). We also offer combined majors with Computer Science and Economics. For detailed information about each of these options, see Plans of Study. If you have any questions, or if you need help deciding which option is for you, consult any Accounting faculty member (we're all advisors!), or stop by Parks Hall 451 to ask Marty Hitchcock (our Academic Departmental Manager) to introduce you to a faculty member.

Declaration Requirements

To be eligible to declare as an accounting major (or other business administration major) a student must meet one of the following requirements:

1. Have a cumulative GPA of not less than 2.50, or
2. Complete the following seven business foundation courses (or their transfer equivalents) with a GPA of not less than 2.75:
   ACCT 240, ACCT 245, ECON 206, ECON 207, DSCI 205, MGMT 271, and MATH 157

Declaration Procedures

The application procedure to declare a major in Accounting is as follows:

1. Be admitted to Western Washington University. See the Office of Admissions website for further information.
2. Complete an on-line "Application for Admission" form for the College of Business and Economics (CBE), available on the CBE web site. This form allows each applicant to the College of Business and Economics to select a major or concentration.
3. Attach copies of all College/University transcripts (unofficial transcripts are okay for this purpose) and electronically submit the form. (This should be done early in the quarter and definitely no later than two weeks prior to the time that phone registration begins for the following quarter.)
4. The Department of Accounting will notify each applicant in writing of the action taken on the application. Successful applicants will be assigned a faculty advisor, and will be designated as a pre-major, provisional major, or major in accounting.

Pre-major

If a student has not yet completed the business foundation courses, the student is designated as a "pre-major" upon completion of the application process, providing that the student meets the admission criteria for the College of Business and Economics. Pre-majors are assigned a faculty advisor in their major, but may not yet register for courses that are restricted to majors.

Provisional major

Students may apply for provisional admission during the quarter they are finishing the last of their seven business foundation courses. (This should be done at least 2 weeks prior to pre-registration. If you are already a pre-major, contact the Dean's Office in PH 419 to change your status to provisional. If not, you must complete the College of Business and Economics application process.) A provisional admission request may be made only once. Students with provisional major status may register for courses that are restricted to majors only. At the end of the quarter, each provisional major's record is reviewed to determine if the remaining foundation courses were successfully completed. If they were successfully completed, the student becomes a full major. If not, the student's registration in the restricted classes is canceled.

How do I become a full major in Accounting?

Full major status is granted once the student has successfully completed the seven business foundation courses. If the provisional status procedure (above) was not followed, students must notify the Dean's Office in PH 419 that the foundation courses have been completed.

Information for Accounting Minors

A minor at Western is not officially declared. To complete a minor in Accounting, follow the Plan of Study for minors and ask an accounting faculty member for advisement whenever needed. At least two quarters prior to graduation, plan to see the department administrative assistant for a minor evaluation. When you submit your Degree Application to the Registrar's Office, you will need to turn in your minor evaluation along with your major evaluation.

In What Order Should I take courses for the Major in Accounting?

Getting Assistance

If you need help or any other information, contact 

or any Accounting Faculty member.

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