Out-of-State Coursework

Sometimes when a student decides to go to an institution outside of Illinois, the need or desire arises to return to Illinois. In these cases, receiving credits for the courses you have taken outside of Illinois can lead to widely varying experiences in how credits for coursework are awarded in transfer. You will find it beneficial to have a plan and be prepared to help your transfer institution award your coursework credit.

What you should expect:
Depending on where you attended out of state, the institution you choose in Illinois may have worked with the institution in student transfer before. If they have, you will find you may not have to provide a lot of additional information to help them determine how the coursework you've taken will work at their institution. We hope this is the case. If your transfer institution in Illinois has not worked with your out-of-state institution much before, they will try to collect information to determine how your courses work with theirs. You may have to provide additional information to help them make these determinations.

Things you can do to receive the maximum credit for your coursework:

• Retain copies of your syllabi as you take your courses. While this will require some storage, it will be a ton of help to your transfer evaluators to see the course content to make determinations on course matches at your new institution
• Keep your out-of-state institutions course catalog on hand or bookmarked in your device. While this information is available via searches and such, you can provide goodwill and assistance in obtaining the information quickly.
• Retain information on assignments, readings, labs, and other course materials. It may not be necessary often but you may find it very beneficial.