Transferring Academic Credits Earned in Distance Calculus

Most Distance Calculus students are enrolled - or planning to be enrolled - at other colleges or universities.

The #1 question most new prospective students have about taking a Distance Calculus course is:

"Will the credits I earn in Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University courses transfer back to my home college or university?"

The basic answer is: Yes, Probably

We cannot guarantee your academic credits earned in a Distance Calculus course will transfer to your college, university, or high school. The acceptance of academic credits and articulation (= matching up to a particular course) is a decision that the accepting college/university must make.

Many students in our Distance Calculus program are supplementing their academic transcripts - perhaps adding to degrees already earned from another college or university - with mathematics course completions on official academic transcripts for the purposes of graduate school applications. In these cases, students are not actually transferring the credits to these graduate schools, but rather simply proving - via Official Academic Transcripts from an Accredited Institution of Higher Learning - that they satisfy the application prerequisites for a particular graduate program.

Many Distance Calculus students do actually transfer these credits to another college/university via Official Academic Transcripts.

The main three tests for transferring credits from one academic institution to another academic institution are the following:

• Earned Credits from a Regionally-Accredited Academic Institution
  

  Roger Williams University is regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) to award associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees. Contact the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) for questions about the accreditation of Roger Williams University.

• Courses to be Transferred Match at Home Institution
  

  The receiving college/university of transferring credits will want to make sure that the "Calculus I" taken via Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University matches their "Calculus I".

  The topics in lower and upper division mathematics courses are very standard throughout the world. In almost all cases, "Calculus I" via Distance Calculus covers the same topics as "Calculus I" taught at any other institution, for example.

• Pre-Approval for Transfer
  

  Many colleges/universities will offer their students pre-approval of a transfer course plan, evaluating if a particular course matches up to the courses they offer in course title, course description, number of credits, and course syllabus.

  Sometimes this pre-approval of a transfer course plan can be granted by an academic advisor; often the request for pre-approval must be approved by the Registrar, and perhaps the Major department involved. Each institution operates a little differently.

Transferring Earned Credits Through Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University to Other Colleges/Universities

Here is a video discussing the question of Transferability of Academic Credits from Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University.

Credit-Hours

The issue of "credit-hours" does play a role. At some institutions, Calculus I is 4 credit-hours. At other institutions, Calculus I is 3 credit-hours. Sometimes Calculus I is 5 credit-hours!

Distance Calculus offers all of its mathematics courses as earning SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS.

• For transferring to an institution operating on a 3 semester credit-hour model, 4 credit-hour courses usually transfer easily, since 4 > 3.
• For transferring to an institution operating on a 4 semester credit-hour model (the most common in the U.S.), 4 = 4, so transferring is most natural.
• For the rare institution that operates on a 5 semester credit hour model, you will need to contact these institutions and confirm that they will accept a 4 semester credit-hour course. Usually they will, since most other institutions are on the 4 semester credit course model.
• Some institutions are on the Quarter system, rather than Semesters. There are various conversion formulas for converting semester credits to quarter credits. If your institution is on the quarter system, you are probably aware of how this transfer conversion works.

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ASK YOUR REGISTRAR OR DEPARTMENT/MAJOR FIRST

The golden key to success in transferring academic credits from Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University to your home institution is discuss with your Registrar and/or Department Major about your plans FIRST. Usually an email with the Registrar's office will suffice.

"Hi Registrar,

I would like your pre-approval to take a transfer course.

I wish to take Calculus I from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, USA via their Distance Calculus program.

RWU Course: DMAT 253 - STEM Calculus I - 4 Semester Credit-Hours

Attached is their course syllabus PDF.

I seek your pre-approval for this course transfer plan"

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Academic Transcripts from Roger Williams University

Many applicants ask: "Will the academic transcripts from Roger Williams University say this course was completed in distance?"

The answer is: No.

Calculus I is Calculus I. Completing the course watching lectures in a classroom doing homework on paper vs watching lectures on-line and completing computer based homework in a mastery learning format is .... still Calculus I.

The Official Academic Transcript from RWU will have this information:

ROGER WILLIAMS UNVERISTY OFFICIAL ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPT
Course				TITLE				CREDITS				TERM				GRADE
DMAT 253			STEM Calculus I			4				Fall 2025 			B