Many students are coming to DVC having already earned some units either at another U.S. college or university, or at a foreign institution. How can you find out if those units can help you meet your academic goal at DVC?
First, if your units are from a U.S. college or university: Make sure that DVC has an official copy of your transcript(s) in your file. Then, schedule a counseling appointment with me, being sure to tell the scheduler that you have units from another school. The scheduler will ask you questions about your academic goal, so be sure you have identified a goal by then. About two or three weeks later, you will come for your appointment, and I will have your file. In it will be an official evaluation of your units from DVC's Admissions and Records office. In the meantime, I can help you guess how your units might be applied to your requirements at DVC, but until I have the official report from DVC's A&R, I cannot provide you with exact information. If your units are from another California community college, you can use http://www.assist.org to determine how those units can meet your goal to transfer to CSU or UC.
Second, if your units are from a foreign college or university: DVC can use foreign-earned units ONLY as elective units; those units cannot be applied toward the DVC Associate's degree General Education requirements. They might be applicable to a DVC major, but you would have to talk to someone in the major department regarding that issue. So, if your goal is to earn an associate's degree from DVC, you must get an evaluation of your foreign-earned units from an outside agency, as DVC does not employee foreign transcript evaluators. This link will take you to a list of agencies from which you can choose: http://www.naces.org. My advice is to choose the least expensive agency. Once DVC has received an official copy of the evaluation from the agency, schedule an appointment with me, and when you come for your appointment, I will have a report from DVC's Admissions and Records office explaining how many units you can use as electives. If you want to use those units toward a DVC major, then you'll have to visit the appropriate academic department.
If your goal is to transfer to a CSU or a UC, DO NOT get an evaluation of your foreign-earned units from a private agency. CSU's and UC's employee their own foreign transcript evaluators. When you apply to the CSU or UC, you will be required to submit official copies of ALL of the colleges and universities you have attended, both here in the U.S. and in other countries. This is required; you cannot hide foreign-earned units. Attempting to do so could result in your being denied admissions at ANY of the CSU or UC campuses. If you plan to transfer to a private or out-of-state university, you need to read that university's website to determine their expectations. I am unable to tell you about the requirements of private and out-of-state universities.
