Community College Transfer
DSXX-Distributive Studies Wildcard
The DSXX designation is used only for at Maryland Community college students transferring to the University of Maryland who have not earned an associate’s degree, or students from USM four year schools who have not earned a bachelor’s degree or who do not have a completed a General Education package from their institution.
Please note that when a student has attended multiple institutions, the University will follow the requirements of the most recently attended school.
The Maryland Higher Education Commission requires that the University accept general education courses from Maryland public higher education institutions. General education courses from Maryland public colleges and universities that do not carry designations in our new General Education program will be given the designation of DSXX (“Distributive Studies Wildcard”). These DSXX designated courses may be used to satisfy Distributive Studies requirements (Humanities, History and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Scholarship in Practice) in a transfer student’s general education. DSXX cannot be used to satisfy Fundamental Studies, I-Series, Understanding Plural Societies or Cultural Competence; nor can DSXX courses be used to replace the four-credit laboratory requirement. Only those DSXX courses taken prior to transferring to the University of Maryland are applicable to a student’s general education.
Please note: Students who have earned an associate’s degree will be considered to have completed all general education courses with the exception of Professional Writing and additional courses in order to fulfill the 40 credit minimum required general education courses. Students with associate’s degrees or who have completed the general education requirements at the sending institutions are not required to complete a course by course articulation. The DSXX designation is used only for students transferring to the University of Maryland who have not earned an associate’s degree. Students who have earned Bachelors’ degrees do not need any additional General Education courses.
Because the general education requirements are different at each school, the maximum number of courses/credits that are acceptable to the University of Maryland’s General Education program vary.
Below is a chart that indicates the number of DSXX courses that the University of Maryland will accept.
| School | DSXX |
|---|---|
| School Allegany College of Maryland | DSXX 2 courses or 6 credits |
| School Anne Arundel Community College | DSXX 2 courses or 6 credits |
| School Baltimore City Community College | DSXX up to 8 credits |
| School Carroll Community College | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Cecil Community College | DSXX none |
| School Chesapeake College | DSXX 2 courses or 6 credits |
| School College of Southern Maryland | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Fredrick Community College | DSXX 2 courses or 6 credits |
| School Garrett Community College | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Hagerstown Community College | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Harford Community College | DSXX none |
| School Howard Community College | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Montgomery College | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Prince Georges Community College | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School The Community College of Baltimore | DSXX up to 8 credits |
| School Wor-Wic Community College | DSXX none |
Below is a chart that indicates the number of DSXX courses that the University of Maryland will accept.
| School | DSXX |
|---|---|
| School Bowie State University | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Coppin State University | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Frostburg State University | DSXX 2 courses or 6 credits |
| School Morgan State University | DSXX 2 courses or 6 credits |
| School Salisbury University | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School Towson University | DSXX 1 course or 3 credits |
| School University of Baltimore | DSXX 2 courses or 6 credits |
| School University of Maryland, Baltimore County | DSXX 1 course or 3-4 credits |
| School University of Maryland, Eastern Shore | DSXX 2 courses or 4 credits |
| School University of Maryland, University College | DSXX 2 courses or 7 credits |
Verifying Previous Degrees for New Transfer Students
COMAR 13B.06.01.04 (Code of Maryland Regulations ) states that “A completed general education program shall transfer without further review or approval by the receiving institution and without the need for a course-by-course match.” (http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/comarhtml/13b/13b.06.01.04.htm)
COMAR applies to students transferring from a Maryland public community college or a USM 4-year institution.
A student transferring from a Maryland public community college with an associate’s degree has completed general education except for any upper level requirements and the number of credits required to complete general education (40 credits for GenEd or 43 credits for CORE).
Transfer Credit Services reviews each Maryland community college transcript over 50 credits to determine if a degree has been earned. Advisors should check the PI (Previous Institutions) screen in SIS to determine if the previous associate’s degree has been verified.
Check Previous Institution Degree Verification Status
To check to see if a degree from a previous institution has been verified or not:
- Go to the PI screen in SIS.
- Place the cursor on the institution in which you want to check.
- Press F5 to expand the PI screen.
D Degree has been Verified
Z Degree has NOT been Verified
If there is not a type listed, the degree has not yet been reviewed. Please contact Transfer Credit Services at transfercredit@umd.edu to request the student’s degree be verified.
How do I determine how many more credits a student with an Associate’s degree from a Maryland public community college needs to take in order to complete general education at UMD?
First, determine if the student is under GenEd or CORE:
What’s the difference between general education, GenEd and CORE?
All students must complete general education requirements as part of their degree program. Currently there are two general education programs: GenEd or CORE. When referring to the specific requirement of general education, students are either under GenEd (newer program, see http://gened.umd.edu/documents/GenEdTransferPolicy.pdf) or the old general education requirements, CORE.
Second, review the transcript to determine the remaining requirements a student needs.
Most associate’s degrees in the state of Maryland require 30-34 general education credits. However, some associate’s degrees, such as the Associate of Applied Science (not to be confused with the Associate of Science in Engineering) or the Associate of Fine Arts, require significantly fewer general education credits.
Completed general education packages (without completion of a degree)
When a student states that he/she has completed the general education package at a previous Maryland public community college, UMD must verify this on a case by case basis. Please ask the student to have a letter sent from the community college to Transfer Credit Services stating that his/her general education package has been satisfied.
Mail letter to:
Transfer Credit Services
Office of the Registrar
1130 Mitchell Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Once this verification is received, the student’s PI screen in SIS will be updated with Type G stating that the general education package is satisfied. The process of determining the number of credits a student must complete at UMD for GenEd or CORE is the same if the student has satisfied the general education package or an associate’s degree from a Maryland public community college (total of 43 Core Credits or 40 GenEd credits).
G. General Education Package Satisfied
General Education
Students with associates’ degrees from Maryland community colleges under the GenEd program must complete Professional Writing and any additional credits to complete a total of 40 general education credits. The University cannot specify any area of general education beyond Professional Writing that students must complete.
Examples
Associate’s Degree GenEd, Example AA
and
Associate’s Degree GenEd, Example AAS
Students who have completed the Associate’s degree from a Maryland community college need to complete a total of 40 credits of GenEd. However, many of those credits may have been completed while still at the community college. Remember to count all the GenEd credits. For example, a student may have an AAS from Alleghany College which requires 20 credits, but the student may have taken 17 additional credits in what we would consider general education. This student has earned 37 general education credits and will only need Professional Writing once he/she transfers.
Other students may need additional GenEd credits at UMD. Please look to see if any of the student’s major courses have GenEd designations. For example, CCJS students are required to take CCJS300 as part of their major. CCJS300 is a Scholarship in Practice course. An advisor should consider the fact that a CCJS student will earn 3 more GenEd credits as part of the major. These 3 credits can be used to complete a total of 40 GenEd credits.
Students are allowed a certain number of DSXX –Distributive Studies Wildcard credits toward their GenEd requirements (based on their community college). However, if the student has earned an Associate’s degree, he/she may count all DSXX credits toward the 40 GenEd credits.
Example:
Associate’s degree with additional GenEd credits (and additional DSXX credits)
CORE
Students under CORE must complete Professional Writing (unless exempt due to earning an A in ENGL101) and two Advanced Studies courses. Students in the CORE program must earn a total of 43 general education credits (not GenEd). Once Professional Writing and Advanced Studies are completed and additional coursework is necessary to reach 43 credits, the University cannot specify an area of CORE that the student must complete.
Examples:
Associate’s degree CORE, Example 1(2 examples-AA and AAS)
Associate’s degree verified and no requirement of Professional Writing
What if the student states he/she has an Associate’s degree but it has not yet been verified?
For the purposes of advising notes, please use the following language as a guide to document that the student believes he/she has an Associate’s (or Bachelor’s) degree:
“Student states he has earned an Associate’s degree from Montgomery College. Student is under the Gen Ed program. Therefore, student must complete Professional Writing (PW) and xx credits in any general education course work that will bring the student to 40 general education credits. Student must provide the University with official transcripts that verify that the Associate’s degree is valid. If the student does not have an Associate’s degree, he has been told that he needs xx, xx and xx.”
Advising notes should be clear and the student should understand what he/she needs to complete if the degree (or general education package) is not validated.
If the student has not yet done so, please ask him/her to submit official transcripts with degree information to:
Office of the Registrar
1113 Mitchell Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
PLEASE NOTE: if a student has completed an Associate’s degree from a non-Maryland public institution, the student must have a course-by-course review of general education requirements.
Examples: