Under SUNY's Seamless Transfer Policy, if a student does not agree with an initial decision on the granting or placement of credit earned at a prior SUNY institution, they have the right to submit an appeal. Appeals are escalated to SUNY only after the campus has had an adequate opportunity to address the student concern. Campus faculty and advising professionals are usually the best equipped to address a student's concern, have the best sense of student needs, and can help a student find the path forward.
ⓘ Please see Memorandum to Presidents Vol.13, No. 3.
Because most transfer concerns raised by students are resolved on campus directly, students are required to complete a formal campus appeal first. Students may appeal to SUNY only if they do not agree with the campus response to a formal appeal, or if a campus fails to respond within 15 business days of the formal appeal. SUNY's appeal policy requires campuses to provide a written appeal response to the student detailing the reasons for a denial of the appeal.
A formal campus appeal process will involve a re-evaluation of the course content and learning outcomes using available course materials. Any campus appeal process should involve documented consultation with additional colleagues, and/or an escalation to campus leaders (such as a division head, academic dean, director of advising or chief academic officer) who are charged with accepting appeals, coordinating additional reviews, and rendering decisions.
Campuses will provide the details and steps required for formal campus appeals to students, and publicly share the process on campus web pages. The appeal steps, campus contacts, and required materials should be described within the process and policy. It is recommended that campuses post the policy in online locations that are commonly accessed by new transfer students - such as admissions, advising, or orientation webpages. To ensure the policy is consistently available, it is also recommended that campuses include the appeal process and policy in the campus regulations, catalog or bulletin. In addition to electronic resources, transfer appeal information and forms should also be accessible to students when visiting advising offices and the office of the registrar.
The following SUNY institutions have transfer credit appeal information on their websites that may be used for reference.
Providing online forms with detailed steps and/or providing help guides and information pages can help to ensure you have an accessible student-centered process.
Students are required to complete the formal transfer appeal steps on the campus receiving the credit.
While each campus may require different materials for the transfer appeal process, SUNY guidance to students indicates that they should be prepared to provide their appeal and the course description to support their case. Requested documentation should be limited to required items. Campuses may only require the student to provide items they can reasonably obtain. If a campus determines they need additional course information, it should be requested by the campus.
Once all the required information is received from the student, the campus transfer appeal representative(s) will review and provide a written response within 15 business days. If the campus determines that the appeal should be accepted, the appeal ends, and the campus will simply make the change to the student record.
If the decision is unchanged, or the campus does not formally respond within 15 business days, a student may appeal to SUNY System Administration by submitting the SUNY Transfer Student Appeal Form. Faculty and staff who beleive they may have an appeal forthcoming, are also welcome to contact us directly for guidance.
SUNY representatives will respond to the appeal within five business days to confirm the receipt of the completed application and outline the appeal steps and general timeline. If additional materials are required, the student and/or the campus may be asked to provide them.
If the SUNY appeal decision finds merit to change the course to meet a requirement or provide credit, the campus will be notified to take appropriate action in writing.