Earn Your Associate's Degree Through Reverse Transfer
Through reverse transfer, WGU students can use the academic credits they have earned in their WGU coursework to satisfy associate's degree requirements at a community college. If you completed some credits at your community college (but not enough to earn an associate's degree), reverse transfer allows you to transfer your credits BACK to fulfill the two-year degree program requirements. It's a way to add a valuable credential to your education!
Start the process by completing the steps below!
Participating Community Colleges
WGU has reverse transfer agreements with all of its partner community colleges. View the list of these institutions.
Instructions for Participation
- Log into your student portal
- Select Student Support from the top
- Select Student Services from the drop down
- Select the FERPA Authorization Release Form
- Select Reverse Transfer
- Consent must be set for long term use
- Organization Name must be "National Student Clearinghouse"
- Enter Full Name
- Accept terms
- Select submit at the bottom of the form.
- You will receive a confirmation email that your FERPA Authorization Request for Reverse Transfer Participation has been processed.
Criteria for Notification
If you have transferred to WGU from one of our partner community colleges and you have a cumulative total of at least 65 credit hours (this number may be higher, as it is dependent upon the criteria established by the individual community colleges) you may be eligible for the potential awarding of your earned associate's degree. By submitting the form, you are giving WGU permission to submit your transcript information to your transferring community college for evaluation of credits.
* If you do not meet the criteria set forth above but have a combination of credits earned that may meet the requirements to earn an associate's degree at one of our partner community colleges, please follow “What steps do I take to begin the process?”. Your records will be included in the review by your community college.
If you attended other schools and have credits that may also be applied toward a possible associate degree from one or our partner community colleges, please have those transcripts sent also. See the Contact Information section for the appropriate address to send transcripts.
Contact information:
Western Governors University
ATTN: Office of the Registrar
4001 South 700 East, Suite 300
Salt Lake City, UT 84107-2533
Reverse Transfer FAQs
Reverse Transfer is a process where academic credits for course work completed at a four-year university are transferred back to your community college to satisfy associate degree requirements. Some students transfer into four-year universities before completing an associate degree at a community college, with a percentage of this group gaining a bachelor’s degree eventually through a combination of credits from both institutions. Through Reverse Transfer, a student’s achievements are recognized with an associate degree after they have transferred to a four-year school and have accumulated the credits needed to fulfill the two-year degree program requirements.
There is no cost associated with reverse transfer as a student of WGU. Our community college partners may, or may not, charge a fee at their discretion.
The associate's degree is a marketable credential for your résumé and an important milestone in your education. Employers value the associate's degree as evidence of your commitment to expanding your knowledge and achieving your educational goals. The associate's degree can make a difference in your long-term success:
- An associate's degree can provide better job opportunities while completing your bachelor’s degree.
- The associate's degree is the nation’s fastest growing work credential; employers recognize its value when recruiting and hiring.
- Students who earn an associate's degree are more likely to complete their bachelor’s degree.
- Not only does WGU want to be a good partner to our community colleges and help them to achieve reportable completion rates, but we also want to help our students. In the unfortunate event a student must abandon their baccalaureate studies before earning their degree at WGU, they can, through reverse transfer, earn an academic credential.
Complete the online form on this page. This will be automatically sent to the registrar’s office at WGU.
- By completing and submitting the form, you are giving permission to WGU and the National Student Clearinghouse to send your transcript to your previous community college for coursework evaluation for the purpose of a possible associate's degree award.
- Each community college partner determines their own eligibility requirements (number of credits completed before transferring to WGU, academic standing, etc.).
- You will be contacted by your community college with the results of your review.
No. Sending the WGU transcript to your community college does not guarantee the granting of a degree. The courses you take at WGU (or any other college or university) will be evaluated by your community college. The granting of the degree remains at the discretion of and is subject to the degree and residency requirements of the community college, which will be the degree-granting institution.
Possibly. You will have to contact your community college for additional information on this topic.
