Academic advising is one of the many ways in which students engage with faculty on an individual basis. After completing registration, each student is assigned a faculty advisor in his/her major area of interest. The faculty advisor and student work together to craft a unique and individual academic plan based on the student’s strengths and calling. Students who have not declared a major are assigned to a faculty advisor who is specially trained to work with students who are still exploring their strengths and calling.

Lee University hopes the advising relationship will be an ongoing ‘conversation’ that goes beyond mere course selection and will enable the student to explore the breadth of the liberal arts curriculum, focus on the major concentration, and prepare for life after Lee.

The academic advisor is a mentor and a guide. Students have to right to expect accurate information (to the best of his/her knowledge) from their faculty advisors. Advisors have the right to expect that their advisees will take ownership of their academic progress and accept the consequences of their academic decisions.

For questions about the advising process or to request reassignment to a new advisor, contact the Office of Academic Services.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has authorized each institution to review and decide for itself how much if any, credit will be accepted from other educational institutions. Therefore, Lee University has adopted the following policy regarding the review process for transfer work from post-secondary schools that are accredited, non-accredited, and outside the United States.

Transfer of credit shall not be denied solely on the basis of the agency or association that accredited such other institution of higher education if that agency or association is recognized by the Secretary of the Department of Education pursuant to Section 496 to be a reliable authority as to the quality of the education or training offered. Transfer of credit is the result of an academic review process which may include the registrar, the dean and/or chair of respective departments, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Requests for transcript review will be submitted to the Director of Academic Services in a timely manner. During non-registration periods, at least one week will be allowed for review. However, during peak registration periods, at least two weeks will be allowed for the complete review process. Furthermore, if transcripts from multiple institutions are being reviewed, original transcripts from each institution will be required and all coursework will be reviewed separately and individually.

For schools accredited by agencies recognized by the Council for Higher Education and Accreditation (CHEA) or the Secretary of the Department of Education, Lee University will review and accept all coursework and the corresponding letter grade earned for courses which are comparable to those offered by Lee. For courses for which Lee does not offer an equivalent, credit for related electives will be considered. A review committee which may consist of the registrar, respective deans/chairs, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs will make the final decision on credit awarded. If accreditation cannot be established, the transcript will be treated as if from a non-accredited institution.

For schools in which accreditation cannot be established, Lee reserves the right to examine coursework requested to be transferred to the Lee transcript. Each transcript will be considered individually and separately. Letter grades will not be given; only pass-fail status will be recorded on the transcript. Documentation required for transcript review is the following:

• Original transcript
• A school catalog (for course comparison)
• A description of faculty credentials (if not included in the catalog)
• Proof that the school is post-high school
• A research means, such as web-site and/or phone number. Securing this documentation is the responsibility of the student.

Grading systems and coursework vary greatly outside the United States. Therefore, in order for international transfer students to receive full credit for their post-high school educational experience, they will be required to submit all transcripts from international education institutions to World Education Services (WES) for credit review for a course-by-course academic credit evaluation. The fee for this service is the responsibility of the student requesting the services. Instructions for submitting a transcript for review can be found at www.wes.org. This website provides specific submission instructions for each country. The transfer work will not be added to the Lee transcript until the official academic credit report is received from WES. Lee University reserves the right to further review all courses that are being transferred to Lee. International transfer credits with a WES evaluation will be recorded on the Lee transcript with letter grades as reported by the WES analysis. International transfer credits without a WES Evaluation will be recorded with a pass-fail status (if the courses are deemed transferrable to the Lee transcript).

Any student entering Lee University for the first time in Fall 2009 or later is eligible to be considered for the A.A./A.S. Transfer Agreement. Under this agreement, any student who has completed an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree from an accredited post-secondary institution will be considered to have met all general education requirements at Lee University, with the following exceptions:

1. Students will be required to take one religion course each semester for up to 4 semesters. [The student teaching semester for education majors will be excluded.]
2. Students will be required to complete 10 clock hours of service for each non-summer semester they are enrolled at Lee up to 40 hours.
3. Students will be required to complete LEEU-102A Global Perspectives Seminar, LEEU-102B Foundations of Benevolence, and either GNST-251/2/3 (a study abroad experience offered through Lee) or GNST-250 (an individually arranged and approved experience).
4. Students will be required to complete any pre-requisites for upper-division courses.
5. Students enrolled in Bachelor of Arts (.BA) academic programs will be required to complete the Foreign Language requirement of two semesters at the intermediate level or higher. The intermediate level is the 200-level for French, Spanish, and Chinese, and the 300-level for Greek and Hebrew.
6. Students enrolled in teacher licensure programs (.BST, .BAT, .BME) will be required to complete all courses necessary to meet state licensure standards, even if some of those courses are general education requirements that would otherwise be waived for students in non-licensure degree programs who have completed an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree.
   NOTE: This agreement does not apply to students who have been awarded the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree.

Lee University has articulation agreements with the following institutions:

• Cleveland State Community College
• Chattanooga State Technical College