A guest student is a student who is enrolled or seeking a degree at their home institution and would like to take a course(s) at an institution other than where they are pursuing their degree with the intention of transferring the courses back to their home institution.

If you are a Grand Valley student... 

If you plan to take a course at another institution in Michigan without transferring, you may be able to attend as a guest student. Students can complete a Guest Application. This will allow you to be a guest student without having to complete an undergraduate admissions application at the institution. Guest students are subject to all the admission and registration regulations of the guest institution and do not have permission to register as a degree-seeking student at the guest institution.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

If you are a student at an institution other than Grand Valley and would like to attend for a semester, you can submit a Grand Valley State University Guest Application with your home institution. Becoming a guest student at Grand Valley allows you to take courses as a non-degree seeking student without having to submit a separate application to Grand Valley.

If you are a Grand Valley student...

Grand Valley students should complete a guest application for the school at which they wish to take courses and submit it to the GVSU Registrar's Office. When completing the form, list all courses that you plan to take at the other institution. After you complete Part A of the form, return it to the GVSU Registrar's Office. Our office will complete Part B of the form and send it to the institution you listed.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Students who are enrolled at another institution and would like to take a class at Grand Valley should complete a GVSU guest application and submit it to their school's registrar's office. While completing the form, list all courses you plan to take at Grand Valley. After you complete Part A of the form, return it to the home institution's registrar, they will complete Part B of the form and send it to Grand Valley at:

Registrar's Office 
150 Student Services
1 Campus Drive 
Allendale, MI 49401.

Students who would like to attend Grand Valley as a guest student should submit a new guest application to their home institution for each semester that they would like to attend.

If you are a Grand Valley student...

Before registering for courses at a different institution, it is a good idea for students to check with their academic advisor (if students need help to identify their academic advisor view our short tutorial). Students can also review Grand Valley's Course Equivalency Guide for previously approved equivalencies. This guide will show students all courses that have previously been evaluated for credit by Grand Valley and what the equivalent course would be if they were to transfer it from the guest institution to Grand Valley.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Students attending Grand Valley as a guest student are responsible for determining if their home institution will accept credit earned as a guest student.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Yes, Grand Valley will accept a GVSU Guest Application from any student! If your home institution does not complete guest applications, you can also apply to Grand Valley as a non-degree seeking student.

If you are a Grand Valley student...

Grand Valley will complete and send a guest application for a student at any time. The student should check with the institution that they would like to attend to confirm if they have a deadline for guest applications.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Grand Valley will accept a guest application at any time, however students should check the academic calendar for semester start dates. If guest applications are processed after the last day to register, students may not be able to register for their desired classes.

If you are a Grand Valley student...

The Registrar's Office typically completes guest applications from our students within the next business day; the application is then mailed to the institution the student listed. The next contact will be from the institution that the student would like to attend as a guest, when and how that contact happens varies by institution.

Students generally need to contact the institution they plan to attend as a guest for information about their admission and/or registration processes.

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

After we receive and process a student's application, guest students are mailed a letter with the information they will need to register for courses. If you have any questions about the status of your application or registration, we encourage you to contact us.

Students can also find registration information and resources on our website.

If you are a Grand Valley student...

Students enrolled at other institutions as a guest student, while being a degree-seeking student at Grand Valley, are not eligible to receive financial aid from Grand Valley. The only exception to this is if students are enrolled at Grand Valley and one of our partner institutions at the same time (visit Financial Aid's website for more information on Concurrent Enrollment). 

For more information on what other options the institution the student plans to attend can be offered for financial aid, the student should contact that institution’s Financial Aid Office

If you would like to attend Grand Valley...

Students enrolled at Grand Valley as a guest student, while being a degree-seeking student at another institution, may be eligible for some financial aid through their home institution.  For more information on what options your home institution can offer for financial aid, students should contact their Financial Aid Office.

If you are a Grand Valley student...

When your classes are completed at the institution you have been attending as a guest, you should request to have official transcripts sent to Grand Valley. You can have transcripts sent to:

Registrar's Office 
150 Student Services
1 Campus Drive 
Allendale, MI 49401.

If the institution you attended sends electronic transcripts, you can request they send your official electronic transcripts to Grand Valley at: [email protected].

If you were a guest student at Grand Valley...

If you attended Grand Valley as a guest you should submit a transcript request. Transcript requests may be submitted to the Student Assistance Center in Allendale (150 Student Services) or the Grand Rapids Pew Campus (115C DeVos) in person, by fax to (616) 331-2000, by email to [email protected], or by mail to the Registrar’s Office, 150 Student Services, Allendale, MI 49401.

If you've earned credits at another institution that you would like to have transferred to Grand Valley, you can contact that institution and request they send an official transcript to:

Registrar's Office 
150 Student Services
1 Campus Drive 
Allendale, MI 49401.

If the institution you attended sends electronic transcripts, you can request they send your official electronic transcripts to Grand Valley at: [email protected].

Students can transfer credits from another institution to Grand Valley provided they meet one of the following criteria:

• The student's cumulative transfer GPA is a 2.0 or above, and they earned at least a "D" in the course they would like to transfer;
• The student's cumulative transfer GPA is below a 2.0, and they earned at least a "C" in the course they would like to transfer.

A student's cumulative transfer GPA is calculated based upon all coursework transferred to Grand Valley from all other institutions. If you would like assistance calculating your cumulative transfer GPA, you can contact the Registrar's Office.

Grand Valley does not limit the number of courses a student can transfer, but students will still need to fulfill all degree requirements to be eligible for graduation. Students can view degree requirements by accessing the online catalog and reviewing their myPath.  Students that would like to transfer courses to Grand Valley should consult with their academic advisor (if students need assistance identifying their academic advisor, view our short tutorial). The Course Equivalency Guide can also be reviewed for previously approved equivalencies. 

If the course a student completed at another institution is not listed in the Course Equivalency Guide, the student may submit a request for evaluation to the Registrar's Office. The evaluation request should include the course description and syllabus (if available); the Registrar's Office will then process the request for evaluation and update the student's record accordingly.

Transfer credit may fulfill certain General Education requirements.  Transfer courses will not fulfill General Education Issues requirements.

Students who transfer to Grand Valley with the Michigan Transfer Agreement/MACRAO approved associate of arts or science degree from a Michigan public community college have satisfied the Foundations of the General Education Program and one Supplemental Writing Skills (SWS) course. Transfer students with a MACRAO must also fulfill these general education requirements: the two-course Cultures requirement and two Issues courses.

Students should review the General Education program requirements when transferring coursework.

Transfer credit may fulfill certain major/minor requirements. Please consult your GVSU advisor for more information, along with the course catalog for major/minor and residency requirements.

Grand Valley does not limit how many credits a student can transfer to Grand Valley.  Students must meet the following requirements, in addition to all other degree requirements, to be eligible for graduation from Grand Valley.

Regardless of the number of transfer hours accepted by Grand Valley from other institutions, transfer students must complete a minimum of 12 hours in the unit conferring the major (six for the minor).

Regardless of the number of transfer credits accepted by Grand Valley from junior or community colleges, a baccalaureate degree must include a minimum of 58 semester hours from a senior (a four-year, degree-granting) institution.

Graduation from Grand Valley requires that the completion of the last 30 semester hours toward a baccalaureate degree must be earned at Grand Valley or in Grand Valley programs and courses taught off campus by Grand Valley faculty members.

Grand Valley does not transfer in grades for transfer courses. However, courses transferred to Grand Valley may impact a student's GPA by way of replacing a grade previously earned while taking a course at Grand Valley. If a student transfers in a course that meets the repeat course policy, the previous grade would appear on the student's transcript, but be excluded from the GPA calculation.

Students who have not previously repeated the course should review the course equivalency guide to ensure the course will transfer to Grand Valley. If the course transfers, the credit of the most recent instance of the course will be counted toward the student's GPA and earned hours, regardless of whether the most recent grade is lower or higher.

Students who have previously repeated a course should submit a repeat limit approval form for review.

Yes, all coursework transferred to Grand Valley will be viewable on the "Transfer Credit Accepted by Institution" section of your Grand Valley transcript.

Students can view their academic transcript at any time by:

1. logging in to your myBanner,
2. clicking the "Student" tab,
3. selecting "Student Records",
4. selecting "View Academic Transcript",
5. and clicking "submit".

Grand Valley cannot provide or produce any copy of a transcript from another institution. If a student needs a copy of their transcript from another institution, they should contact that institution directly.

Grand Valley offers many different financial aid and scholarship options for our students. If you typically utilize federal aid, you will have to add Grand Valley to your FAFSA (school code #002268). You can only receive federal financial aid at one institution at a time. If you have been awarded financial aid at your previous institution for the term you are transferring in, please contact them to cancel that financial aid award. For additional information regarding financial aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships.

Our merit scholarship opportunities for incoming transfer students can be found online. These scholarships are automatically awarded to eligible students at the time of admission to Grand Valley. We also have institutional scholarship opportunities that you can apply for, once you have been admitted, through our database called myScholarships.