Mar 19, 2024  
Catalog/Handbook 2018-2019 
    
Catalog/Handbook 2018-2019 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Transient Students


A transient student is one who is attending another college or university, but who wishes to earn credits at Polk State College to fulfill degree requirements at his or her home institution. Students must begin the transient process a full two weeks prior to the start date for the course taken at the transient institution. The student must meet the following requirements for enrollment:

  • Submission of an Official Transient Form or statement from the home institution certifying good standing and indicating the particular courses to be taken. If the student is from an in-state or participating private institution, the transient request must be submitted through www.FloridaShines.org; this submission acts as the student’s application.
  • Submission of an online application at www.polk.edu if the home institution does not participate in the electronic transient request process through www.FloridaShines.org.
  • Selection of the appropriate courses that the home institution accepts toward the program of study.
  • Submission of a request for an official Polk State College transcript to be sent to the home institution at the end of the term.

Polk State College students wishing to attend other colleges as transient students must:

  • You cannot have any holds.
  • Your GPA must be at or above 2.0. If this is your first semester, you must wait until grades are posted and you have a GPA, before you apply to be a transient.
  • You must be in good academic standing (not on Warning, Probation, etc.)
  • You cannot be a transient during your first term at Polk State College. You have to have an academic record with Polk State College to qualify for transient status.
  • If you are enrolled at Polk State in a fall term, you may request transient status for the spring. If you are enrolled at Polk State in the spring, you may request transient status for the summer. If you want to be a transient for the fall term, you must be enrolled at Polk State during that same term.
  • You must meet the prerequisites at Polk State for a course you want to take elsewhere.
  • The course you want to take needs to be approved by an advisor and the Registrar’s Office. You must use FloridaShines.org for all state and participating institutions. (USF, however, does not use FloridaShines.org transient processing.) If the institution you want to attend does not participate, you must complete a paper transient request form which you will get when you see an advisor. Check with your selected institution to find out if it participates.
  • The course you want to take must not be ineligible for repeat, such as a course in which you made a “C” or higher.
  • You must request a transcript from the institution you attended to be sent to the Registrar’s Office at Polk State College. (See address below.) If you neglect this step, you will not be able to register for future terms at Polk State College.
  • Students need to provide an official letter of non-attendance from the other institution if they decide not to take the class.
  • The class has to be applicable towards the student’s degree program at Polk State College.
  • Complete a Transient Form two (2) weeks prior to registration through www.FloridaShines.org. If the student is attending a private institution that does not participate in the electronic transient process, the student should meet with a Polk State College academic advisor to obtain a paper Transient Form.
  • Request that the college where courses are to be taken send an official transcript to the Polk State College Admission and Registrar’s Office immediately after grades are posted at the end of the term.