Understanding Your Credit Evaluation and CAPP

Credit Evaluation - Transfer Equivalency Worksheet

Upon initial transcript evaluation, you will receive a letter from the transfer credit coordinator along with a transfer equivalency worksheet for each institution you have attended.  The transfer equivalency worksheet outlines:

1. "Attendance period" - the semesters you have attended
2. "Acceptance date" - the date of the evaluation
3. "Transfer degree awarded" - any degree awarded at the previous institution.  
4. "Transfer courses" and "Institution equivalent" - the list of transfer coursework accepted and the Cortland equivalent

Please note the attendance period and the transfer degree section.  If these are not accurate, you will need to request an updated transcript to be sent to Cortland. 

Curriculum Advising and Program Planning (CAPP) Report

The CAPP report is a multi-use academic tool that you will use for advisement and to track your academic progress while at Cortland.  CAPP lists completed coursework, including all your transfer courses, and coursework yet to be completed in order to graduate. 

As an accepted/paid student, you have access to view your CAPP report via your myRedDragon account.  To gain access to myRedDragon for the first time, you will first need to get your username. 

Once in myRedDragon: 

1. Click on the "Student" tab.
2. In the "Registrar" box on the left of screen, click "CAPP."
3. Choose the most recent semester and "submit."
4. Choose "Generate new evaluation" and then "Generate Request."

Each section of the CAPP report will have a specific header identifying the information that is being reviewed.  If a course requirement is met, you will see a green "Yes" in the "MET" column.  Any requirement that shows a red "No" is a course that still needs to be fulfilled.  Please note that all courses accepted for transfer are designed with an orange "T" in the grade column. 

Personal and Academic Demographic Data

The left side of this box identifies your academic demographic information, including your degree sought, major, entry/catalog term, and advisor.

The right side of this box lists your total credits, GPA, liberal arts credits, and transfer credits.   "Act." stands for "actual" and "req." stands for required.  Initially, your "actual" number of total credits will match your transfer credits, but this number will change as you register and complete courses at Cortland.  A minimum of 120 credits are required to graduate. 

Your overall GPA will begin as a 0.0.  Credits will transfer but grades do not.  Your Cortland GPA will be calculated solely by courses completed at Cortland.  The "required" overall GPA minimally is a 2.0 to remain in good standing.  Some majors require a higher minimum GPA, and this would be reflected in the "req." column.

Liberal arts credits are courses completed in the arts and sciences.  Your degree will determine how many liberal arts courses you need to complete in order to graduate.  Liberal arts credits are part of  your total credits, not in addition to.  For example, a B.A. degree requires that 90 credits out of the total 120 credits be completed in the liberal arts.  Typically, students will complete this requirement simply by completing their general education program and major requirements. 

Courses Calculating Major GPA

This area will track courses in your major that will calculate your major GPA.  Your major GPA will differ from your cumulative GPA. 

Major Requirements

This area will define the requirements that must be fulfilled for the major.  This may include a content core, pedagogy area, elective courses, and any other requirements.  In any category where you have a choice to fulfill the requirement, the choices are listed.  For specific courses not yet fulfilled, the course is a link to the course description and more information about the course.

Cortland General Education

This area will define the general education requirements, categories 1-13, that all students need to fulfill in order to graduate.  

For students transferring from another SUNY institution, a designation such as "CGE 101 Met: prior SUNY School" may appear for a specific GE category.  This designation verifies that you completed the general education course at your previous institution.  The grade is "M" for "met."  This designation is added to your CAPP report in addition to the corresponding course, which will appear in another section of your CAPP. 

For students transferring in over 50 credits, three GE waivers are applied to categories 11, 12 and 13.  The designation "CGE 1XX: Cortland GE Waiver" will appear.  For students transferring in between 20-49.5 credits, GE Waivers will be applied to your CAPP after consultation with your academic advisor and submission of the GE Waiver form. 

Cortland Degree Requirements

This section includes your academic writing requirements (from GE category 10), your foreign language requirement for your major, and your writing intensive requirement. 

Liberal Arts and Science Requirements

This area will identify and track the courses that fulfill the liberal arts requirement for your major.  Many of the courses in your major requirement section and general education section will also appear in this section. 

Non-Program Use: Free Electives

This area will show courses that do not apply directly to the major/program you have chosen, but will count in your overall credit totals.  For courses that transferred as elective credit without an equivalent course at Cortland, a course number such as 1XX may appear.

Other Sections

As you register and complete courses at Cortland, the remaining sections of your CAPP will track any courses in which you received a late grade or an incomplete, any courses that you failed, courses that you are currently registered for, and courses that you have repeated. 

Occasionally, transfer students will have courses in their "repeated courses" box that are not truly repeated courses but rather transfer courses in which the same elective credit was applied, e.g. two HIS 2XX courses.