Transfer Policy Master’s Program (RETIRED)

Candidates transferring to MTSA

The anesthesia program at MTSA is considered a “lock-step” program (i.e. courses are offered only once in the program and the student must pass one quarter to progress to the next). There are very specific didactic courses, clinical requirements, and simulation training that meet the learning objectives and graduation requirements unique to MTSA.

Transfer applicants are rare and are judged for admission on an individualized basis. Transfers will be considered by the Vice President of Academics and Program Administrator and the NAP Council on the merits of each individual case in accordance with guidelines established by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the institution, and clinical site availability. The maximum number of transfer credits is six (6) credit hours.

Students seeking to transfer to MTSA from other nurse anesthesia educational programs must meet each of the following criteria before making application for admittance:

1. The specific accrediting body (COA) and one of the several regional accrediting organizations must accredit the student’s anesthesia school at the time of request.
2. Transcripts of course work completed must be transferable on a course by course basis from the school in attendance.
3. Clinical experiences must be documented and verified by the transferring school and include case numbers and anesthesia hours.
4. Recommendations are required from the school program administrator, as well as from two (2) educational and two (2) clinical instructors.
5. All other policies and procedures for acceptance into MTSA must be met before review for admissions by the Admissions Committee of MTSA or the NAP Council, based on the date of application.

All students accepted into MTSA from other programs will be expected to meet the same criteria for graduation as beginning MTSA students and will receive the Masters of Science (MS) with a focus in Nurse Anesthesia degree upon successful completion of the program. The time commitment and clinical experiences required for completion of the program for transferring students will be determined on an individual basis and may include completion of the entire program of study at MTSA. An individualized program of study specific to the student is developed for each entering non-MTSA original student. Rarely, MTSA may consider applicants for admission who have had difficulty in other programs of nurse anesthesia. Those individuals may be required to complete the full institutional educational program at MTSA. Steps for transferring to MTSA from another nurse anesthesia educational program are as follows:

• The student will notify the initial Program Administrator in writing of the reason for transfer and will provide a copy of this letter to the MTSA Program Administrator.
• MTSA will request a transcript of all experiences from the original program.
• The Program Administrator of the current school is requested to remit the transcript of all academic and clinical experiences and other appropriate data to MTSA within 30 days.
• If the student is eligible for admission, MTSA will determine the transfer credit, and will notify both the transferring student and the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) of the decision, in writing, within 30 days.

Candidates transferring from MTSA

The transfer of credit from MTSA to another institution is controlled by the receiving institution. Accreditation does not guarantee transferability of credit. Many institutions will accept only credit which applies to their specific degree program. MTSA will comply with appropriately authorized requests from students or other nurse anesthesia educational program administrators regarding transcripts, references, clinical records, and related paperwork. However, if an MTSA student chooses to seek information regarding admission to another nurse anesthesia educational program, MTSA is under no obligation to assist the student in that information-gathering process.