A few years ago, Mervyn’s and Target were sister stores owned by the same parent company. As sister stores, their relationship was one of cooperation.

Guests to either place would find many similar features. Gift cards were purchased and used in the same way, Mervyn’s or Target credit cards could be used at either establishment and guests would often find the same general atmosphere and guest service — fast, friendly and fun.

This is much like the relationship between BYU-Idaho and BYU today. They are sister schools under the same ownership.

Can guests (students) to these two schools enjoy similar features though?

At both schools students can enjoy the same gospel atmosphere, tithing-subsidized tuition and a four-year accredited bachelor’s degree.

One thing our sister school doesn’t cooperate on is sharing credits. When transferring between BYU and BYU-I many students’ credits will be lost and become seemingly useless.

Roy Huff, BYU-I associate academic vice president, said the reason many of the credits don’t transfer is that the departments are so different.

Some departments at BYU have been around for decades while programs at BYU-I are younger but might be more up-to-date.

Another reason transferring becomes a problem, Huff said, may be the overall goal the different universities have for preparing students. At BYU, the goal seems to be preparing students for graduate school, while BYU-I’s objective seems to be more about preparing students to go into the workforce. The different missions of the programs and departments within the schools cause the rift in credit transfer.

If a student had taken classes at BYU-I, fully prepared to enter the workforce, he or she might not be as prepared as BYU would hope for graduate school. The same would be true for a BYU student who was prepared for graduate school and trying to transfer here.

Students would think because the two universities are sister schools, transferring wouldn’t be a problem. With both schools being four-year universities students would believe credits leading up to a four-year degree would be the same. And they should be.

Although the schools have different goals, the bachelor’s degrees earned are the same.

For now, the credits don’t transfer and they probably won’t for a while. Huff gives one last piece of advice to those students trying to transfer — plan ahead.

It is just as if guests were trying to use their Target card at Mervyn’s after the buyout; planning ahead would leave them with another credit card in their wallet and an opportunity to finish the purchase they had started.