Credit-Prior-Learning

This method cannot be combined with another assessment method for granting CPL for any single course.

a. Advanced Placement (AP): Students who earn scores of 3, 4, or 5 on the College Board AP Examinations taken before high school graduation will receive credit for each exam as specified in the college catalog.

b. International Baccalaureate (IB): Students who complete the IB diploma with a score of 30 or above, will receive 20 units of credit. Students who complete the IB Higher Level examinations with scores of 4, 5, 6, or 7 will receive credit for each exam as specified in the catalog of the District College. A score of 4 or higher on the IB Mathematics HL exam will satisfy the math competency requirement for the associate degree. Students will not receive credit for Standard Level exams.

c. College Level Examination Program (CLEP): Students who earn scores of 50 or higher on a CLEP exam will receive credit for each exam as specified in the college catalog.

Cut Scores for External Examinations (AP, IB, and CLEP)

The number of units awarded for each type of examination is subject to change based on the establishment of cut scores and/or other evaluative measures developed by District College faculty in collaboration with Academic Senates and/or a CSU Chancellor's Office policy pursuant to AB 1985, and/or California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) Standards, Policies, and Procedures, latest version.

Process to Receive Credit for AP, IB, and CLEP

Students are required to submit their AP/IB/CLEP scores from the College Board to the Admissions and Records Office.

Information for Credit for External Examinations 

• Each district college will publish an AP, IB, and CLEP chart in its catalog indicating how credit may be applied toward the associate degree, associate degree for transfer, or certificate of achievement, including how many units the examination provides and whether the examination will satisfy comparable major courses, general education, or elective credit.
• For any AP, IB, or CLEP examination that the District does not offer a course similar in content, the college may award elective credit.
• The evaluation of credit for AP, IB, and CLEP examination scores is done by a college counselor. Counselors may require additional documentation or information as necessary to determine eligibility for external credit.
• The Counseling faculty at each District College will determine how the credit is used to satisfy general education and major requirements for the associate degree and/or to meet transfer requirements.
• Credit granted for AP and IB examinations may also be counted toward the satisfaction of Cal-GETC areas as allowed by the current Cal-GETC Standards. Current charts detailing how this credit is applied will be published in the college catalog.
• Students with catalog rights that allow them to complete IGETC or CSU GE-Breadth may use credit granted for AP and IB examinations toward satisfaction of areas as allowed by applicable standards for each form of general education certification. CLEP examinations may also provide credit toward CSU GE Breadth.
• Credit awarded for AP, IB, and CLEP examinations shall not impact the student’s GPA, nor can the units earned be used toward financial aid or the 12-unit residency requirement.
• Students granted credit for AP, IB, or CLEP examinations shall not earn credit toward an associate degree for duplicated college courses.
• Other colleges or universities may have different policies concerning the granting of credit for AP, IB, and CLEP examinations, and will evaluate the examinations based on their own policies and practices.

A. Students will receive credit by satisfactory completion of an examination administered by the District College in lieu of completion of a course listed in the college catalog, provided that internal departmental examination is permitted for the course. Courses Available for credit by examination are listed in the Courses Available for CPL section. Credit will be awarded with a letter grade and/or P/NP (if the latter is ordinarily available for the course). If a letter grade is awarded, it will be incorporated into the computation of the student’s grade point average.

B.  A student may be granted credit if he or she satisfactorily passes an examination approved and conducted by the District College discipline faculty. Such credit may be granted only to a student who is registered at the District College and not on either academic probation or progress probation, and only for a course listed in the District College’s catalog.

C. The nature and content of the exam shall be determined solely by the District College discipline faculty in accordance with Title 5 Section 55002.

D. Units for which credit is given pursuant to this provision shall not be counted toward satisfaction of the 12 semester hours of credit in the residency requirement for the associate degree.

Internal Departmental Examinations

Determination of Eligibility

• The examination is to be administered prior to the last day of the final examination period.
• The course to which the units will apply must be listed in the current college catalog.
• The student must be currently registered and in good standing and not on academic probation, progress probation, or dismissal at any District College.
• The student has not earned college credit in more advanced subject matter and has not received a grade (A, B, C, D, F, W, CR, P, CRE, NC or NP or equivalent), in the course for which he or she is seeking Credit by Examination at a District College or at any other educational institution.

Process to Receive Credit for Internal Departmental Examination

Students are required to complete the Credit for Prior Learning Petition and follow the instructions provided for the Internal Department Examination (Credit by Exam) assessment process. 

This method cannot be combined with another assessment method for granting CPL for any single course):
High school students may be granted college credit according to established articulation agreements between the high school and a District College. The Board of Trustees shall permit articulated courses to be applied to certificate or associate degree requirements in accordance with this provision. The per-unit fee for high school credit by examination will not be charged. 

Articulated high school courses may be accepted in lieu of comparable District College courses to partially satisfy: 

A. Certificate requirements, including the total number of units required for the certificate; or

B. The major or area of emphasis requirements in a degree program. Students who complete articulated comparable courses must pass an exam to earn college credit for general education and/or major requirements for the associate degree.

Process to Receive Credit Via High School Articulation

Determination of Eligibility
The course to which the units will apply must be listed in the current college catalog.
• The student must be currently registered at a high school with which a District College has an articulation agreement and in good standing as defined by their cumulative GPA at a minimum of 2.0 at the time the Credit by Examination is granted.
• The student has not earned college credit in more advanced subject matter and has not received a grade (A, B, C, D, F, W, CR, CRE, NC, NP, or equivalent), in the course for which he or she is seeking Credit by Examination at a District college or at any other educational institution. 

Receiving Credit by Examination
• The student applies online to one of the colleges in the VCCCD and creates an account in a District tracking system.
• The student passes the college's course via a comprehensive exam or evaluation determined solely by a District College faculty in the discipline.

Units and Grades Recorded
• The student who successfully passes the examination will be given a letter grade (“A,” “B,” or “C”) and "Credit by Examination" will be transcripted for the term in which it was earned.
• The student who is unsuccessful in obtaining a standard grade of “C” or better will not be allowed to petition for credit and no record of the attempt for credit by examination will appear on the student's transcript.

Students interested in Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) using Joint Service Transcripts (JST) shall receive credit as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) Directory and approved by the appropriate discipline faculty of a District College under the following circumstances:  

• The student shall complete the Credit for Prior Learning assessment petition.

• Official transcripts must be on file in the Admissions and Records Office. These may include Joint Services Transcript (JST), Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART), Army and American Council on Education Registry Transcript Service (AARTS), Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), Coast Guard Institute (CGI), DANTES/USAFI, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) Transcripts, Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), DLPT Examinee Results, DA Form 330 Language Proficiency Questionnaire, or verified copies of DD214 or DD295 military records.

• Credit course equivalency shall be determined by the faculty of the appropriate discipline.

Credit for Basic Training

Students who submit evidence of completion of Basic Military Training on a DD 214 or DD 295, whether they were in active service or in the National Guard or Reserves, will have fulfilled VCCCD General Education Area 7 requirements.

Health and Kinesiology discipline faculty will determine which specific courses to assign as comparable for major requirements and for the transcript, which will include:

• A minimum of 3 units of Heath Education or Kinesiology or any combination of the two that results in 3 semester units of credit.

• Students will be awarded units according to current ACE recommendations:
  - Army recruits will receive a total of 6 semester units
  - Navy recruits will receive a total of 9 semester units
  - Marine Corps—Basic Infantry recruits will receive 8 semester units
  - Air Force recruits will receive a total of 4 semester units 
  - Coast Guard recruits will receive a total of 8 semester units

Students with catalog rights to CSU GE-Breadth will also have met area E requirements. Health and Kinesiology discipline faculty will determine which specific courses to assign as equivalent toward CSU GE Breadth area E for the transcript, which will include:
  - A minimum of 2 units of HED
  - A minimum of 1 unit of PE/Kinesiology

Discipline faculty will assign either a specific course or elective credit for any remaining units to meet the minimum totals recommended by ACE above.

Students interested in Credit for Prior Learning using industry-recognized credential(s) or licensure shall receive credit as determined solely by the faculty of the appropriate discipline:

Process to Receive Credit for Industry-Recognized Credentials or Licensure 

Students are required to complete the Credit for Prior Learning Petition and follow the instructions provided for the Industry-Recognized Credential or Licensure assessment process. 

Students interested in Credit for Prior Learning using a student-created portfolio shall receive credit as recommended by the appropriate department chair or faculty designee under the following circumstances: 

Process to Receive Credit for Student-Created Portfolio 

Students are required to complete this Credit for Prior Learning Petition and follow the instructions provided for the Student-Created Portfolio assessment process.

These apply to all methods, except External Examinations (AP/IB/CLEP) and High School Articulation.

Students may apply for Credit for Prior Learning for a given course only once.

Grading shall be according to the regular grading system approved by the governing board, except that students shall be offered a “pass-no pass” option if that option is ordinarily available for the course. Once the Pass/No Pass deadline has passed, the request cannot be withdrawn and the student becomes ineligible to petition to change a grade. Other colleges and universities may restrict the acceptance of courses taken on a Pass/No Pass, especially for the satisfaction of requirements for the major.

Students should be aware that other colleges and universities may not accept credit for prior learning for transfer purposes, including but not limited to meeting pre-major, major, and/or other requirements.

Students should be advised that the use of units granted through the credit for prior learning policy towards establishing eligibility for athletics, financial aid, and veterans’ benefits are subject to the rules and regulations of the external agencies involved. (Exceptions to the above may be made when necessary to meet provisions of California state law or the rules and regulations of state agencies governing programs of the California Community Colleges.)

Credits earned through the Credit for Prior Learning process are not applicable to meeting of such unit load requirements as Selective Service deferment, Veterans, or Social Security benefits.

Internal Department Examination (Credit by Examination) may be granted in only one course in a sequence of courses within a single discipline, as determined by prerequisites.

If a student is currently enrolled in a course or has completed the course, he/she will not be eligible to earn credit through Credit for Prior Learning for any prerequisite to that course.

A student who attempted a course one or more times and did not successfully complete the course is not eligible to apply for CPL for that course or for a comparable course at another district college.

Credits acquired by credit for prior learning are not counted in determining the 12- semester units of credit in residency required for an associate degree.

A maximum of 50% of the units required for an associate degree (except the Associate Degree for Transfer and UC Transfer Pathways degree, which have no limit) or Certificate of Achievement may be applied through Credit for Prior Learning. Additional units may be granted upon review and approval by the VPAA or their designee. This limitation does not apply to units of credit earned through external examinations (AP/IB/CLEP or High School Articulation)

Pass/No Pass CPL grading method for courses not otherwise offered with a P/NP grading method

For some of the above CPL assessment methods such as industry-recognized credentials or licensure documentation or credit for military service/training, the evidence for granting credit may not be sufficient for assigning an evaluative letter grade for a given course. Such courses may not list the P/NP grading option as a grading method in the COR. However, for the purpose of granting CPL credit, and with the consent of the college’s departmental faculty evaluating the CPL request, the P/NP grading method may be used.

A student, upon completion of their educational plan, shall be referred to the college's appropriate authority for the assessment of prior learning if the student is a veteran or an active-duty member of the armed forces, holds industry-recognized credentials or licensure, or requests credit for a course based on their prior learning.

Colleges shall consider the credit recommendations of the American Council on Education (ACE) pursuant to Education Code section 66025.71

Students shall be given the opportunity to accept, decline, or appeal the grade assigned by the faculty, and in cases of Credit by Examination, pursuant to Administrative Procedure (AP) 4230 (Grading and Academic Record Symbols) and AP 4231 (Grade Changes).