Credit for Prior Learning

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Earn college credit for what you already know.

HCC awards credit through CLEP, AP, IB, military training, and select nursing programs, helping you save time and money on your degree. Some restrictions apply, and transferability is not guaranteed.

Credit by Examination

The intent of credit by examination is to offer a method for students to demonstrate previously mastered competencies and to assist students in completion of educational goals at Highland Community College. Credit awarded by examination at HCC may not transfer to other post-secondary institutions. HCC does not accept credit awarded by departmental examination from other post-secondary institutions.

Students may earn college credit by attaining qualifying scores on the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), the Advanced Placement (AP) exams administered by the College Entrance Examination Board, and International Baccalaureate (IB).

Credit earned by examination will be placed on the student’s HCC transcript after the start of the student’s first semester of coursework at HCC. A grade of “CR” will be placed on the transcript but will not be included in calculating grade point average. The credit will count toward a degree at HCC.

AP refers specifically to courses offered in some high schools which are constructed and coordinated under the supervision of the College Entrance Examination Board. Before entering college, the student takes the examination, which is scored by Educational Testing Service. Students must request their official transcript of AP scores be mailed to the HCC Registrar.

AP Exam Credit by Examination

Advanced Placement Test	HCC Course ID and Title	Credits	Required Score
2-D Art and Design	A 103 Two-Dimensional Design	3	3+
3-D Art and Design	A 104 Three-Dimensional Design	3	3+
Art History	A 201 Art History Survey: Prehistoric to Medieval A 202 Art History Survey: Renaissance to Contemporary	6	4+
Biology	BS 101 College Biology	5	3+
Calculus AB	MAT 106 Calculus I	5	3+
Calculus BC	MAT 106 Calculus I MAT 110 Calculus II	10	3+
Calculus BC: AB Subscore	MAT 106 Calculus I	5	3+
Chemistry	PS III College Chemistry I	5	3+
Chemistry	PS III College Chemistry I PS 112 College Chemistry II	10	4+
Drawing	A 107 Drawing I	3	3+
English Language and Composition	ENG 101 Composition I	3	3+
English Language and Composition	ENG 102 Composition II: Literature and Research	3	3+
Environmental Science	BS 107 Intro to Environmental Science	4	3+
European History	HIS 103 History or Western Civilization I HIS 104 History of Western Civilization II	6	3+
Human Geography	GEO 212 World Regional Geography	3	3+
Macroeconomics	BUS 204 Macroeconomics	3	3+
Microeconomics	BUS 203 Microeconomics	3	3+
Muisc Theory	M 200 Music Theory I	3	3+
Physics I: Algebra Based	PS 203 General Physics I	5	4+
Physics 2: Algebra Based	PS 204 General Physics II	5	4+
Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism	PS 216 College Physics II	5	4+
Physics C: Mechanics	PS 215 College Physics I	5	4+
Psychology	PS 101 General Psychology	3	3+
Spanish Langauge and Culture	LG 101 Spanish I LG 102 Spanish II	10	3+
Spanish Literature and Culture	LG 201 Spanish III	3	3+
Statistics	MAT 203 Basic Statistics	3	3+
United States Government and Politics	POL 100 US Government	3	3+
United States History	HIS 101 US History to 1877 HIS 102 US History Since 1877	6	3+
Wold History: Modern	HIS 104 History of Western Civilization II	3	3+

Highland Community College does not currently award credit for the following AP Exams: Chinese Language and Culture, Comparative Government and Politics, Computer Science, French Language and Culture, German Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Japanese Language and Culture, and Latin

International Baccalaureate Examinations (IB) Credit by Examination

Highland Community College awards credit to students who have participated in an International Baccalaureate program and have attained certain examination scores. Students must request their official transcript of IB scores be mailed to the HCC Registrar.

IB Test	Level/Score	HCC Course ID & Title	Credits
Biology	S/7	BS 101 College Biology	5
Biology	H/4	BS 101 College Biology	5
Chemistry	H/4	PS 111 College Chemistry I PS 112 College Chemistry II	10
Economics	H/4	BUS 203 Macroeconomics BUS 204 Microeconomics	6
English A: Language + Literature	H/4	ENG 101 Composition I	3
English A: Language + Literature	H/6	ENG 101 Composition I ENG 102 Composition II	3
English A: Literature	H/4	ENG 101 Composition I	3
English A: Literature	H/6	ENG 101 Composition I ENG 102 Composition II	3
Environmental Systems	S/4	BS 107 Intro to Environmental Science	4
Environmental Systems	H/4	BS 107 Intro to Environmental Science	4
Language B (Spanish)	S/6 or H/5	LG 201 Spanish III	5
Mathematical Studies HL	H/4	MAT 106 Calculus I	5
Mathematical Studies SL	S/4	MAT 104 College Algebra MAT 105 Trigonometry	3 3
Philosophy	H/4	PHI 101 Introduction to Philosophy	3
Physics	S/4	PS 102 Concepts of Physics	4
Physics	H/4	PS 203 General Physics I PS 204 General Physics II	5 5
Psychology	H/4	PSY 101 General Psychology	3
Social and Cultural Anthropology	H/4	ANTH 112 General Anthropology	3
US History	H/4	HIS 101 US History to 1877	3
World Religions	S/4	PHI 105 Religions of the World	3

Credit for Practical Nursing Programs at Non-Regionally Accredited Institutions

Students who completed a Practical Nursing program at a post-secondary institution not accredited by a regional accrediting association may be awarded 16 credit hours of Credit for Prior Learning toward their AAS in Nursing degree requirements based on successfully passing the NCLEX-PN. Even with the 16-credit hour block, students may still need additional credits at HCC in order to graduate with the AAS in Nursing degree. The granting of this credit by HCC does not guarantee transferability to any other institution.

Credit for Military Training Education

Students may earn college credit for education for non-collegiate educational experiences or armed services training. HCC is working to increase the number of articulated military occupations.

Check Credits Via The Military Articulation Portal (KBOR)

The Military Articulation Portal (MAP) is a tool connecting service members to postsecondary credit awardable for military learning. Kansas public institutions have evaluated military training and have agreed to award postsecondary course credit for service members’ acquired skills and education. This free interactive search tool can be used by Veterans and Servicemembers to review credit for prior military learning offered by Kansas public postsecondary institutions.

The granting of this credit by HCC does not guarantee transferability to any other institution. HCC reserves the right to not accept transfer equivalency work that may be more than 5 years old.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) permits students of any age or education level to gain college credit, following satisfactory completion of CLEP examinations. CLEP exams offered are sufficiently challenging to an individual who has a significant background in the subject area. Highland Community College will accept CLEP credit for scores at or above the American Council of Education’s (ACE) credit-granting recommended score of 50 for the equivalent course or courses at HCC. For more information about taking CLEP examinations, visit the CLEP website.

CLEP Exam Credit by Examination

Students must request their official transcript of CLEP scores be mailed to the HCC Registrar.

CLEP Subject Test	Exam Score	Credits	HCC Course ID and Title
American Government	50+	3	POL 100 US Government
American Literature	50+	6	ENG 202 American Lit: Pre-Colonial to Civil War ENG 209 American Literature: Reconstruction to Present
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature	50+	3	ENG 104 Introduction to Literature
Biology	50+	5	BS 101 College Biology*
Calculus	50+	5	MAT 106 Calculus I
Chemistry	50+	10	PS 111 College Chemistry I PS 112 College Chemistry II*
College Composition	50+	3	ENG 101 Composition I
College Mathematics	50+	3	MAT 108 Contemporary Math
College Algebra	50+	3	MAT 104 College Algebra
English Literature	50+	3	ENG 212 British Lit I: Middle Ages to 1800 ENG 213 British Lit II: 1800 to Present
Financial Accounting	50+	3	BUS 200 Financial Accounting
History of the United States I	50+	3	HIS 101 US History to 1877
History of the United States II	50+	3	HIS 102 US History since 1877
Human Growth and Development	50+	3	PSY 205 Human Growth and Development
Introduction to Educational Psychology	50+	3	Psychology Elective Credit
Introductory Psychology	50+	3	PSY 101 General Psychology
Introduction to Sociology	50+	3	SOC 101 General Sociology
Introduction to Business Law	50+	3	BUS 205 Business Law I
Principles of Macroeconomics	50+	3	BUS 203 Macroeconomics
Principles of Management	50+	3	BUS 201 Principles of Management
Principles of Marketing	50+	3	BUS 210 Marketing
Principles of Microeconomics	50+	3	BUS 204 Microeconomics
Spanish Language: Level 1 and 2	50+	5	LG 101 Elementary Spanish I
Spanish Language: Level 1 and 2	63+	10	LG 101 Spanish I LG 102 Spanish II
Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648	50+	3	HIS 103 History of Western Civilization I
Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present	50+	3	HIS 104 History of Western Civilization II
College Composition Modular			No Equivalent
French Language: Level 1 and 2			No Equivalent
German Language: LEvel 1 and 2			No Equivalent
Humanities			No Equivalent
Information Systems			No Equivalent
Natural Sciences			No Equivalent
Precalculus			No Equivalent
Sociol Sciences and History			No Equivalent

*Biology and Chemisty may not be used to satisfy laboratory science graduation requirements.

Maximum Number of Credits Allowed

Sixteen (16) semester hours of credit is the maximum allowed toward a degree program through CLEP. A student’s transcript will designate all credits earned through CLEP. CLEP credit earned does not count toward course load in any term. Students who fail a course offered by Highland Community College cannot replace that course with a CLEP subject examination covering similar content.

Exams may be retaken per the College Board’s retake policy:
“Test takers may not repeat an exam of the same title within three months of the initial testing date. If you retake the exam within the three-month period, your administration will be considered invalid, your score will be canceled, and any test fees will be forfeited. If you’re repeating an exam of the same title and have a question regarding the date of the initial administration, you should immediately notify the test administrator and contact CLEP Services at 800-257-9558. Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES)-funded military test takers are eligible for only one U.S. government-funded attempt per exam title. Any retest attempts for the same exam must be funded directly by the test taker.”