3.4.8 Noncredit to Credit

The institution awards academic credit for course work taken on a noncredit basis only when there is documentation that the noncredit course work is equivalent to a designated credit experience.  

Compliance           ___ Partial Compliance          ___ Non-Compliance

Narrative:

The following policies regarding awarding credit for noncredit coursework are published in the Catalog:

Credit by Departmental Proficiency Challenge Examination
Credit is available to students who have mastered the content of a course and can demonstrate competency in course content through successful completion of a Departmental Proficiency Challenge Examination.  Only those courses approved by the faculty in the discipline/department are eligible for challenge.  Students must be currently enrolled in South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) coursework.  A student who desires to apply for credit by examination should complete the Application for Credit Examination in the Registrar’s Office.  Students who wish to convert non-credit instruction to credit may wish to use this option (1).

Life Experience Assessment Program
In accordance with recent trends toward the recognition of non-traditional learning experiences, SLCC offers students the opportunity to gain course credit hours through the Life Experience Assessment Program (LEAP).  College credit may be awarded for knowledge gained through reading and private study but primarily through validated work experience.  The central principle in the LEAP program is that what a student knows is more important than how the knowledge is gained (2).

Police and Military Credits
Students who have taken courses as part of armed services training or police academies may apply at the Registrar’s Office for acceptance of these courses.  The credit recommendations from the American Council on Education (ACE) are used to help determine equivalent credit awards.  A student’s academic advisor will determine which credits earned through military or police academy training are applicable towards graduation.  These hours count as part of the hours of non-traditional credit applicable toward a degree or certificate (3).

Advanced Placement
SLCC has a published policy regarding awarding credit for advanced placement (4) .  According to this policy, students may earn advanced placement through testing such as the ACT or ACT COMPASS or College Level Experience Assessment (CLEP).  The policy students follow to earn credit through ACT or ACT COMPASS is separated into disciplines:

English
An English score on the ACT of 28 or higher may result in advanced placement in English 1020, Composition and Critical Thought, and credit for English 1010, English Rhetoric and Composition, if the earned grade in ENGL 1020 is a “C” or higher.

Mathematics
A student with a score of 32 or higher will receive credit for MATH 1105, Pre-calculus Algebra.
A student with a score of 28 or higher will receive credit for MATH 1100, College Algebra.
A student with a score of 26 or higher on the mathematics portion of the ACT may take the CEEB or other prescribed advanced placement examination in mathematics and may earn 3 hours of college algebra credit or three hours of pre-calculus algebra credit (but not both), and three hours of credit for pre-calculus trigonometry.

Credit for any of these courses is awarded by posting a grade of “S” to the student’s transcript.

Students seeking advanced placement credit for any course should make this request in writing to the Admissions/Registrar’s Office before the first semester of enrollment.

Additionally, the awarding of credit under Educational Testing Services’ CLEP exams is based on scores earned on subject examinations using the scores recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) as approved by the faculty. Students must submit official test scores to receive credit (5) .

Professional Certifications
SLCC evaluates, awards, and accepts credit from students who have taken courses as part of armed services training or police academies.  Students apply at the Registrar’s Office for acceptance of these courses.  The credit recommendations from the ACE are used to help determine equivalent credit awards.  A student’s academic advisor will determine which credits earned through military or police academy training is applicable towards graduation (Catalog, p. 35).  Forms need to be completed by the students with documentation attached.  These forms and documentation are submitted to the appropriate faculty who determine if the student has met the objectives for the course.  If the student has met the objectives, credit for the course is awarded with a grade of “S” (6) .

Granting of credit for non-credit courses is not a frequent occurrence at SLCC.  In the last five years, only one student was granted credit for a non-credit course.  The student took the basic EMT course as a non-credit course at another institution and held a current EMT Basic Certificate.  This student was awarded 7 credit hours for the EMT Basic courses.

Documentation: