Credit Options For Advanced Standing
Credit options are opportunities for adult learners to earn credit toward a degree through alternatives other than coursework. Credit options include: transfer credit, CLEP examinations, credit by examination, advanced credit, DANTES and experiential learning.
The college encourages students to apply the wealth of knowledge and experience they possess to take advantage of all the credit options available to them. It is possible for students to earn significant credit based on previous educational and professional experiences. The only restriction is that students seeking a degree/professional certificate/certificate at the college must complete residency requirements. (See residence credit for specific requirements.)
Please note that credit earned through any of these options counts toward degree/professional certificate/certificate requirements, but is not included in computing grade point averages. Upon matriculation, student request for recognition of technical courses more than seven years old is subject to review. Course content may be outdated and therefore not acceptable for transfer or other credit.
Transfer Credit
Students may transfer credits from other accredited colleges, including the Community College System of New Hampshire, provided they earned a grade of C or better, and those credits are equivalent to the courses in their program. To apply, students must contact other college(s) they have attended and arrange for official transcripts and course descriptions to be sent to the Lakes Region CC Registrar.
The Vice President of Academic Affairs must review course credit awarded through another institution’s credit by examination policy. The academic office coordinates transfer credit. The appropriate department chairperson(s) and the Vice President of Academic Affairs determine acceptability of transfer credit. Students should consider that transfer credits may lessen their financial aid eligibility by reducing the course load from full-time to part-time status.
Lakes Region CC does not use grades received in courses taken at any other institution in computing semester or cumulative grade point averages.
Credit by Examination
Credit by examination provides matriculated students with the opportunity to challenge technical and other courses for which they feel qualified. Credit by examination is not available for those courses for which a CLEP exam exists.
Examinations are prepared and administered by the college faculty. If students obtain a grade of C or better, the credits earned count toward their degree and the academic record will reflect a grade of CR.
The academic officer and the instructor coordinate the credit by examination process. The exam must be taken and graded within the first seven days of the semester. The student, the advisor and the registrar receive notification of the course exam results, a copy of which is placed in the student’s permanent file.
Students who apply for Credit by Exam must be matriculated and may apply for credit by examination only for those courses for which they are not currently registered. The fee for credit by examination is $25 per credit, plus all direct costs associated with providing the laboratory exam. Students cannot use credit by examination to make up a previously failed course. If a student earns credit by examination, the enrollment status could change, an action which could affect financial aid status.
CLEP Examinations (College Level Exam Program)
Students can earn credits toward a degree by passing CLEP exams in a wide variety of subject areas including English, math, biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, macroeconomics, accounting, marketing, business law and other areas. To apply, the student should contact the college’s academic affairs office for information on CLEP exams, make arrangements to take the exam(s) and have the scores sent directly to the college. To prepare for the exam, students should purchase a CLEP exam review book.
To ensure timely credit, the student should take the exam at least one semester prior to the semester the course is offered in. If a student CLEPs a course for which he/she is registered, he/she must drop the course prior to the second week of the semester/ session in order to receive a full refund of the course fees.
DANTES (Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support)
The DANTES College Credit Examination program provides National Guard members and servicemen and women with three different exam programs to earn college credit. The exams are CLEP, ACT/PEP and the DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSSTS). To apply, students must arrange to have credits earned through DANTES sent to the college registrar.
Experiential Learning
Credit for prior learning offers students the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge they have gained through life experiences and apply this knowledge towards credit in a egree/professional certificate/certificate program. To prepare for this option, students will develop a portfolio to be assessed by the academic officer and faculty members. A student must be matriculated at the college to be eligible to apply for experiential credit.
To apply, students must meet with the Vice President of Academic Affairs to begin the process of developing a portfolio. If the student chooses this process, he/she will then register for “Assessment of Experiential Learning” and will start the process of developing the portfolio. The portfolio includes three documents: a resume, a narrative summary of work and learning experiences, and an outline of the skill, knowledge and competencies for which the student seeks credit.
A team assists the student in the development and assessment of the portfolio. Once the student has assembled the documentation, the team assesses the content and recommends the amount of credit to be awarded. The Vice President of Academic Affairs reviews the recommendation and awards credit accordingly. If the process results in credit for prior learning, the transcript will note TR, Course Transfer.
Students will be assessed a fee based on 50% of the current tuition rate on the total credits awarded (e.g., for 12 credits awarded: 0.50 x current tuition rate x 12 credits).
