5.1.8sr - SRTC Procedure: Advanced Standing

Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) acknowledges that learning occurs in a variety of settings. Advanced standing allows a student to receive course credit based on previous experience, formal or informal, and results in credits towards a program of study.

SRTC grants credit for previous education, training, or experience in the following areas:

Transfer Credit
Course credit may be awarded for courses completed with a “C” or better earned at a previously attended college, university or postsecondary institution accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Coursework and learning outcomes must be at the collegiate level, have the same content and quality, and are comparable to the College’s own degree, diploma, or certificate programs. Credit is awarded that falls within the regular curricular offerings of SRTC and related to the student’s current educational goals. Full credit will be awarded for courses subject to SRTC assuring that the accreditation standards have been met.

The Registrar is responsible for evaluating and awarding transfer of credit. Additional documentation such as course description, faculty credentials, or course syllabi may be required when evaluating transfer credit. Faculty and academic officers may be asked to evaluate the transfer course description, content and syllabi to determine its comparability meets current curriculum and standards of their program.

Credits from a former institution appearing on a transcript of another institution can neither be evaluated nor accepted for credit until an official transcript is received from the institution originating the credit.

There are no time limits on courses for most applicants/students in the areas of Humanities/Fine Arts, Social/Behavioral Sciences, Natural Sciences/Mathematics, and other General Education courses from the date of acceptance into the program. For applicants/students to the School of Health Sciences, there is a five (5) year time limit on courses in the areas of mathematics, science, and Health Science (ALHS) courses, from the date of acceptance into the program. Students faced with the 5-year time rule may request an exemption exam to demonstrate proficiency and receive credit. There is a time limit for all applicants/students of seven (7) years for occupational courses in their major area. A student may appeal these deadlines and in agreement with the program instructor and the registrar may choose to take an exemption examination.

SRTC reserves the right to test the proficiency of students for coursework to be transferred and reserves the right to disallow transfer of credit if the student cannot demonstrate acceptable proficiency. Transfer credit will be recorded on the student’s SRTC transcript with a grade designation of “TR,” “TRA,” “TRB,” or “TRC”. The third letter indicates the grade earned in the course and will not be calculated in the student’s Academic GPA.

International Institution Credit
Course credit may be awarded for courses completed with a “C” or better, or its equivalent, from an international college, university, or other postsecondary institution that is authorized and/or accredited by applicable government and/or accreditation agencies in its own country. Credit will be awarded for courses, subject to the receiving institution assuring that state standards and applicable accreditation criteria are met.

International Credit Evaluation
SRTC may choose to receive accurate evaluations of international credentials for comparability to US credits from private credential services. Refer to the US Network for Education Information (USNEI), a US Department of Education (ED) administered website and public-private partnership that provides a list of possible credential evaluation services.

International Articulation
SRTC may establish an Articulation Agreement or Joint Diploma/Degree Plan with an international college, university, or other postsecondary institution that is authorized and/or accredited by applicable government and/or accreditation agencies in its own country. Courses from an international institution must be evaluated to show that state standards and applicable accreditation criteria are met.

Secondary Articulation
Secondary Articulation credit earned under established Secondary Articulation Agreements may be awarded to recent high school graduates subject to validation of credit and enrollment at SRTC within 2 years of high school graduation.

SRTC participates in articulation advisory committees with members from both secondary programs and SRTC programs to develop articulation agreements.

SRTC has established articulation formal written agreements, which are reviewed and updated annually, with interested service area high schools to ensure that students receive course credit when established competencies have been achieved in selected courses. SRTC shall bank the credit after the secondary student successfully passes the exemption exam required to articulate subject credit. This credit shall be applied to the student’s record once he/she matriculates to SRTC. The secondary student must matriculate within 2 years after high school graduation, unless dictated by program standards.

Validation of Credit: SRTC will validate student competencies before awarding articulated credit for competencies learned in high school by administering the final examination/exemption examination for the course to be articulated. Students must score 70 or above on the exam in order to receive articulated credit. No fee shall be charged to students taking an exam to validate articulated credit from high school

The awarded credit is indicated by the letters “AC” on the official transcript. The hours for the articulated course will not be computed in the grade point average or appear on the terms grade report.

Standardized Exam Credit
Standardized Examinations including but not limited to, College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Advanced Placement (AP) examinations, and International Baccalaureate (IB) credit. Credit for Standardized Examinations will be recorded on the student’s SRTC transcript with a grade designation of “TR” and will not be calculated in the student’s Academic GPA.

Colleges may award credit based on nationally normed exams including, but not limited to the following:

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) – Credit may be awarded for successful completion of an appropriate CLEP subject area examination. (Time limits that apply to transfer credit apply to credit by exam.)

Advanced Placement Examinations (AP) – Credit may be awarded to students who have taken appropriate courses (determined equivalent to courses offered at SRTC) in high school and achieve a minimum score of 3 on the AP Examination. The AP Examinations are offered by the College Entrance Examination Board.

International Baccalaureate Credit (IB) – Credit will be awarded to students who have taken appropriate courses (determined equivalent to courses offered at SRTC) in high school and achieve a minimum score of 3 or more on the International Baccalaureate Examination. The IB Examinations are offered by the International Baccalaureate Examination Board.

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)
SRTC may award college credit for on the job learning, corporate training, independent study, military service, or volunteer service that is consistent with the SRTC mission and ensures that course work and learning outcomes are at the collegiate level and comparable to the College’s academic programs. SRTC engages in a process for evaluating the knowledge and skills acquired in order to award college credit and assumes responsibility for the academic quality of any course work or credit recorded on the institution’s transcript. PLA credit will be recorded on the student’s SRTC transcript with a grade designation or “EXP” or “EXE” and will not be calculated in the student’s Academic GPA.

Military Training Credit
SRTC may award credit for training received in the Armed Forces. The training should be certified by the Guide to the Evaluation of Education Experiences in the Armed Services, published by the American Council on Education or by the official catalog of the Community College of the Air Force or similar document. Credit should be given when training experience meets required competencies of courses offered at the College. Military training credit will be recorded on the student’s SRTC transcript with a grade designation of “TRM” and will not be calculated in the student’s Academic GPA.

Institutional Exemption Exam
Institutional Exemption Exam credit is available to applicants who have previous experience such as employment in the field, military training, corporate courses, or other similar experiences. Students may request permission for an exemption exam through the Registrar’s Office, must be accepted or enrolled as a student at SRTC, and must earn a minimum score of 70% on the exam to receive credit. A student may not request exemption examination for courses for which he/she has previously been enrolled unless the course taken exceeds the time limits, nor may he/she take an exemption examination for a course more than once. Exemption Exam credit will be recorded on the student’s SRTC transcript with a grade designation of “EXE” and will not be calculated in the student’s Academic GPA.

SRTC grants credit for course exemption by examination (written and/or performance), which meets the quality of established standards of SRTC. Credit is awarded only in areas that fall within the regular curricular offerings of SRTC.

A student must pay an exemption test fee of 25% of the tuition cost for the course, which he/she selects to exempt. This fee must be paid in advance at the Business Office and the receipt shown to the faculty administering the exemption examination. A student will not be allowed to take an exemption exam if he/she has not paid the exemption exam fee in advance. The advisor is responsible for reporting the course number, course title, and credit hours to the Registrar on an "Exemption Examination Request" form.

General Provisions

SRTC requires that a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the coursework of a particular program of study be completed at SRTC.
SRTC engages in a prior learning assessment for awarding credit for non-credit work-related experiences and or training.
SRTC honors local secondary and post-secondary articulation agreements statewide when students move from one area of the state to another.
Even though credit is not awarded, SRTC makes every attempt to ensure students do not repeat learning support courses already successfully completed at another TCSG technical college.
Exemption credit awarded will be indicated by use of the letters “EXP” or “EXE” on transcript/permanent records.
Transfer/Transient credit awarded will be indicated on transcript/permanent records by the use of the letters “TR,” “TRA,” “TRB,” or “TRC.”
Articulated credit awarded will be indicated on transcript/permanent records by use of the letters “AC.”
Military Training credit awarded will be indicated on transcript/permanent records by use of the letters “TRM.”

Record Retention
Records created under this procedure shall be maintained as required by the State of Georgia Record Retention Schedule.

Responsibility:
The Registrar has the overall responsibility for ensuring this procedure is implemented.

References:
SBTCSG Policy 5.1.8: Articulation and Transfer
TCSG Procedure 5.1.8p: Articulation and Transfer

Status:
Adopted: 01-12-2015
Implemented: 07-01-2015
Revised: 08-31-2015
Revised: 03-01-2016