Undergraduate

The School Dean or designee uses the following criteria to evaluate proposed transfer credits at the undergraduate level:

• Completed at regionally or nationally accredited post-secondary institution;
• Do not exceed a maximum of 90 lower and upper division semester credits;
• Earned with a grade of “C” or better.

Credit for Examinations - For the award of undergraduate academic credit, Northcentral University will accept the minimum scores recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) on all exams offered by:

• Advanced Placement Credit
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP),
• Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DSST/DANTES),
• Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Prior Learning Assessment Portfolio, and
• Excelsior College (formerly Regents College) Exams.

In addition, the University will accept the amount of academic credit and the academic level recommended by ACE for a passing score on each of the exams with the exception of Composition exams. A minimum score of 65 is required for the acceptance of a CLEP composition exam for transfer credit. Northcentral University has sole discretion in determining which and how many of these credits will be accepted toward degree requirements. Credit is not given where (1) it duplicates credit previously earned at or accepted in transfer by Northcentral University or (2) it is more elementary than a course for which the applicant has already received credit.

Prior Learning Credits

Prior Learning Credit is credit that students are given for learning that has taken place outside of a traditional academic environment. The experience must match the learning experience provided in a university course. This could include on-the-job training, military service, seminars, hobbies, volunteer work in the community, independent study, and/or noncredit courses. The student must demonstrate how his/her prior learning experiences are equivalent to the selected University course through an evaluative process such as the design and development of a portfolio, taking college board tests, or ACE credit evaluations. To receive Prior Learning Credits in exchange for a course in an academic area of specialization, a student must:

• Be an undergraduate student who is enrolled in a Northcentral University academic program;
• Complete a minimum of 30 course credit hours at Northcentral University, including his/her final 15 credit hours. Additionally, within the 30 credit hours of course work required, a minimum of 9 credit hours of course work must be completed in the student’s program specialization at Northcentral University.
• Be a student who has prior learning experience relevant to the applicable course he or she is seeking to acquire credit. This is evaluated by CAEL.
• Be a student who has evidence that he or she has acquired the applicable prior learning experience using credible artifacts that will be investigated. This will be evaluated by CAEL.

For more information on earning course credits through prior learning, visit the LearningCounts.Org website at http://www.learningcounts.org/Pages/Default.aspx.