Pre-enrollment earned credit for first-year students (advanced placement)

2023-24 Academic Catalog Page Edits In-Progress

First-year students who earn college-level credit prior to the first term of enrollment at Augustana may transfer this credit to the college as follows:

Dual enrollment credit:

Students who dual enroll with a local college while in high school have no limit on those college level credits. Courses are subject to official transfer evaluation by the college registrar, see Transcript Policies for details on how to send your transcripts for evaluation.

Testing credit:

A maximum of 24 credits of combined testing credit may be applied toward the degree. This includes a combination of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), an A-Level.

First-year students who have earned more than 24 credits of testing credit have until the end of their first semester of enrollment to declare their 24 credits of testing credits. Once applied to the record these credits may not be changed and it is an irreversible decision. See below for additional policies governing pre-enrollment credit. See the college catalog

Additional policies on transfer and testing credits:

• Augustana does not accept College Level Exam Program (CLEP) exams or life/work experience to be applied toward the degree.

• Augustana only accepts one ACE credit for HEPE credit for military service. 

Adopted 2.25.2020

Advanced Placement Credit

First-year students who have taken the College Board Advanced Placement Examination may be eligible for as many as 24 credits. Students who have taken AP tests are expected to send their scores to Augustana for evaluation. Official scores sent from College Board should be sent directly to Augustana College. Scores of 4 or 5 may result in credit.

Credit will not be awarded from a high school or college transcript. Students earning more than 24 testing credits (see policy above) should complete the necessary form in the Office of the Registrar no later than the first term of enrollment to declare the courses, up to 24 credits, that they wish to have applied to their record.

Academic departments determine which scores result in credit. See chart of departments and credits possible. Once declared, this is an irreversible decision. See below for additional policies governing pre-enrollment credit.

adopted 2.25.2020

International Baccalaureate

Students who have earned the International Baccalaureate diploma may be awarded credit for Higher Level passes with scores of five (5) or higher if approved by the department. In some academic disciplines a score of four (4) may be considered, but is subject to individual evaluation and the discretion of the academic department. No credit is awarded for Subsidiary or Standard Level examinations.

The specific amount of credit and course equivalencies awarded for each Higher Level pass are determined through evaluation by the appropriate academic department. The following assessments have already been made:

Students should understand not all courses equivalencies meet graduation requirements. Once students have committed to Augustana College, they should arrange to have their official IB scores sent directly to the college from the testing agency. For other tests not listed above, those assessments will be made by the Registrar in consultation with the appropriate department in early fall semester after scores are received.

*See department for more information

A-Level credits

Students who have taken the Cambridge Examinations or Cambridge International Examinations at the A-level and have earned a grade of A*, A, or B+ may be awarded credit if approved by the department. Scores of B and below will not be awarded credit. The specific amount of credit and course equivalencies awarded for each grade are determined through evaluation by the appropriate academic department. Students should visit the Cambridge website and arrange to have official scores sent directly from Cambridge Assessment to the Office of the Registrar at Augustana College for evaluation. Please note we do not take copies delivered from the student, hand-delivered copies, photo copies or pdf versions. See our policies on sending official records to the college. Scores already approved appear below. 

Faculty adopted 4.26.18

updated 10.25.22

Credit and placement by examination

Most examinations for advanced standing are intended only to permit the exceptionally qualified student to enter an advanced course without taking preliminary courses. In most instances, credit will not be given, but a higher level course placement allowed. Such examinations are administered at the discretion of the department involved and a $150.00 fee is charged for each test.

If a grade of "C" or better is achieved on the final examination (or final presentation, paper, evaluation, etc.) for the course, placement will be awarded.  

A petition to the Committee on Advanced Standing & Degrees is required if a student is requesting to test for credit. Support of the provost and the department where the course is offered is required. Approvals will be considered only in rare and unusual circumstances and only where no other options under college and faculty policy are possible (waiving final 12 credits, Acadeum, program substitutions, etc.).

If approved, prepayment to the business office is required for each examination before a test will be scheduled. Examinations will adhere to a maximum two-hour testing time, which is the same as allotted for final exams during exam week. The final grade will be reported to the Office of the Registrar by the department chair within two days of the exam. Credit for the course will be applied to the official record (transcript) with a grade of "P" if a grade of "C" or better is earned. There will be no impact on the grade point average. If a grade of "C" or better is not earned, nothing will be reflected on the student transcript.

The final exam, paper and/or assessment becomes the property of the college and will remain in the permanent record for the student. See the Office of the Registrar for details.

Faculty adopted for semesters 4.2.19

Updated 7.18.22

#Students who have taken only one ECON AP test will need to take the new principles course. 

*History majors are limited to 8 credits of AP work in any combination to be applied toward the History major/minor. Please see the HIST department for more information.

^All students who need the chemistry sequence for their major are required to take CHEM-131 or CHEM-235. If they have AP scores as noted above, they will be given credit for CHEM-132 and/or CHEM-123 after successful completion of CHEM-131 or CHEM-235.

@Students with qualifying scores will be given credit for PHYS-211 after successfully passing PHYS-313.