Students who get college credit not earned in a college classroom will have an easier time transferring those credits starting next spring.
On Friday, a new policy that will standardize how colleges accept “credit for prior learning” was approved by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, making Colorado one of 12 states to standardize the process.
“It’s part of our push to increase degree attainment,” said Rhonda Epper, chief student success and academic affairs officer for the Colorado Department of Higher Education. “This will make a big difference for students and parents to be able to know what base line they need.”
Currently, students who want college credit for an exam score from an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate class, for example, may find that a score taken at one college is not considered high enough for credit at another college.
The plan approved Friday commits the state’s colleges to set one score per class, or to test to determine if college credit is granted. The accepted scores will be determined by December.
In the months of discussions, which officials on Friday called “complex and at times contentious,” reaching an agreement in part depended on a compromise to allow colleges to set different scores when a student wants to major in the content.
For instance, a student wishing to get college credit for an Advanced Placement English class may need one score to get that credit to apply for general education. But if that student wants to major in English, a higher score could be required.
The scores needed to apply credit to a major will be set by March 2016.
Commissioners on Friday supported the policy but discussed concerns about colleges differentiating cut scores for majors. They asked that their reasons be justified with data.
Kathleen Pickering, vice provost for undergraduate affairs at Colorado State University, said looking at data will help make sure students who are allowed to skip a college class by getting credit for previous experiences still will be successful in their other college courses.
“We all share this interest, certainly, in creating efficiency, access and affordability,” Pickering said.
Besides test scores, schools also will look at how to apply or accept credit from certain work-training experiences, approved military credit and portfolio assessments.
Another concern raised Friday was about access to prior-learning experiences and ensuring the policy doesn’t make inequalities wider.
Epper pointed out that high-achieving high school students aren’t the only ones who can benefit. An estimated 700,000 Colorado adults who have some college credit but no degree also could benefit.
“If we want to reach these students,” Epper said, “we need a policy that helps to bring them in and to recognize the learning they already have to help accelerate their progress to get a degree.”
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or twitter.com/yeseniarobles
