Transfer and Prior Learning Credits

Monroe Community College, through Admissions and in consultation with Academic Services and departments, awards transfer and prior learning credit in accordance with the State University of New York transfer credit policies. Transfer and prior learning credit is defined as college credits from other sources such as another post-secondary institution, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), CLEP and DANTES, military experience, and college credits earned in high school. All prior learning credits are transcribed by MCC as transfer credit. Students are notified of prior learning credits received.

(a) A student is eligible for only one method of prior learning credit per course. For example, a student who has already received prior learning credit through CLEP/DANTES, AP/IB or ACE, is not eligible for credit through portfolio.

(b) MCC does not guarantee the transferability of credits awarded through prior learning.

(c) Prior Learning Credit does not count toward the 24 credit hour residence requirement.

(d) Prior Learning Credits may not be used to acquire or maintain full-time status.

Those students wishing to receive transfer and/or prior learning credit must follow the published Transfer Credit and Prior Learning Credit Procedure.

Monroe Community College will review and evaluate the following credit types

· Credits from Post-Secondary Institutions

· Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, CLEP and DANTES

· Military experience

· Transfer Credit Awarded by an Institution Outside the United States

· Credit by Examination

· Work Experience/Portfolio Assessment

Because credits accepted by MCC may not be transferable to other institutions, students should meet with a representative of the transfer institution regarding the status of these credits.

The academic department chairperson, or designee, who has the oversight for the subject will evaluate courses for equivalent learning outcomes.

Transfer Credit and Prior Learning Credit Procedure

Transfer Credit and Prior Learning Credit may be awarded under the following methods.

(1) Credits from Post-Secondary Institutions: Credit is granted for courses completed at another post-secondary institution which is recognized by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or Council of Higher Education Accreditation, (e.g., Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, American Council on Education, etc.). All other credits from post-secondary institutions that are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved regional accrediting association will be accepted if they apply to the established curricula of Monroe Community College.

(a) Acceptance or denial of transfer credit is not determined exclusively on the basis of the mode of delivery. MCC will consider course equivalencies by reviewing if expected learning outcomes are substantially equivalent to MCC’s curricula and standards.

(b) All courses with grades of C or higher may be considered for transfer credit.

(c) Courses bearing less credit at a previous institution than the equivalent course
at MCC will only be awarded the number of credits earned at the previous institution.

(d) One quarter hours of credit will be transferred as two-thirds of one semester hour;
e.g., 9 quarter hours equals 6 semester hours.

(2) Military Credits: Students may be eligible to earn transfer credit for military experience. Credit hours completed in the military are granted as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) or Department of Defense (DOD) and are accepted up to the number of hours required by the degree program minus 24 residency credit hours required at MCC. Those who have served in the military, prior and current students, should request official transcript through the Joint Services Transcript (JST) web site; or if Air Force, through the Community College of the Air Force transcript request system and submit to the Veterans Services Office who works with the Admissions in the awarding of credit. If a student is unable to produce an official military transcript, a DD-214 may be submitted for review and evaluation by the Veteran Service Office.

(3) Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, CLEP and DANTES: The College recognizes the Advanced Placement Program, CLEP and DANTES offered through the College Board. International Baccalaureate scores are also eligible for transfer credit. Students must submit official examination score reports to the Admissions Office. Specific scores and minimum scores required follow the College Board recommendations and SUNY Policy as detailed on our website.

(4) MCC Departmental Exams: Academic departments may offer exams for proficiency or credit. In those departments choosing to offer departmental exams, an exam for proficiency may be used to fulfill prerequisites for advanced courses or satisfy other requirements. An exam for proficiency does not yield any course credit or grade. The academic department giving the examination will determine the minimum standards for successful completion of an exam for proficiency. Additionally, a departmental exam for credit may be used to earn credit for a course. The academic department giving the examination will determine the minimum standards for successful completion of an exam for credit.

Credit(s) earned by departmental exam do not earn grade point average (GPA) points and are reflected only within the student's cumulative credit totals on the transcript (not within the term in which the student completed the exam).

Credit(s) earned by departmental exam count in the credit total, but do not count toward the minimum number of credit hours student must earn in residence at MCC.

Please contact the department chairperson to determine if credit by examination is available for specific courses.

(5) Converted Credit from non-credit training: examples include non-credit training through MCC's Economic Development and Innovative Workforce Services Division or from other community college non-credit programs. Credit will be assessed by the related academic department.

(6) Transfer Credit Awarded by an institution outside the United States: All credits earned outside the United States must be evaluated by a third party credential evaluation service. Students are responsible for having their credits evaluated by a third party. MCC will award credit from evaluations from the World Education Services (WES) and Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE).

(7) Work Experience/Portfolio Assessment–

Documents prepared by a student that support a claim of prior knowledge of specific MCC courses. Examples include learning gained through work experience, professional licenses and certificates, voluntary experiences including community activities and youth organizations. Portfolio Credit is a recommended method
of awarding prior learning credit in A.A.S programs.

Portfolio Credit will be reviewed on an individual basis for verifiable college level learning acquired other than at MCC and may be granted under the circumstances below.

(a) Students who have matriculated into a degree or certificate program, with at least three to five years of work experience.

(b) Students may request an evaluation any time after acceptance into an MCC degree or certificate program.

(c) Individual academic departments will determine which courses are available for portfolio assessment. Courses must be applicable to the degree or certificate program desired at MCC.

(d) A fee will be charged for the portfolio course(s). Once the fee has been processed by Student Accounts, the portfolio review process will continue with the student’s department faculty advisor.

(e) The mechanism to assess a student’s portfolio for prior learning will be determined by the department granting the credit.

1. The student will first meet with a departmental faculty/advisor from whom credit is being sought to examine the student’s portfolio and determine the best method to assess the student’s credentials. The academic department faculty must be acknowledged as having the appropriate subject matter expertise. (A department may choose to either empower a “discipline expert” or establish a review committee.)

i. The evaluating faculty member will review the Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for the course for which credit is being sought, and determine whether the student’s portfolio documentation demonstrates that 75% of the CLOs for the course have been met through the student’s prior learning experience.

ii. Similar to the process of granting credit for AP/IB, CLEP, ACE or Military (DOD transcript) credit, approved portfolio credit will be noted on the transcript with a “T.” No grade will be recorded, nor is the grade point average affected.

(f) A student selecting the portfolio evaluation method to earn credit is required to enroll in a Portfolio Development Course (course needs to be developed).

(g) Portfolio credit will not be awarded for a course in which a student is currently enrolled in, or in which he/she previously earned credit or audited.

(h) Portfolio Credit will be awarded only for active MCC courses.

(i) A student must be enrolled in a degree or a certificate program at MCC and in good
standing.

(j) A student selecting Portfolio as a means to earn Prior Learning Credit must first complete ENG 101 or ENG 200 or equivalent.

(k) Students who are denied credit for a course following portfolio evaluation may not petition for credit again for that course by portfolio evaluation unless there has been significant change/addition of documentation.

Evaluation of Transfer Credit and Prior Learning Credit

(1) Course credit for all competitive admissions programs (e.g., Nursing) may have an expiration date for the grade to be considered when the applicant is accepted for admission.

(2) Transfer and prior learning credit will not be removed from a student’s record.

(3) When an MCC prerequisite course grade does not meet MCC transfer credit standards (C or better), the prerequisite course will not be accepted for credit even if the next course in the sequence may be accepted.