Credit for Prior Learning

The College provides its students with opportunities to demonstrate competence at the college level from learning gained through learning experiences outside of a college or university credit-bearing course. The College shall follow Minnesota State Board Policy 3.35 in evaluating and awarding Credit for Prior Learning.

• Credit for Life Work/Work Experience (Prior Learning)

  Prior Learning (Competency-Based Education) allows students to present nontraditional learning as competencies to be evaluated for credit by qualified faculty members towards their educational program. These competencies must be the equivalent of what would have been achieved through college coursework. At Saint Paul College, Credit for Prior Learning offers, on a limited basis, students with sufficient work, non-college credit and/or life learning experiences, the opportunity to document competencies and theory learning relevant to specific courses offered at the College. Credits earned from prior learning must be applicable to the student’s program of study. The Credit for Prior Learning option may be available for a limited number of technical courses. Students interested in pursuing the option of earning credit for prior learning must discuss this option with the assigned Faculty Advisor.

  American Sign Language Credit by Exam/Test-Out Information

  MLT Credit by Exam Test-Out Request

• CLEP—College Level Examination Program

  Saint Paul College will consider CLEP exam credits for students who want to test out of general education courses and selected business courses. A maximum of 30 credits may be applied toward an associate degree. No letter grades will be recorded on the transcript. Credit will be awarded based on the American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations. Credit will not be given which repeats completed coursework.

  Note: Colleges establish their own policies for accepting CLEP credit. Students should consult their transfer college’s CLEP policy to determine whether CLEP credits will transfer and/or how they will be accepted. Consult the College Board Web site (www.collegeboard.org) for testing locations, fees and exam information.

  CLEP Table and Information

  Note: CLEP exams have changed and there are no longer General Exams as distinguished from Subject Exams. Computer-based CLEP exams administered prior to July 1, 2001 have the same score scale and credit-granting score as its paper-based counterpart. All CLEP computer-based testing (CBT) exams administered after July 1, 2001 have a uniform ACE recommended credit-granting score of 50 for all subjects.

  Note: An official CLEP score report must be sent to Saint Paul College for Transfer of Credit evaluation.

• AP - Advanced Placement

  Advanced Placement gives high school students an opportunity to take college-level courses in various subject areas. A score of 3 is the minimum for credit to be awarded. Grades of 3, 4 or 5 qualify students for credits and/or placement into advanced courses at Saint Paul College. Credit can be given for a specific college course if a test covers substantially similar material. If the test material does not match an existing course, students will be given elective credit. Saint Paul College will grant credit for AP examinations according to the following: Students may petition for elective credits to meet certain general education requirements for an Associate Degree. There is no limit to the total number of credits a student can earn through AP courses and tests. An official AP score report must be sent to the college using Saint Paul College 4 digit code 0534.

  AP Exam course Equivalency Table

• IB—International Baccalaureate (for High School Students)

  The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is an internationally recognized program through which high school students complete a comprehensive curriculum of rigorous study and demonstrate performance on IB examinations. Students may present a full IB diploma or a certificate recognizing specific higher level or standard level test scores.

  Students who attain an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma shall be granted six (6) lower division course credits for scores of 4 or higher on each Higher Level IB examinations and two (2) lower division course credits for scores of 4 or higher on each Standard Level IB examination.

  Note: An official IB score report must be sent to Saint Paul College for Transfer of Credit evaluation.

• Tech Prep/Articulated Credit

  Articulated college credit (ACC) provides dual-credit towards both high school and college graduation. High school classes articulate to different colleges and universities in various subject areas. To find out which courses are offered at your high school, please see ctecreditmn.com. Many programs are articulated between Saint Paul Public Schools and Saint Paul College. Consult a high school counselor for more information concerning Articulated College Credit.

  Students who receive a valid Minnesota Articulated College Credit certificate for one or more courses from their high school should present the certificate(s) and an official high school transcript to the Saint Paul College Record’s Office (Student.Records@lcxjj.net) or their advisor at the time of registration or orientation. The student will receive transfer credit for these courses and the course(s) will be designated as such on the student’s SPC college transcript. The Minnesota Articulated College Credit certificates are usually valid for five years from the date of issue. (Please note: if you are looking to transfer, it will be up to that next institution if they will transfer these articulated college credit courses or not.)

• Minnesota Bilingual Seals Program

  High School students who earned Minnesota Bilingual or Multilingual seals may earn college credit through transfer. Students must submit their seal/certificate and high school transcript within 3 years of graduating high school to earn college credit. Students must be admitted to the college and have a declared major. Please contact your high school for questions about obtaining your seal, certificate and/or high school transcript.

  For more information about Bilingual and Multilingual Seals, visit: http://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/stds/world/seals/

• International Transcripts

  Saint Paul College does not evaluate international transcripts. If you have a transcript from a foreign country, you must have a third party transcript evaluator determine how the courses translate to U.S. courses. While we will accept evaluations from any AICE (www.aice-eval.org) or NACES member (www.naces.org), we highly recommend Educational Credential Evaluators (www.ece.org) or World Education Services, Inc. (www.wes.org). Saint Paul College reserves the right to request additional information from you such as course descriptions, syllabi, etc. Transfer Specialists can look at a copy prior to evaluation if the transcript is in English to determine whether it is worthwhile to pursue the third party evaluation process (i.e., whether there are courses that are likely to transfer).

  Note: Credits earned through Credit for Prior Learning may not transfer to other colleges.

• Military Credit

  Recent legislation in Minnesota requires Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to review military academic transcripts and give appropriate credit based on the American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations. The transcript evaluator will review your military training based upon the American Council of Education standards for Military Programs and provide you a copy of your Degree Audit Report (DARS) indicating what was accepted in transfer.

  Note: For evaluation of military credits, students will need to order an official Joint Services transcript to be sent to Saint Paul College. Transcripts can be ordered at http://jst.doded.mil/official.html

• ACE - American Council on Education Recommendations

  Saint Paul College reviews coursework from external sources with American Council on Education (ACE) Recommendation (e.g. Straighterline, Sophia Pathways) for potential transfer of credit. The transcript must come from ACE’s transcript issuer Credly.

  For more information regarding ACE Recommendations please visit the ACE website: http://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pages/default.aspx

  To request your Credly transcript please visit their website: http://info.credly.com

• Internationally Trained Professional (ITP) Grant

  The ITP grant offers guidance, support and funding for internationally trained healthcare professionals wo seek to relicense in the U.S. or pursue alternate medical career training.

  You may be eligible for support through the Internationally Trained Professional (ITP) Grant if you meet the following:

  • Foreign-born
  • Authorized to work in the U.S.
  • Internationally trained healthcare professional who wish to:
  • Relicense in their field or
  • Pursue alternate medical career training

  Internationally Trained Professionals Program

Further questions about Credit for Prior Learning? Please schedule an appointment with your Advisor to discuss further or fill out this survey and someone will get back to you in 3-5 business days.

Saint Paul College is a partner in the Minnesota State Credit for Prior Learning Assessment Network (C-PLAN) which is a Minnesota State collaboration of colleges and universities developing and sharing CPL expertise and resources. C-PLAN assists students to identify their CPL options.