AP - Advanced Placement Exams for High School Students
Advanced Placement (AP) classes can be an important part of a student's college preparation plan. Classes are offered in most high schools throughout Minnesota and offer rigorous course content in many areas. Through AP Exams, you have the opportunity to earn credit or advanced standing at most of the nation's colleges and universities. With 37 courses and exams across 22 subject areas, AP offers something for everyone. Additional information is available on the Minnesota Transfer site about different types of transfer.
CLEP - College Level Examination Program
CLEP is a College Board program that allows students to earn college credit by demonstrating their mastery of college-level material in introductory subjects. CLEP provides students of any age the opportunity to demonstrate college-level achievement through a program of exams in undergraduate college courses. CLEP exams do not relate to a specifically designed college-level course taught in high school. Rather, CLEP exams test mastery of college-level materials acquired in a variety of ways--such as through general academic instruction, significant independent study, or extracurricular work.
CLEP examinations cover material taught in courses that most students take as requirements in the first two years of college. A college usually grants the same amount of credit to students earning satisfactory scores on the CLEP examination as it grants to students successfully completing that course.
Many examinations are designed to correspond to one-semester courses; some, however correspond to full-year or two-year courses. Each exam is 90 minutes long, and, except for English Composition with Essay, is made up primarily of multiple-choice questions; however, some exams do have fill-ins.
Additional information is available on the Minnesota Transfer site about different types of transfer.
Credit for Life Learning/Work 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) learned through college coursework.
Credit for Non-regionally Accredited Institutions
Students may request that credit be granted from non-regionally accredited institutions on a course-by-course basis. Individual institutions determine the transfer of credit for this transcripted work. These courses must be judged to be comparable or equivalent to courses offered at the receiving college or university. Students would usually need to present a syllabus for review.
DANTES - Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support/DSST
DANTES mission is to support the off-duty, voluntary education programs of the Department of Defense and to conduct special projects and development activities in support of education-related functions of the Department.
The DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST) program is an extensive series of examinations in college subjects that are comparable to the final or end-of-course examinations in undergraduate courses. ACE recommends 3 semester hours of credit per test. DANTES funds DSST testing for eligible Service members and personnel at DANTES military Test Centers. The DSSTs are now also available for use by civilians at universities and colleges throughout the country. Review a list of the DSSTs.
The DSST program is an extensive series of examinations in college subjects that are comparable to the final or end-of-course examinations in undergraduate courses. ACE recommends 3 semester hours of credit per test. DANTES funds DSST testing for eligible Service members and personnel at DANTES military Test Centers.
- Visit the DANTES website.
- Additional information is available on the Minnesota Transfer site about different types of transfer.
Departmental Exams (local campus)
Credit by examination may be given for selected courses that are regularly taught for credit and described in the college catalog. The instructor determines whether to provide an examination and whether the student meets the standards that would have been expected if the student had done the course work. Students are charged a fee for the exam for which credit may be granted.
International Baccalaureate (for High School Students)
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program is an educational program taught in one of three languages - English, French or Spanish - and is intended for students in their final two years of secondary school, often before entering university. The program, administered by the International Baccalaureate Organization, is one of the most widely recognized pre-university educational programs in the world.
The Diploma Program (DP) curriculum consists of completing six courses from six different subject areas, writing an Extended Essay (EE) of up to 4,000 words, taking part in the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) class, and fulfilling requirements in Creative, Active and Service (CAS) pursuits.
Students pursuing the Diploma take six courses, usually from six different subject areas, with three (or four) of them taken at higher level (HL) and the rest at standard level (SL).
A member organization of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services must conduct a comprehensive, course-by-course analysis before SCTCC can evaluate transfer of international credits.
SCTCC recommends the following NACES organizations:
- World Education Services (WES)
- Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)
- American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
Educational opportunities exist to further your military career or prepare for a civilian career, whether you're active duty or retired, stateside or abroad.
You may be eligible to receive credit for your military training and prior learning experiences that have been evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE).
ACT PEP - Proficiency Examination Program
New York Regents College (Now Excelsior College) offered a series of 40 college- level examinations used by more than 900 colleges in the U.S. to award credit by examination or advanced placement. These tests were formerly administered by A.C.T. and are sometimes referred to as ACT-PEP.
The study guides for these courses may be located in the Excelsior College site; however, because the site is guarded by passwords and copyright notices, we cannot link to them here. They are available from the College and can be obtained by writing to this address:
7 Columbia Circle
Albany, NY 12203-5159
Post-secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO)
The Minnesota Legislature created Post-Secondary Enrollment Options programs in 1985 to promote rigorous course taking and improve student transitions to postsecondary education.
Students from nearly every public high school in Minnesota earn credits at Minnesota State. Through PSEO, students may take courses on a college or university campus or, where available, at their high school. PSEO courses taught in high schools are commonly called concurrent enrollment courses. High school students may take online courses offered by the state colleges and universities.
Students eligibility requirements (note the College makes the final determination on a student's readiness):
- High school seniors must be in the upper one-half of their class or score at or above the 50th percentile on the ACT or SAT.
- Juniors must be in the upper one-third of their class or score at or above the 70th percentile on a test, such as the ACT or SAT.
- Sophomores may enroll in a career or technical education course at a Minnesota State college or university if they have attained a passing score or met the 8th grade standard on the 8th grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment in reading and meet other course prerequisites or course enrollment standards established by the college. These standards include but are not limited to assessment test scores, program admission or other requirements.
- If a sophomore receives a grade of C or better in the course, the student shall be allowed to take additional career or technical education courses in subsequent terms.
- A student who first enrolls under this provision while in 10th grade and wishes to enroll in general education courses as an 11th or 12th grade student must take the system Assessment for Course Placement and achieve the required scores prior to enrollment.
- Campuses may require eligible 10th grade PSEO students who wish to enroll in a career and technical course to meet with a college counselor or advisor.
- Colleges and universities may admit students based on other documentation of ability to perform college-level work.
Tuition, fees and books for PSEO students who earn dual credits are paid by the Minnesota Department of Education to the colleges and universities in which PSEO students are enrolled. The formula is established in statute.
Minnesota Transfer provides information about articulation and transfer agreements, transfer guidelines, and procedures.
Transferology is an online tool that will help you view program requirements, course equivalencies, and see how courses you have taken or plan to take transfer to another college or university.
The Veterans Education Transfer System (VETS)
Created by the Minnesota State, The Veterans Education Transfer System (VETS) is an online application that helps past, present, and future servicemen and servicewomen determine how their military training can count for credit at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions.
Registrar - Bretta A. Edwards
(320) 308-5075 | email@example.com
Associate Registrar for Transfer Services -
(320) 308-6598 | firstname.lastname@example.org
Registration and Transfer Assistant – Julie Trousil
(320) 308-6618 | email@example.com
Registration and Transfer Assistant – Tomy Nacanabo-Cassalom
(320) 308-5979 | firstname.lastname@example.org