Administrators

This page is intended to be a resource for admissions and transfer professionals at institutions seeking to better understand how Pennsylvania’s credit for prior learning requirements affect their institution. For a list of all approved minimum scores, please visit the student focused page titled Credit by Examination.

In 2017, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation adding a section to the Pennsylvania Public School Code, 24 P.S. § 20-2002-C(d), requiring Community Colleges and PASSHE institutions to:

• 1. 1. Adopt and make public uniform standards for determining academic credit for prior learning
  1. 2. Agree to award academic credit for prior learning, which is determined to meet the established uniform standards and apply the credit toward graduation, unless prohibited by external accreditation or licensure.

Development of these standards began in early 2018. Faculty subcommittees representing community colleges, PA State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities, and other colleges and universities opting to participate in the program convened for the first time in September 2018.

During this standard setting process each subcommittee reviewed course and exam designs, competencies, scoring standards, and other materials published by College Board, the American Council on Education (ACE), the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB), and Prometric.

The committees focused on Advanced Placement (AP) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams during the first phase of review. Each subcommittee recommended a minimum score standard to the oversight committee, those recommendations were voted on and adopted by TAOC. The committee repeated the process in the spring of 2019, leading to the approval of additional minimum scores for Dantes DSST exams; the process repeated again in the Fall of 2019, leading to the approval of additional minimum scores for additional DSST exams and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses and exams.  As of March 2022, there is only one outstanding category regarding DSST exams yet to be finalized:  Mathematics.

All participating members of the PA College Transfer System must award credit, and apply it toward graduation, for the approved minimum scores.

In addition to the minimum score, each subcommittee drafted additional guidance and recommendations for courses or credit amounts that institutions may offer as equivalencies for exam scores at or above the established minimum. The recommended course and credit awards in these documents are not expected to be uniform across all institutions. Institutions are encouraged to be as consistent as possible, however the actual credit awarded and the applicability of the credit (i.e., major or elective) will vary between institutions in accordance with the student’s major, the institutions course catalog and sequence, or program design.