Alternative Credit Options

Advanced Placement and Advanced Credit

Adrian College is a participant in the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board. Combined Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate credit may not exceed 90 credit hours when combined with transfer credit from either two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

A score of 4 or 5 on an Advanced Placement examination may qualify a student for advanced placement and advanced credit. Credit may also be granted for scores of 5 or higher on the high- level subject exams of the International Baccalaureate Program. In certain areas, a student may have to discuss the course, approaches, and performance with the appropriate department chairperson.  

For Modern Languages, students scoring in the 5 to 7 range will receive 4 to 8 credit hours at the Intermediate (200) level. Combined Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate credit may not exceed 30 credit hours and credit will not be granted for scores from two programs which appear to be equivalent.  Students placing into a 300-level modern language course on the campus administered placement examination will be awarded 4 hours of credit for the Level IV course (MLCF202, MLCJ202 or MLCS202) at the completion of the 300-level course with a grade of C or better. This rule does not apply to students who have already received equivalency credit due to a 4 or 5 score on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam.

The mathematics department awards 4 hours of credit for MATH135 to students who place into MATH205 and receive a grade of B- or higher in the course. In addition, students may be placed, without advanced credit, in higher level courses in biology, communication arts and sciences, and mathematics at the discretion of the department.

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

College Level Examination Program - CLEP

The College Level Examination Program offers students an opportunity to receive college credit.  CLEP examinations have been developed for this purpose.  Adrian College may award credit based on the results of these examinations and the approval of individual departments in which credit is to be awarded.

For Business, Students who complete the exams in Microeconomics and Introduction to Business, and score a 60 will be awarded 3 credits for each course. 

For Modern Languages, students with advanced proficiency in the offered target language, but that did not take AP or IB courses during their high school experience, may opt to take and pay for the CLEP examinations for advanced placement A Level 1 score of 50 or higher in Spanish will allow you to waive the two introduction courses (101 & 102) and place into the third language installment of the target language if offered (201). A Level 1 & 2 score of 63 on Spanish Language, and 65 on Spanish with Writing will allow you to waive the three courses (101, 102, & 201) and advance place into the fourth language installment of the target language if offered (202). Students may transfer in their scores to earn equivalent college credit with the CLEP language examination

Foreign Language Achievement Testing Services - FLATS

Modern Languages, students with advanced proficiency in a foreign language in higher education, may also opt to take and pay for the FLATS examinations in order to waive their language requirement (101 & 102) at Adrian College. The FLATS examinations are a foreign language service offered by Brigham Young University to many national and international institutions. Upon completion of the target language examination, FLATS will determine your language placement at either the 100, 200, or 300 level. If you reach the 200-level placement, your requirement to take the offered Adrian College MLCX 101 and 102 sequence courses will be waived. Students are allowed to use the Proctor 360 distance services by FLATS. You must share your results with the Department of Modern Languages & Cultures for approval.

International Baccalaureate Credit

For Modern Language, students credit hours are granted for the High Level (HL) subject examinations and the Standard Level (SL) subject examinations of the International Baccalaureate Program. For Modern Languages & Cultures, students scoring in the 5 to 7 range on HL examinations will receive 4 to 8 credit hours at the intermediate level (200) and students scoring in the 5 to 7 range on SL examinations will receive 4 to 8 credit hours at the introductory level (100), depending on their scores (please see the chart below). A and B course designations by the International Baccalaureate Program are treated the same. Combined Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate credit may not exceed 90 credit hours when combined with transfer credit from either two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Credit will not be granted for scores from two programs which appear to be equivalent. In certain areas, a student may have to discuss the course, approaches, and performance with the appropriate department chair.

International Baccalaureate

Life Learning Experience Credit - LLE

Life Learning Experience credit may be granted upon evaluation of accomplishments and experiences not ordinarily considered part of the traditional academic study. These activities may include, but are not limited to, professional experiences in business, industry or the community; supervision of volunteer activities; foreign language skills gained through travel; apprenticeship positions. All such experiences must be shown to relate to educational goals and will be evaluated in terms of their contribution to learning. Students interested in the LLE program should contact the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies for application materials.

The procedural steps to be followed in applying for LLE credit are:

1. Set up meetings with the appropriate department chair(s) for LLE consideration.

2. Contact the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies and complete the online LLE Credit Application.

3. Complete the LLE portfolio and submit to the appropriate department chair(s) for review, consisting of the chair(s) and the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies to be considered for approval of credit (see Appendix A for an example portfolio organizational template). The Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies will communicate the decision of the committee and facilitate any next steps

Department of Modern Language & Cultures Advanced Placement

At the discretion of the Department of Modern Language & Cultures and the instructor/professor, it is possible for some accelerated language students, who were unable to advance place through standardized examinations, to receive an advanced placement accommodation. Students who received permission to place into a 300-level modern language course with expressed permission from the target language professor will be awarded 4 hours of credit for the Level IV course (MLCF202, MLCJ202 or MLCS202) at the completion of the 300-level course with a grade of C or better. This rule does not apply to students who have already received equivalency credit due to a 4 or 5 score on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam or credit hours through the IB Program and the CLEP examination.

The department also recognizes that there are heritage speakers, immersion students, and occasionally accelerated students who should be placed in a course beyond MLCX 101. In these particular circumstances, students are advised to contact and meet with the target language faculty member for the possibility of advanced placement.