Students with varied educational experience may convert this experience into college credits on the basis of satisfactory performance on proficiency examinations. A person who has been officially accepted as a Harper student may apply for and receive college credit by meeting the course objectives through alternative or transfer credit for up to 42 semester hours of the degree program requirements and up to one-half of the semester hours required for completion of a certificate program. Alternative credit could include Advanced Placement (AP) credit, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credit, Harper College Proficiency Examination credit, the American Council on Education recommendations for Defense Activity of Non-traditional Educational Support (DANTES, previously USAFl).
Guidelines, policies and procedures for alternative credit programs explained below are available online and in the Assessment and Testing Center.
Credit and placement will be awarded to students with Advanced Placement (AP) examination scores of "3" or better. Criteria for granting credit have been determined by each academic division. In order to process course credit for these exams, an official AP score report must be requested by the student and sent directly to Harper College.
Credit through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is available to all students who feel they have acquired the necessary proficiency level to meet the requirements in a variety of subjects not covered by Harper College proficiency tests. Criteria for granting credit have been determined by each academic division. In order to process course credit for these exams, an official CLEP score report must be requested by the student and sent directly to Harper College.
Departmental proficiency tests have been created by Harper College faculty for many courses not available through the CLEP program. Students must receive permission to take a proficiency test from the appropriate program coordinator or department chairperson before taking the exam.
Credit and placement can be awarded for DANTES tests that have an equivalent option available through College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and are evaluated using Harper College's CLEP standards. Credit through Defense Activity for Non-traditional Education Support (DANTES) is available by submitting an official score report directly to Harper College.
