Alternative Credit Options

Credit for Prior Learning

Successful completion of national examinations, departmental examinations, or a prior learning portfolio, or assessment of nonaccredited training programs through published guides may be used to award credit or may permit placement in advanced courses. A student may earn up to 60 semester hours of credit toward degree requirements using prior learning credit options. This credit will be posted to the student’s record after the completion of 8 semester hours of residency credit at Metro State. Prior learning credit may not be used toward the last 12 semester hours of a degree program, does not substitute for residency requirements, and cannot be used to challenge prerequisite courses for courses already completed. Students are advised that letter grades are not assigned for such credit, and some institutions may not accept transfer credits that do not include letter grades. Additional information is available from the offices indicated in each section below.

Advanced Placement Examinations

Students who have performed satisfactorily in special college-level courses while in high school, and who have passed appropriate Advanced Placement (AP) examinations conducted by the College Entrance Examination Board may have official scores submitted directly to the Office of Admissions for consideration for college credit. This office, in consultation with the appropriate department chair, determines the amount and nature of the credit and/or advanced placement granted. AP credit is awarded after the completion of 8 credit hours at Metro State (see following chart). Students should contact www.collegeboard.com or 888-225-5427 to request official AP scores; Metro State’s AP code is 4505.

International Baccalaureate

Metro State recognizes the high level of achievement that the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program represents. Students who complete the IB Diploma Program and the IB examinations are guaranteed admission to the College and are eligible to receive credit and advanced placement standing. To receive credit, a student must receive at least a score of four (4) on each IB examination and call 212-696-4464 to request that official scores be mailed directly to the Office of Admissions from the IB organization. For specific equivalencies, see the table below. Please contact the Office of Admissions at 303-556-3058 for more information. Students should consult with the appropriate department for further advising and with their major departments about acceptance of credits toward their majors.

*See Math Department for further advising.

College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) consists of a series of national standardized examinations. They are designed to evaluate nonaccredited college-level learning in order to award credit for successful demonstration of this knowledge. Based on the results of one or more of the CLEP examinations that are accepted at Metro State, the College may award up to 30 credits toward the General Studies requirements. Thus, students may test out of many of the traditional courses required during the freshman year. Students are advised to check with their major departments for information on specific General Studies requirements that may not be met through the use of CLEP examinations.

Metro State does not allow CLEP to be used for ENG 1020, Freshman Composition: Analysis, Research and Documentation.

No more than 60 credits may be earned through all the approved CLEP examinations.

• Credit earned through the English composition with essay, humanities, natural sciences, social sciences/history, and college mathematics examinations may be applied only to General Studies requirements. Credit earned through the other approved examinations may apply to any requirements unless otherwise stated.
• Credit earned will be entered on the student’s transcript with the title of the examination(s) and without reference to any specific Metro State course(s). CLEP examinations are recorded without reference to a letter grade and are not figured into the student’s GPA. Credit earned through CLEP examinations does not count toward residency credit requirements and therefore may not be awarded as part of the last 12 credit hours applicable to a degree.
• Credit earned through CLEP examinations will not be recorded on the student’s permanent record until the student has earned 8 hours in residency credit at Metro State. Students may take CLEP examinations prior to meeting the 8 credit hour residency requirement, in which case the scores will be maintained in the student’s record and appropriate credit awarded when the 8 credit hour residency requirement is met.
• In order to have CLEP examination or military examination (DANTES) results evaluated, the student should have a copy of the official score report sent to, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Office of Admissions, Campus Box 16, P.O. Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217-3362. To request an official CLEP score report, contact www.collegeboard.com/clep or 800-257-9558. Metro State’s CLEP code is 4505. DANTES test scores can be obtained by calling 850-452-1063.
• All CLEP examinations will be subject to the statement of policy in place at the time the scores are submitted, not the policy in place at the time the examination was taken.
• Credit awarded through CLEP examinations at other colleges or universities will be re-evaluated at Metro State according to the Metro State policy in place at the time the test scores are submitted. Students are advised to have an official copy of their score(s) sent to the College in order to have that credit evaluated.
• Metro State will not grant credit for a CLEP examination if, prior to the semester the exam is taken, a student has completed, or was enrolled in, college courses equivalent to or more advanced than the subject material of the exam. Credit will not be recorded on a student’s permanent record until all official transcripts from other regionally accredited colleges and universities attended by the student have been received and evaluated by the Office of Admissions.
• Any exception to these policies must be approved through the Board on Academic Standards Exceptions (BASE). Information about filing an appeal through BASE is available from the student’s dean’s office.
• Failure to achieve the required score(s) listed will not be entered on the permanent record. However, a copy of the CLEP score report will be retained in the student’s file.
• Any examination may be repeated six months after the date of the previous examination.

For advising assistance with CLEP examinations and information about departmental credit by examination and portfolio assessment, students may contact the Center for Individualized Learning, St. Francis Center, 2nd floor, Room 10, 303-556-8342. Additional information about the content and format of CLEP examinations is available through the College Board Web site at www.collegeboard.com/clep. Examinations may be taken through the Community College of Denver Test Center, 303-556-3810, South Classroom 223. Other official testing centers can be found through the College Board Web site listed above.

* Does not meet general education requirements

¹ Although the examinations are essentially independent, where there is overlap, credit may be obtained by completing only one of the two overlapping examinations.

² If during or subsequent to the semester the exam is taken, the student earns credit in any course(s) in column 5, accepted at Metro State, the credit value of the course(s) will be subtracted from the corresponding CLEP credit previously awarded.

³ Introductory Psychology may be applied to a psychology major or minor.

⁴ Students wishing to take Calculus I at Metro State must first pass Metro State’s departmental calculus placement exam.

Examination scores are based on standards set by NTE/ETS and in consultation with the appropriate department chairperson.

Attainment Examinations

Any student may take attainment examinations in some departments for the purpose of waiving specific graduation requirements. Passing such an examination, although it does not reduce the number of credits required for graduation, entitles students to substitute their own choice for the required subject. The examination is approximately the equivalent of the final examination in the course.

Departmental Credit by Examination

A department may grant a student credit for college courses for which the student requests and passes appropriate examinations. The charge for each credit hour requested is one-half the student’s portion of in-state tuition for one credit hour, and must be paid prior to taking the examination. A maximum of 30 semester hours of credit may be awarded through departmental credit by examination. Credit through departmental examination is based on knowledge equivalent to a regular course offered by the College. Omnibus-numbered courses are excluded. Permission for departmental credit by examination must be obtained in advance from the instructor giving the examination, the department chair and the appropriate dean.

To earn credit by examination, a student must be currently enrolled in good standing in a degree or certificate program at the College. Credit by examination may not be counted as part of the last 12 credit hours of a degree program unless it is approved by the Board on Academic Standards Exceptions (BASE). Applications for submitting a request to BASE are available in the dean’s offices in each school.

If a student has registered for a higher numbered course in a sequence, the exam for a prerequisite for that higher-numbered course must be completed within the first three weeks of the semester. Credit by examination for a course which is a prerequisite for a course already completed will not be granted unless approved by BASE.

Examinations cannot be taken to raise grades, to remove failures, or to remove “NC,” “SP,” “I,” or “CC” notations. Credit by examination is not applicable toward academic residency requirements. Credit by examination cannot be obtained for a course in which a student has been enrolled at Metro State or at another regionally accredited college or university unless approved by BASE. Credit by examination will not be granted for courses attended as a listener, visitor or auditor.

Examinations for credit will be taken at a time specified by the department. A grade equivalent to “A” or “B” must be attained on the examination in order to receive credit, but credits so earned for the course will be recorded without a grade on the student’s permanent record and are not considered in computing college grade point averages.

The hours granted for credit by exam are not included as a part of the student’s semester enrollment. The credit will appear on the transcript for the semester in which the examination was taken, but the hours do not count as part of the student’s total enrollment for the purposes of financial aid or any other purpose predicated on total hours of enrollment for a given semester.

Credit by examination will be posted after a student has completed eight semester hours of credit at Metropolitan State College of Denver and after an evaluation of all transfer credit has been completed. The application form will be maintained in the student’s file. No record of failures on such examinations will be entered on the student’s permanent record. Departmental examinations attempted for course credit under these guidelines may not be repeated.

Applications for departmental credit by examination are available at the Center for Individualized Learning (303-556-8342) and from the Office of the Registrar (Central Classroom 105).

Portfolio Assessment

Students may apply for credit for college-level learning gained through experience by preparing and submitting a prior learning portfolio. Credit is awarded on the basis of a careful assessment of the prior learning portfolio by faculty in the department from which credit is sought. Portfolio assessment is available in many, but not all, academic departments. To earn credit, a student must be a continuing student enrolled in good standing in a degree or certificate program.

The portfolio is developed with the assistance of the Center for Individualized Learning, 303-556-8342. Portfolio assessment may be used to apply for credit for specific courses listed in the Catalog. Students may also apply for credit for omnibus courses through portfolio assessment with the permission of the appropriate academic department. Applicants for credit through portfolio assessment will generally be required to take EDS 2680-1, The Portfolio Development Workshop, which is offered as a correspondence course.

Policies that govern credit for prior learning options apply to credit awarded through the portfolio process. The charge for each credit hour assessed is one-half the student’s portion of in-state tuition for one credit hour. The assessment charge is payable prior to evaluation of the portfolio by faculty for academic credit.

Contact the Center for Individualized Learning for assistance and further information (St. Francis Center, 2nd floor, Room 10, 303-556-8342). Information sessions about portfolio assessment and other credit for prior learning options are held on a regular basis. Information is available on our Web site: www.mscd.edu/~cil/.

Credit for Military Training and Other Training Programs

Military training and other educational programs, including DANTES, that have been assessed for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) will be evaluated by the Office of Admissions for transfer credit at Metro State. For formal military training, copies of training certificates and a copy of the DD-214 or DD-295 should be submitted to the Office of Admissions. In addition, students with Army training should request that an official AARTS transcript be mailed directly to the Office of Admissions by calling 866-297-4427; those with Air Force training should request an official Community College of the Air Force transcript by calling 334-953-2794. Students with training from the Navy or Marines should request an official SMART transcript by calling 877-253-7122. For all other training, request official ACE transcripts by calling 202-939-9434. Credit limit is 30 semester hours.

The Internship Center

The Internship Center places students in work experience related to their academic major or minor. The purpose of an internship is to integrate academic training with actual work experience. This combination allows students to make realistic career decisions, gain valuable work experience, obtain recommendations for graduate school and earn money to help defray college expenses. 

Students work in large corporations, small businesses, government and nonprofit agencies throughout the metropolitan area. Most internships are part-time, allowing students to simultaneously attend school. Some students may elect to work full time during a semester, attending school during alternate semesters. Many internships are paid by the employers, but in professional fields where intern salaries are not available, volunteer placements are offered to help student gain essential work experience. The Internship Center offers three programs: 

Cooperative Education

Students in Cooperative Education placements are paid and may work for one semester or on an on-going basis. Credit may be available for such experience, depending on the policies of the student’s academic department and the employer.

Mentoring Program

Mentoring internships offer students unpaid work experiences in competitive fields within business or industry.   Students earn credit in their major or minor for the learning that takes place under the guidance of established professionals.

Service Learning

Service-learning internships offer students the opportunity to gain valuable work experience while giving back to the community in volunteer placements in non-profit agencies. Academic credit is required and is available for service placements in most majors and minors.

Additionally, students may gain experience by participating in service-learning projects within certain courses. Emerging from a wide variety of disciplines, these courses are structured by faculty to weave community-based work experiences into academic learning through classroom reflection and analysis of the service experience. The courses are designed to meet real needs in our multicultural world, such as homelessness, at-risk youth, domestic violence, the environment or culture and the arts.

Both types of service-learning are beneficial to the community, increase students’ appreciation of community needs and civic engagement, and expand student horizons in intellectually and personally meaningful ways.

Internship placements are available in most academic majors and minors. In order to be eligible for registration with The Internship Center students must have completed 30 semester hours of college course work including at least one full semester at Metro State, have a cumulative 2.5 or greater GPA and have a declared major.   No fees are charged to the student or employer for participation in the program, and each student’s interests and job requirements are discussed individually with a professional coordinator.

As described above, the College may award academic credit for supervised internship placements.    The student must complete a credit application, available from The Internship Center, to be approved by a faculty member and the chair of the department in which credit will be granted. The student is responsible for paying for the academic credits. No more than 15 semester hours of internship credit will be applied toward Metro State degree requirements and internship credit is not applicable toward General Studies requirements. Additional departmental restrictions and prerequisites may apply to certain majors.

Visit our Web site for more information: www.mscd.edu/internships. Call or visit The Internship Center at 303-556-3290, 1045 Ninth Street Park on the Auraria Campus.