Credit for Prior Learning

• The student must be in good standing in the District
• The student must have previously earned credit or noncredit from the District and have been re-admitted to Cuesta College as an active student, or the student must be enrolled in a current term in the District
• Students must have an official Comprehensive Student Education Plan
• The course must be listed in the current Cuesta College Catalog
• The student must not currently be enrolled in the course to be challenged
• Credit by Examination: The student must be registered in the District and neither currently enrolled in nor have received credit for a more advanced course in the same subject (may be waived by department)
  • Credits acquired by examination are not applicable to meeting of such unit load requirements as Selective Service deferment, Veterans, or Social Security benefits. Credits acquired by examination shall not be counted in determining the 12 semester hours of credit in residence required for an Associate degree.
  • The District may charge a fee for Credit for Prior Learning assessment by examination. Fees may not exceed the enrollment fee which would be associated with enrollment in the course for which the student seeks credit by examination.

• Grading shall be according to the regular grading system in accordance with Administrative Procedure 4230 Grading and Academic Record Symbols
• Students shall be offered a “Pass/No Pass” option, in accordance with Administrative Procedure 4232 Pass/No Pass Grading, if that option is ordinarily available for the course
• Pursuant to AP 4230 Grading and Academic Record Symbols and AP 4231 Grade Changes, students shall be given the opportunity to accept, decline or appeal the grade assigned by the faculty including cases of Credit by Examination

• The student’s academic record shall be clearly annotated to reflect that credit was earned by assessment of prior learning
• Credit earned by Credit for Prior Learning for a course shall be applied in the same way as if the course was completed by the student having enrolled in the course.
  This includes as appropriate:
  • California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
    (IGETC)
  • California State University General Education (CSUGE) Breadth
  • local community college general education requirements or requirements for a student's chosen program, or
  • electives for students who do not require additional general education or program credits to meet their goals

Advance Placement Policy Chart

A student who earns a score of 3 or higher on a College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exam in a subject area that is similar to a subject area required for the Cuesta local General Education (GE) pattern may use the AP exam in lieu of a college course to satisfy the local GE area. In addition, for purposes of attaining 60 degree applicable units needed to earn an Associate’s degree, Cuesta will award the same amount of unit credit for each AP exam as is awarded by the California State University system. (e.g. AP U.S. History is awarded 6 semester credits towards an Associate’s degree).  

The acceptance of an AP exam in satisfaction of a major-specific course work is a decision made by the faculty at the college or university that will be awarding the degree. The determination about whether an individual AP exam is accepted in lieu of major specific course work for a particular major varies significantly from campus to campus. On a case-by-case basis, decisions about the applicability of an AP exam towards a major specific course required for a local Cuesta College degree (non-transfer) may be made by Cuesta discipline faculty.  

For any AP examination that the District does not offer a course similar in content, the District will award credit in the General Education area shown on the California Community College General Education AP List. If there is no General Education area that fits the AP Examination, the District may award elective credit. 

Students requesting Credit for Prior Learning using International Baccalaureate (IB) shall receive credit for completing a satisfactory score on a District approved Higher level (HL) International Baccalaureate (IB) examination under the following circumstances:

• Official IB transcripts must be on file in the Records Office 
• The student achieved a minimum acceptable score on the IB examination as recommended by the District’s IB equivalency guide 

Students requesting Credit for Prior Learning using the College Level Examination Program shall receive credit for completing a satisfactory score on a District-approved College Level Examination Program (CLEP) under the following circumstances:

• Official CLEP transcripts must be on file in the Records Office
• The student achieved a minimum acceptable score on the CLEP examination as recommended by the District’s CLEP Equivalency Guide

Students interested in Credit for Prior Learning using Joint Service Transcripts shall receive credit as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) Directory and approved by the appropriate discipline faculty of the college under the following circumstances:

• The student shall complete the Credit for Prior Learning assessment petition available in the Counseling or Records Office
• Official transcripts must be on file in the Records Office. These may include Joint Services Transcript (JST), Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART), Army and American Council on Education Registry Transcript Service (AARTS), Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), Coast Guard Institute (CGI), DANTES/USAFI, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Transcripts (DLIFLC), Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), DLPT Examinee Results, DA Form 330 Language Proficiency Questionnaire, or verified copies of DD214 or DD295 military records. 
• Credit course equivalency shall be determined by the faculty of the appropriate discipline

Students interested in Credit for Prior Learning using industry-recognized credential(s) shall receive credit as recommended by the appropriate division chair or faculty designee:

• The student shall complete the Credit for Prior Learning assessment petition available in the Counseling or Records office 
• Enrollment services shall grant credit for industry-recognized credential(s) that have already been evaluated and approved by the appropriate division chair or faculty designee
• If an industry-recognized credential(s) has not yet been evaluated and approved by the appropriate faculty: 
  • The student meets with the division chair or faculty designee to receive further instructions for industry-recognized credential(s) assessment
  • The student submits all industry-recognized credential documents to the division chair or faculty designee for assessment of prior learning
  • If the division chair or faculty designee determine the industry certification adequately measures mastery of the course content as set forth in the Course Outline of Record, the appropriate faculty shall sign the petition with the recorded grade, attach the industry-recognized credential(s), and forward the completed petition and supporting documents to the Records Office to be kept on file and recorded on the student transcript

Students interested in Credit for Prior Learning using a student-created portfolio shall receive credit as recommended by the appropriate division chair or faculty designee under the following circumstances:

• A department approved portfolio assessment rubric for the course is on file
• The student shall complete the Credit for Prior Learning assessment petition available in the Counseling or Records Office
• The student meets with the division chair or faculty designee to receive further instructions for student-created portfolio assessment
• The student submits all portfolio documents to the division chair or faculty designee for assessment of prior learning
• If the division chair or faculty designee determine the student-created portfolio adequately measures mastery of the course content as set forth in the Course Outline of Record, the appropriate faculty shall sign the petition with the appropriate grade and forward it to the Records Office to be kept on file and recorded on the student transcript