Ways to earn college credit for what you have learned
Experience is a great teacher - sometimes it can give you a head start on a degree or certificate. If you have skills learned through school, training, or work experience, we will work with you to verify it and determine if you can be awarded credit for it.
Once your skills are documented and if deemed equivalent to college-level coursework, we will grant credit to you if it’s appropriate to your WCC program of study.
How do we verify your equivalency credit? We use following methods:
If you have gained entry-level occupational skills through your high school career and technical education (CTE) classes and would like to receive college credit for equivalent courses, you must:
- Have taken an approved career or technical course
- Have a recommendation from your instructor
- Provide WCC with your transcript for evaluation by the college instructor
- Apply for the credit within two years of your high school graduation
Learn how to get credit for CTE classes.
College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Exams
You may receive credit if you have achieved a score of 3+ (4+ for Economics) on one of your AP exams offered through your high school. You may be granted credit for a particular course or the credit may apply toward an elective. Please view the AP course equivalencies, if you have a score that qualifies please request that it be sent to WCC directly from The College Board. If you have further questions please email [email protected].
International Baccalaureate High Level Exams
Students who participated in an International Baccalaureate (IB) program may receive credit for completion of the High Level exam(s), depending on the subject area and exam score. You may be granted credit for a particular course or the credit may apply toward an elective. Please view the IB course equivalencies , if you have a score that qualifies please request that your official IB test scores be sent by the testing agency directly to WCC. If you have further questions email [email protected].
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a series of tests you can take to earn college credit, rather than completing lengthier courses. CLEP tests cover an array of subjects, including history and the social sciences; composition and literature; science and mathematics; business; and world languages. They can be used to work through general education requirements, however credit earned through CLEP is not accepted for MTA.
View WCC’s CLEP test equivalencies to see what exams we accept and the minimum score required to earn credit. Minimum scores for awarding credit are based on American Council on Education (ACE) recommended credit-granting scores. In general, a maximum of three semester credits may be granted for each college-approved subject examination. Some general and subject exams also require you to successfully complete an essay exam or laboratory demonstration. If you have further questions please email [email protected]. If interested in taking an exam you can schedule your CLEP test through the testing center.
DSST
DSST (formerly DANTES Subject Standardized Tests) exams are college subject tests that you can take to earn college credit for knowledge you acquired outside of a traditional classroom. There are 38 subject exams from which to select in disciplines such as social science, business, mathematics, technology, humanities, physical science, and more. Credit earned through DSST is not accepted for MTA. If you have further questions please email [email protected]. If interested in taking an exam you can schedule your DTTS test through the testing center.
If you demonstrate proficiency in a course, you may, upon recommendation of a full-time instructor and the approval of the department chair, take a course examination for credit. This option is not available for all courses; it is mainly used in the technical/occupational areas. Check with your department to see if a test is available. To qualify, you must be accepted to WCC as a credit student and complete a Credit-By-Examination form.
Important things to know about credit by examination:
- The cost of the exam is based on the number of credit hours in the course. It is $25 per credit hour. Payment must be made before credits will be posted.
- A maximum of 30 credits earned by exam may be applied toward your degree.
- You are responsible for arranging to complete the exam.
- You are allowed to attempt credit by examination only once per course. If you pass the exam, WCC posts the credit with no grade to your WCC transcript.
- This credit generally does not transfer to other institutions.
Credit can be granted for current industry certifications. We accept certifications in the categories of computer science, information technology, health sciences, public safety, advanced manufacturing, child development, etc. If you have a certification in one or more of these areas please view the industry certification equivalency chart here to see what credits you may be eligible for.
Important things to know about industry certifications:
- You will be asked to upload a copy of your certification as part of the application. Please have the certificate(s) available for upload prior to starting your application.
- In most cases, credits can only be granted for current industry certifications.
- Non-traditional credits will post to your WCC transcript after completing one or more credit hours at WCC.
- Non-traditional credits will not apply towards satisfying the minimum residency credits required for graduation.
- Non-traditional credits are not counted in cumulative GPA.
In most cases, non-traditional credits do not transfer to other institutions. - If you have additional questions, please consult your Program Advisor.
Once you have the required documentation for your certification then please use our Industry Certification Form to submit it and you will hear back from our transcript evaluation team within 72 business hours. If you have any questions please email [email protected].
Students with work or other experience may be able to earn college credit by submitting a portfolio documenting their experience. Learn more about the Portfolio Evaluation.
For an evaluation of service school training, submit your military transcript and DD-214 member 4 copy (military discharge papers) unless you are still on active military duty. The documents must show the exact title of the course, location of the course, and length of the course in weeks. Credit is granted for military training as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) if it applies to your program of study at WCC. Other courses may be accepted as elective credit based on your program of study at WCC. For more information or assistance, visit the Wadhams Veterans Center. To have your military experience evaluated for college credit, request a copy of your Joint Service Transcript (JST).
Your apprenticeship experience converts to college credits at WCC. Those credits put you a third of the way—or even more—toward your associate degree in Construction Supervision, Industrial Training, or Journeyperson General Studies.