Transfer Credit
Students may receive transfer credit for courses taken at regionally accredited colleges and universities. If students attended a college that was not regionally accredited at the time of attendance, students may be asked to provide additional materials including course syllabi, college catalog course description, and instructors' credential information for the course to be considered for transfer.
For course credit to transfer, a student must have earned a grade of C (2.0 grade points) or higher and the course must have greater than or equal to the number of semester hours required by the similar course at Augusta Technical College.
The Registrar, instructional faculty, and academic deans determine the transferability of courses taken at other postsecondary institutions by considering the educational quality of the learning experience for which students seek transfer credit; the comparability of the nature, content, and level of the learning experiences to the courses offered at Augusta Technical College; and the appropriateness and applicability of the learning experiences to the programs offered at Augusta Technical College.
Augusta Technical College distinguishes between the acceptance of credit and its applicability toward program requirements. Students should review individual program selection and admission requirements to determine if coursework is applicable to the desired program of study and if coursework needs to be completed within a specific timeframe.
Regardless of the amount of transfer, exemption, or prior learning credit granted by the college, students must complete a minimum of 25% of their academic program in residence at Augusta Technical College to be awarded an Associate Degree, Diploma, or Technical Certificate of Credit.
Fine Arts and Humanities Coursework
If a student has taken a course in Art, Music, or Literature at another college, and the course is similar in scope, nature, content and level of learning experience to an ARTS, MUSC, or ENGL course offered at Augusta Technical College, credit may be granted which will satisfy the Area IV General Education requirement. Credit granted in this manner will be noted on the student’s transcript as ARTS 11XX, MUSC 11XX, or ENGL 11XX. Transferability of these courses will be determined by the Registrar in consultation with faculty on a case-by-case basis.
Social Sciences Coursework
If a student has taken a course in History, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology at another college, and the course is similar in scope, nature, content and level of learning experience to a HIST, POLS, PSYC, or SOCI course offered at Augusta Technical College, credit may be granted which will satisfy for the Area II General Education requirement. Credit granted in this manner will be noted on the student’s transcript as HIST 11XX, POLS 11XX, PSYC 11XX, or SOCI 11XX. Transferability of these courses will be determined by the Registrar in consultation with faculty on a case-by-case basis.
Foreign Earned Credit
Credit may be awarded based upon an evaluation performed by an independent evaluation service accredited by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE). Official evaluations must be submitted directly to the Office of Student Records for review. Transferability of these courses will be determined by the Registrar in consultation with faculty on a case-by-case basis. Foreign credential evaluations are of an advisory nature and do not guarantee the acceptance of transfer credit at Augusta Technical College.
College Exemption Examination
A student may receive credit for a course by passing the College exemption exam (generally administered during the week of final exams) only if the student has neither attempted nor failed the course(s) or equivalent course(s) at Augusta Technical College or another postsecondary institution.
Students desiring credit by exemption examination must:
- Be regularly accepted or enrolled in non-learning support courses at Augusta Technical College.
- Complete the Credit by Exemption Examination application (located in Student Services) and obtain approval from the Director of Admissions or Enrollment Manager.
- Take the application to the appropriate program Dean for approval.
- Take the completed application to Student Accounts (Augusta campus) or Student Services (Waynesboro and Thomson campuses or Columbia County Center) and pay the required exemption exam fee for each course to be challenged (the current exemption exam fee is $50).
- Take the application to the person responsible for administering the exemption exam.
- Earn a minimum score of 80 percent (required to pass an exemption examination). Qualified students are allowed one exemption exam attempt per course.
Note: Not all courses offer an exemption examination.
Prior Learning Assessment for Non-College Experiences
Augusta Technical College recognizes students’ learning experiences outside of the traditional college classroom through Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). PLA is a process for evaluating knowledge and skills in order to award college credit for learning from on the job learning, corporate training, independent study, military service, or volunteer service that is consistent with College mission and ensures that course work and learning outcomes are at the collegiate level and comparable to the College’s own degree programs. Augusta Technical College currently recognizes the following methods for PLA:
Credit for Military Training
Augusta Technical College accepts coursework completed as part of training in the United States Armed Forces based on the recommendations of the American Council of Education. Students who wish to have military training reviewed for transfer credit must submit an official Joint Services Transcript to the Office of Student Records. Students may request Joint Services Transcripts by visiting https://jst.doded.mil.
All Joint Services Transcript credit recommendations will be reviewed by the appropriate college content area experts. In some cases, the content area expert may require the student to complete a skills assessment to verify the breadth and depth of the prior training. If a skills assessment is deemed necessary, this assessment will be provided to the student at no cost.
Standardized Examination Credit
Credit will be awarded for successful completion of appropriate CLEP (College Level Examination Program) and DANTES core subject area examinations. Credit is awarded based on score recommendations of the American Council on Education. The Office of Student Records maintains a list of CLEP and DANTES exams accepted for transfer credit.
Credit will be awarded to students for Advanced Placement courses, provided the student completed the official AP examination and the student provides an official score report from the College Board. Students must earn a score of “3” or higher on AP exams to receive transfer credit. The Office of Student Records maintains the list of acceptable AP courses for Augusta Technical College credit.
Industry Certifications
Students may earn exemption credit for coursework if they possess a current industry certification, enroll in a related program, and if the certification has been reviewed for learning outcome equivalency with Augusta Technical College courses. Official documentation of an active certification is required, and documentation requirements may vary by certification. The Office of Student Records maintains a current list of industry certifications that have been evaluated for course exemption purposes.
Non-Traditional Learning
Applicants with non-traditional instruction or job training may request to have their experiences reviewed for possible exemption credit. Any non-traditional learning experience must have previously been reviewed and recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) or by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). Students must provide their official ACE transcript or CAEL credit recommendations which will be reviewed by the Registrar and the appropriate faculty members for credit. ACE and CAEL recommendations are of an advisory nature and do not guarantee the issuance of exemption credit by Augusta Technical College.
High School Programs
The New Move On When Ready (MOWR): Programs formerly known as Accel, dual enrollment, and the old Move On When Ready have been consolidated into one program called Move On When Ready (MOWR). The new MOWR allows high school students to take either academic degree level core courses that will transfer to any TCSG or USG college or university, occupational courses, and diploma level core courses. Some students may choose to enroll fully into a degree, diploma or technical certificate of credit program, or they may choose to just take a few courses. All college coursework taken through MOWR will be fully covered through MOWR funding, and students will not be required to pay out of pocket for tuition, mandatory college fees, or textbooks. The only fees students may be responsible for are course-specific fees. No hours taken through the new MOWR program will count towards a student’s HOPE Grant or Scholarship caps. Participating in the new MOWR program is a great incentive for high school students to get a jump start on their college education and career!
Eligibility: Students enrolled in the 9th through 12th grade at an eligible Georgia high school, or home study program, who have achieved the required scores on the college placement exam, SAT or ACT, are eligible to take part in the program. There are NO residency or citizenship requirements.
Joint Enrollment: Joint Enrollment provides high school students the opportunity to take courses at Augusta Technical College and receive college credit ONLY for the courses that they take at the college. Joint Enrollment students usually attend college classes in the afternoon or evening after they have attended high school an entire school day. Joint Enrollment students are allowed to take academic core and occupational program courses for any technical certificate or diploma program in which they are eligible. Eighty percent (80%) of the tuition will be paid by the HOPE Grant for Georgia residents. Augusta Technical College will exempt other tuition and fees. Hours taken through Joint Enrollment DO count against a student’s HOPE Grant and Scholarship caps.