Credit for Prior College Experience
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.
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.
Students may receive credit for courses taken at regionally accredited postsecondary institutions if the following requirements are met:
1. An official transcript is on file in the Registrar’s Office from all postsecondary institutions attended.
2. Courses must have greater than or equal to the number of semester hours required by the similar course at Augusta Technical College.
3. The course content taken is comparable to the nature, content, and level of course(s) at Augusta Technical College.
4. A grade of “C” or higher has been earned for each course to be transferred.
5. Departmental recommendation for approval is granted when specified by the Registrar.
6. A student must complete in residence at least 25 percent of the credit hours required for graduation.
Applicants wishing to transfer to the College must complete the admission procedures. Regular admission status is based upon the credential (degree, diploma, or Technical Certificate of Credit) being sought by the student.
Fine Arts and Humanities Credit
If a student has taken a course in Art, Music, Humanities, Theater, or Literature at another college, and the course is similar in scope, nature, content and level of learning experience to an ARTS, MUSC, HUMN, THEA, 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, HUMN 11XX, THEA 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 Credit
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.
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.
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 Registrar or Registrar's Assistant.
- 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 75 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.
Foreign Earned Credit
Credit may be awarded based upon an evaluation performed by an independent evaluation agency accredited by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE). Official evaluations and the accompanying official transcripts 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.
The following evaluation agencies are recommended:
Foreign Credential Evaluations, Inc.
1425 Market Blvd, Suite 530
Roswell, Georgia 30076
Telephone: (770) 642-1108
Fax: (770) 641-8381
Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
7101 SW 102 Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
Telephone: (305) 273-1616
Fax: (305) 273-1338
E-mail: info@jsilny.com
Lisano International
P.O. Box 407
Auburn, AL. 36831-0407
Telephone: (334) 745-0425
E-mail: LisanoINTL@AOL.com
World Education Service
Bowling Green Station
P.O. Box 5087
New York, NY 10274-5087
Telephone: 212-966-6311
Email: info@wes.org
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:
Military Training Credit
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.
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.
Portfolio Assessment
In cases where national standardized exams or institutional exams are not available, a student may be able to complete a portfolio that demonstrates his/her experience and college-level learning. Augusta Tech will consider a portfolio, if that experience demonstrates mastery of competencies taught within an Augusta Tech degree , diploma, or certificate program. Faculty will base exemption decisions on the content of the completed portfolio.
A completed portfolio should contain at the minimum the following elements:
- Request for Prior Learning Assessment Evaluation Form
- Resume that includes:
- Student name, mailing address, e-mail address, fax and telephone numbers
- Education experience, with dates
- Employment experience, with dates
- Community activities
- Other activities
- Learning Outcomes/Course Syllabus
- Description and Documentation of Learning (Narrative)
- Evidence support prior learning, including:
- Work samples, letters of validation for work experience, job description
- Performance appraisals, evidence of public presentation, etc.
- Transcripts of formal academic courses (if applicable) or copies of non-credit certificates or industry certificates
- Proof of membership in professional associations, community service organizations, proof of certification, licensing, etc.
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.