Advanced Placement Program
High school students who receive scores of 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement Examination may, upon enrollment, be granted advanced placement and college credit in appropriate subjects. Reports on examinations must be sent to the Registrar directly from the College Board. For a full list of AP exams accepted for addition to Carroll transcripts, please visit the AP and IB Policy webpage at AP & IB Policy
International Baccalaureate Program
Carroll College recognizes the International Baccalaureate as a challenging program of study and takes this into consideration when reviewing the student’s application for admission. Students who present scores of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate higher level examinations may be awarded college credit. No credit will be awarded for subsidiary level examinations. Reports on examinations must be sent to the Registrar directly from the International Baccalaureate Organization. For a full list of IB exams accepted for addition to Carroll transcripts, please visit the AP and IB Policy webpage at AP & IB Policy.
International Leaving Exams
Credit and/or advanced standing for international leaving exams is considered on a case by case basis. For more information, please contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@carroll.edu.
Credit for Military Experience
Credit for experience in the armed forces of the United States may be allowed for veterans in accordance with the recommendation of the American Council on Education (ACE). Veterans wishing such credit should submit official documents or college transcripts covering the work completed.
College Level Examination Program
The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) provides people of all ages and backgrounds an opportunity to demonstrate college-level proficiency on the basis of standardized examinations designed to reflect course curricula. Through CLEP examinations, students can demonstrate mastery of general areas and specific subjects for credit and advanced placement.
CLEP may enable Carroll students to receive college credit for what they already know, to bypass introductory courses, or fulfill Carroll College Core Curriculum or major and program requirements. Using CLEP credit to fulfill major and program requirements requires approval of the department chairperson. Students will not receive credit for courses whose content is at a lower level than what they have already completed at Carroll College.
Carroll follows the College Board’s recommendations for awarding credit based on B-level scores. Academic departments determine the specific CLEP examination which may fulfill requirements for classes in their majors or programs in their respective academic areas. Candidates should consult the Registrar to determine the application of CLEP credits to individual programs of study. Up to 30 semester hours may be earned through CLEP. These credits are not graded.
For a full list of CLEP exams accepted for addition to Carroll transcripts, visit the Registrar’s Office. For exam and pricing information, please visit the CLEP web page. Please note: CLEP exams are no longer administered on the Carroll College campus.
Credit by Challenge Examination
Upon application to the Registrar and approval by the appropriate faculty member, examinations for credit in courses offered by the College may be taken with the following restrictions:
- The student must be currently enrolled as a degree candidate at Carroll College;
- A challenge credit examination may not be taken in a course in which the student has already been registered (for credit or as an auditor), nor may an advanced credit examination be repeated;
- The maximum number of credits obtainable by challenge examination is 18, not to exceed six (6) credits in any semester; and
- A fee of $35 is charged for each examination administered under this program.
The fee is payable in advance and is used to defray the cost of the special examination.
Language Placement
Students who wish to continue studying a modern language for which high school credits have already been received should be placed in a course according to the following guidelines:
- Students with 1 year of high school study should enroll in FR 101/SP 101.
- Students with 2 years of high school study should enroll in FR 102/SP 102.
- Students with 3 years of high school study should enroll in FR 203/SP 203.
- Students with 4 years of high school study should enroll in FR 204/SP 204.
If students (or advisors) are uncertain about course placement or if they wish to request an exception, they should consult with the instructor.
Transfer of Credit
The following criteria will be used to determine whether or not a course from another college will be accepted for transfer credit at Carroll:
- The course in question must be from a college or university that is institutionally accredited by one of the following accrediting agencies*:
- Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
- New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
*Transfer courses from colleges and universities outside the U.S. will also be considered for credit, as long as the institution holds an equivalent accreditation status, as verified by a Carroll-recognized study abroad partner organization or a foreign credential evaluation service such as InCred (www.incredevals.org).
- The student must have received a “C-” or better in the course; the only credits transferred for courses taken on a pass/fail basis will be those with a grade of “P” (pass).
- A maximum of 62 lower-level semester credits (100-200 level) towards the academic program may be transferred into Carroll College.
- At least one-half of the credits required in the major and minor must be taken at Carroll College.
- Of the final 45 semester credits earned toward the degree, a minimum of 30 semester credits must be earned at Carroll College. See requirements for graduation as described in this Catalog.
- Two semesters or the equivalent in physical education activity courses may be transferable.
- Courses taken on a pass/fail basis will not be accepted into the major, minor, or Core Curriculum. No more than two such courses will be allowed toward graduation, whether they are taken at another institution or at Carroll. The only exception to this rule are classes that were taken in spring 2020.
- Grades earned at other institutions are not calculated into the Carroll College grade point average.
- Any postsecondary coursework taken within 15 years of being admitted or readmitted to the campus will be included in the transfer analysis of undergraduate Core requirements, courses required for a major, minor, or certificate, and elective credits, unless otherwise excluded or limited by institutional or departmental policy.
- Coursework that falls outside the 15-year guarantee period may be included in the evaluation, at the discretion of the Registrar and appropriate department chair.
- Graduate coursework will not transfer toward undergraduate programs. For graduate level programs, see full policies regarding Transfer of Graduate Level Credits in the Graduate Programs Bulletin.
- Students are responsible for sending an original translated copy of their foreign transcripts directly to the Registrar’s Office.
Credit and Contact Hours
At Carroll College, one credit hour equals 45 hours of student time that includes work in and out of class. For courses within the standard 16 week term, the following list defines the contact hours for each instructional method.
- Lecture, Seminar, and Online Synchronous Courses require one contact hour per week for each credit with two hours of outside work implied. One 50 minute period equals one hour of contact time.
- Laboratory Courses require a minimum of 2 contact hours per credit with a one hour of outside work implied.
- Field Based Courses or other courses without structured meeting times including practicum, clinical, field experience, research, independent study, and thesis require three hours of work per week for each credit.
- Internships must be a minimum of 8 weeks in duration and require 42 contact hours per credit with an implied minimum of 3 hours of work outside the internship experience. The specific content of these additional hours is determined by a Carroll College Faculty Internship Supervisor.
- Hybrid Asynchronous Courses combine asynchronous online and traditional in-person classroom instruction. In-person contact hours are reduced from the standard lecture/seminar/online-synchronous model while the asynchronous online engagement is increased as appropriate to the instructional method. Between 40-75% of the scheduled meeting times may be replaced with online/out-of-classroom components. For the online/out-of-classroom components, the Carroll College policy for Regular and Substantive Interaction applies.
- Online Asynchronous Courses require 45 hours of student engagement including instruction and activity per credit. Instruction and activities must comply with the Regular and Substantive Interaction Policy.
Non-Traditional Courses
This policy applies to all Carrol College courses including the small range of non-traditional courses that fall outside of the standard 16 week term. Non-traditional courses require the same amount of student work per credit hour as traditional courses and follow the same instructional methods listed above. The number of contact hours and outside of class work is adjusted for the number of weeks for each non-standard course. For example, an 8 week course requires 2 hours of contact per week for each credit with 4 hours of implied outside work.
Non-Traditional Field Based Courses that are predominantly field trip based are required to complete 45 hours of student academic engagement per credit. This should count only the hours when students are actively engaged in learning and should not include the travel time to and from the field trip site. For field trip courses where the primary engagement happens over consecutive days such as study abroad intensives or week-long field excursions, the course requires engagement throughout the length of the term for student financial aid purposes. This can be accomplished via, but not limited to, pre- and post- field trip activities at the start and end of the term.