Advanced Credit And Transfer Credit Policies

CLE P/AP Credit

Students desiring advanced standing (transfer credit) based on CLEP results must have official score reports sent to the Office of Transfer Evaluation.

Scores of 3, 4, or 5 on Advanced Placement tests may also be accepted as transfer credit, and official records must be sent to the Office of Transfer Evaluation for consideration. Credit for CLEP and Advanced Placement tests is applicable only to students with freshman or sophomore standing and is considered inappropriate for more advanced students. For more information about AP credit please see http://www. collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html.

Columbia follows the American Council on Education (ACE) recommendation for the award of CLEP credit. To see the list of subjects and accepted scores please review the information at "What Your CLEP Score Means" at http://collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/scores.html.

Life Experience Credit

Under special circumstances, a student may be granted up to 16 credit hours for life and work experience. Applications are available in the Records Office for evaluation of non-college learning experiences.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

Credit is accepted for test scores of 4 or higher.

Military Credit

Veterans may be eligible for active duty and service school credit on the basis of information from official copies of military records. Contact the veterans' affairs coordinator in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Transfer Credit

Columbia College Chicago accepts transfer credit from other regionally accredited colleges and universities for courses completed with a C- grade or better. Transfer courses must be similar or equivalent in content to those offered byColumbia College Chicago. The acceptance of transfer credit is at the sole discretion of the college. To be accepted, official college transcripts, military records, or advanced placement test scores must be received by the Office of Transfer Evaluation before the end of the student's first semester of attendance at Columbia College Chicago. Grades and grade point averages do not transfer. All transfer students will receive an official transcript evaluation from the Office of Transfer Evaluation as part of the admissions process.

No minimum number of transfer credits is required to transfer to Columbia College Chicago.

The maximum number of credit hours accepted from four-year colleges and universities is 88 credit hours. The maximum of credit hours accepted from a two-year college is 62.

If a student attended both a four-year and a two-year college, the maximum number of credit hours accepted in transfer is 88, with no more than 62 credit hours accepted from a two-year college.

The maximum number of credits accepted from a combination of two-year college and CLEP, AP, military, and/or life experience is 62 credit hours.

The final 12 credit hours needed for graduation must be taken at Columbia College Chicago.

Additional Transfer Policies

A maximum of four credit hours in physical education is accepted.

A maximum of nine credit hours in foreign language is accepted.

Topics, independent study, internship, ESL, adult education, continuing education, workshops, seminars, and developmental courses (those courses usually numbered below 100) are not transferable.

Transfer Evaluation

The office of Transfer Evaluation evaluates transcripts of previous college work for students who transfer to Columbia. The office also coordinates the articulation of courses with the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) and with select community colleges.

Students planning to transfer to Columbia should consult with their community college transfer center or advisor and Columbia's Office of Transfer Evaluation early in their academic career to obtain specific information on transferring Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Curriculum (LASC) and major course credits. Articulation agreements are frequently updated.

Transfer Articulation of Majors

Departmental transfer articulations are available in major areas such as:
Art and Design
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management
AS L-English Interpretation
Audio Arts and Acoustics
Fashion/Retail Management
Graphic Design
Interior Architecture
Interactive Television
Journalism
Marketing Communication
Music
Photography
Radio
Television
Theater

On September 18, 2007, Susan Sindlinger, Director, Office of Transfer Evaluation, emailed these "updates on the Transfer Policies at Columbia College Chicago."

• Columbia terminated our participation in the IAI (Illinois Articulation Initiative) in May 2007. Rest assured that we will still evaluate transcripts course by course and give full transfer credit for IAI courses from other institutions pending the successful completion of the course with a “C” grade or better.
• Beginning with students entering Columbia in Spring 2008, transfer courses must be completed with a “C” grade or better. This includes courses listed in various formal articulation agreements as well.
• Columbia will consider transfer credit in a major subject from certain discipline-specific accredited institutions.
• Columbia now accepts transfer credit from the Cambridge International Exams.