Board of Regents Policy Uniform Advanced Placement Credit and Placement Policy

The purpose of this Policy is to establish uniformity among the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) regarding the awarding of course credits and course placements pursuant to student applicants’ scores on Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. AP policies shall be evidenced-based and appropriate for the institution and its students.

A clear and consistent AP credit and placement policy:

• Ensures that prospective students and families know which institutions recognize AP achievement and award course equivalent college credit and advanced placement based on qualifying scores;
• Allows for the optimal application of qualifying AP scores for credit toward meeting general education requirements;
• Improves seamless course articulation and transfer, credit portability, and degree completion rates;
• Reduces the duplication and accumulation of excess credit hours, minimizing economic burdens for students and families, and improves enrollment efficiency for higher education systems. ¹

To align with state and national standards, the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education mandates that all CSCU institutions shall grant academic credits to any student earning a score of 3 and higher on any AP examination. The institutions, in consultation with faculty in the discipline corresponding to the individual AP exams, shall determine how those credits are applied to the degree.

Students transferring from a CT State Community College to a CSCU university or Charter Oak State College or transferring between two-year colleges or between four-year institutions within CSCU with AP scores of 3 and higher shall be considered for the awarding of course credits and/or placement at any CSCU institution.

The CSCU institutions can award credits as the equivalent of a specific course, as fulfilling a general education category or as elective credits. Faculty, or the appropriate academic department, shall award the credit differently based upon the score earned on the exam. For example, a student earning a grade of 5 on a modern language exam may be awarded credit for an advanced level course; a student earning a 4 may earn credit for an intermediate level course and a student earning a 3 may earn credit for an elementary level language course or an elective. Specific determinations of how credits are awarded are entirely within the institution’s purview. 

Following campus governance procedures, institutions should examine all AP courses and determine the appropriate course equivalencies for scores of 3 and above.

Accordingly, CSCU institutions are required to present clear policies and procedures regarding AP credits and placements on their websites and in admissions and transfer literature. These communications should be easily accessible by prospective students and interested others.

The Board recognizes that honoring AP courses that students take in high school and awarding college course credits through these examinations advances their preparedness for college success and impacts positively upon the affordability of attending college.

The Policy is adopted in partnership with the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents for its recognition that the CSCU System is enacting an AP Credit and Placement Policy that helps to “keep AP students in the state” and supports “their momentum for persistence and retention.”²

¹ https://aphighered.collegeboard.org/setting-credit-placement-policy/state-credit-placement-policy. AP Higher Education College Board (2017).

² Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents Letter. December 7, 2018.