Tests and other diagnostic techniques are administered to determine when the student has met the established course objectives. The length of time a student takes to complete the developmental courses depends primarily upon the student’s entering ability and the student’s strength of motivation to succeed. Many students can master these skills during the first 15-week semester; others may need to take a year or more of developmental coursework. In all cases the primary goal of the developmental course is to offer students an opportunity to master the basic academic skills necessary for success in regular college courses.
Waiver of Course Requirements
Students having reason to believe that previous educational studies, training programs, or work experience may entitle them to an adjustment in the required courses in a particular curriculum should contact the Division Dean to determine procedures before registering for classes. Through subsequent interviews and tests, students may qualify for waiver of curriculum admission requirements, of course prerequisites, and of courses in the curriculum upon the recommendations of the appropriate Division Dean. Students may substitute equivalent or more sophisticated courses in the same field in any approved curriculum with the approval of the instructional division and the Chief Academic Officer or designee provided they can, by previous educational accomplishment or college administered examination, demonstrate the capability for success in the courses requested. In addition, if students can demonstrate that previous educational study, training, work experience, or college administered examination results may entitle them to advancement in the courses required or a particular curriculum, upon request and with the approval of the instruction division and the Chief Academic Officer, they may receive advance placement and credit in the course or curriculum for which advancement was requested.
If requirements are waived, students must successfully complete other courses to compensate for the credit hours.
Credits waived are those normally required course credits for a particular program which are administratively exempted. Credits waived require election of additional credit courses
to compensate for the credits waived. The physical education requirements for the degree and certificate programs may be waived for veterans, and the College may grant up to 3 credits of physical education/health credits for basic military training to satisfy the physical/health credit
requirement of the veterans’ curricula. Veteran students may consult Enrollment Services/Veterans Affairs for assistance with this waiver. Substitution of requirements for students with documented disabilities, covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Otherwise qualified students with documented disabilities who are, by reason of their disability, unable to complete a requirement of the program pursued by the student, with or without reasonable accommodations, to be exempted. Credit by be awarded based upon an individualized portfolio evaluation, which may be conducted by faculty at the individual colleges or by using the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning’s (CAEL) guidelines, and/or CAEL’s LearningCounts.org prior learning assessment service.
e. Credit may be granted for prior learning for non-collegiate education, training, and/or occupational experiences as recommended by college faculty, the American Council on Education (ACE), the National College Credit Recommendation Service, or another college-approved organization.
(1) In addition to the above, each college shall develop procedures for the award of academic credit to any enrolled student who has successfully completed a military training course or program as part of the student’s military service that is applicable to the certificate or
degrees requirements and is:
a. Recommended for academic credit by the national higher education association that programs academic credit recommendations for military training courses or programs:
b. Noted on the student’s military transcript issued by any of the armed forces of the United States; or
c. Otherwise documented in writing by any of the armed forces of the United States.
The procedures for awarding credit through Advanced Standing are as follows:
(1) The determination of such credit must be made by qualified faculty members at the institution or according to procedures and standards approved by qualified faculty ensuring that assessment procedures are appropriate for the credit awarded.
(2) If documentation and interviews are used in lieu of examinations, the institution must demonstrate that these methods provide assurances of academic comparability to credit earned by traditional means.
(3) Portfolio-based credit for prior experiential learning may be awarded for no more than 25 percent of the credit hours applied toward a degree. In exceptional individual cases, however, the nature and content of the prior learning experience may be such that additional credit by be appropriately awarded. The institution must justify each case.
(4) In awarding credit for prior experiential learning, the institution must:
a. Award credit only for documented learning which ties the prior experience to the theories and data of the relevant academic field;
b. Award credit only to matriculated students, identify such credit on the student’s transcript as credit for prior experiential learning, and upon request from another institution, document how such learning was evaluated and the basis on which such credit was awarded;
c. Adopt, describe in appropriate institutional publications, implement and regularly review policies may request an approved course substitution. Substitutions will generally not be granted for any course that is deemed essential to the program of instruction being pursued by such student, or to any directly related licensing requirement. If requirements are waived, students must successfully complete other courses to compensate for the credit hours.
Advanced Standing
Advanced standing is the administrative placement of a student that awards credit for subject matter competency based on previous academic study or acquired through non traditional means. This may include, but is not limited to, college credit and advancement based upon the administration and evaluation of locally-developed examinations; individual college participation in nationally recognized standardization exams; experiential learning; and training provided by non-collegiate institutions, such as armed forces service schools.
a. College credit is a means of achieving Advanced Standing through an administrative determination by the college that equivalent course coverage has been satisfactorily completed at a regionally accredited postsecondary institution. Credit through this means must be verified
through receipt of an official transcript submitted to the Office of Enrollment Services.
b. Credit by Local Examination is a means of achieving Advanced Standing through satisfactorily demonstrating subject-matter competency by means of an examination developed, and evaluated by College faculty. Examinations must be based on established course learning outcomes and must be comprehensive.
c. Credit by Standardized Examinations is a means of achieving Advanced Standing through a nationally recognized or college approved external agency. External examinations used for this purpose include but are not limited to the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES Subject Standardized Test (DSST), of the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support (DANTES), Excelsior Credit by Exam (ECE), the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB), Advanced Placement (AP) program, Cambridge Advanced (A/AS) examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, and the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT). Upon receipt of official test scores, all Virginia Community colleges shall accept a score of three (3) and higher for Advanced Placement (AP) courses, a score of four (4) or higher for higher level International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, a score of five (5) or higher for standard level International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, a score of fifty (50) or higher on CLEP courses, and scores of C or better for Cambridge Advanced (A/AS) examinations when the equivalent course is offered by the college. The colleges assume no responsibility regarding the acceptance of Advanced Standing credit by other institutions to which the student may transfer.
d. Credit by Experiential Learning is a means of achieving Advanced Standing through an administrative determination by faculty of the college or by a college approved learning assessment service that the occupational experience of an individual is at least equivalent to the course(s) and procedures for awarding credit for experiential learning; and
d. Clearly describe, and establish the validity of, the evaluation process and criteria for awarding credit for prior experiential learning.
Students having reason to believe that previous educational studies, training programs, or work experience may entitle them to an adjustment in the required courses in a particular curriculum, should contact their academic advisor or the appropriate faculty member to determine procedures before registering for classes and to complete the appropriate documentation. A student who is currently enrolled in a class and wishes to apply for advanced standing must complete the process and drop the class within the add/drop period.
