High School Credits Applied to College
Administration 224 • 507-786-3015 • www.stolaf.edu/offices/registrar • registrar@stolaf.edu
St. Olaf College accepts credit earned through the College Board (CEEB) Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Post-Secondary Education Option Program upon receipt of official documentation.
Students who graduated from high school six or fewer months prior to entering St. Olaf are considered “new students” and as such they will not be granted advanced standing. In addition they may not, as the result of six or more advanced placement, high school post secondary, and/or college summer courses, claim Sophomore status for the purpose of room draw.
General Policy on Pre-College Transfer Credit:
St. Olaf College awards a maximum of 6.00 (six) St. Olaf equivalent credits from among all pre-college (PSEO/CIS/AP/IB) credits presented by matriculating first-year students. The Registrar first awards credit for the AP Exams that qualify. If the six pre-college credits allowed are not fulfilled by AP alone, then the Registrar can award up to a maximum of 4.00 (four) of the 6.00 allowable pre-college credits through approved PSEO/CIS courses. An official transcript, requested by the student and sent directly to the Registrar’s Office from the college or university certifying the credit (PSEO, CIS), or an official report (AP/IB), is required for consideration of awarding St. Olaf credit.
PSEO or CIS courses do not reduce the 24 graded course credit requirement for all degree seeking students.
Pre-college courses may each, when appropriate, count toward only one general education credit except for the MSD, MSG, or WRI attributes, which may be awarded in conjunction with a second general education attribute. Students may fulfill a maximum of one of the two requirements in HBS, HWC, and IST. Only one of the two natural science requirements SED and IST may be fulfilled by pre-college credits. A maximum of six (6.00) GE requirements may be fulfilled via pre-college course credits.
Double credit is not given for equivalent PSEO courses and AP credits. In all cases, final judgment on the awarding of credit is made by the college registrar.
Post-Secondary Education Option (PSEO)/College in the Schools (CIS)
Only PSEO courses taught by a college/university faculty member on the campus of an accredited college or university under an established post-secondary program, of a liberal arts nature, and of at least 3 semester or 4 quarter credits, and in which the student has received a grade of “C” or higher, are considered for St. Olaf credit.
Only CIS courses that are taught in the high school through an accredited college or university are accepted for credit. The college or university either trains the high school teacher and reviews the program or provides a college instructor for the class. (In many cases coursework is reviewed and graded by a college instructor even if that instructor is not the teacher of record for the class.) CIS courses must appear on the transcript of an accredited college or university under an established post-secondary program, be of a liberal arts nature, and receive at least 3 semester or 4 quarter credits, and the student must receive a grade of “C” or higher, are considered for St. Olaf credit.
No online or distance learning courses will be accepted to fulfill PSEO or CIS.
Advanced Placement (AP)
Department/program policies concerning AP exams are set once each year, in February, for the following academic year’s incoming class and may, therefore, change from year to year. Generally students who receive scores of “4” or “5” from the CEEB Advanced Placement Program receive placement and/or credit according to policies set by the college’s departments and programs. Some departments require a score of “5” on some tests. Departmental/program policies and guidelines for awarding advanced placement credit are available at the Registrar’s website.
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Upon receipt of official documentation, and with certain departmental restrictions, St. Olaf awards credit only for scores of “5” through “7” on the Higher Level Exams of the High School International Baccalaureate Program. Departmental/program policies and guidelines for awarding International Baccalaureate credit are available at the Registrar’s Office and website; questions should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.
