Acceptance of Credits
Traditional Credit
Transfer Credit
Credits from other institutions may be accepted toward degree requirements if they were completed at a fully accredited college or university. Students should bring either unofficial copies of their transcripts or official, sealed copies of their transcripts to a counselor or advisor for a preliminary, unofficial evaluation. This will allow the students to receive permission for courses requiring prerequisites and advice regarding their recommended first term course work in a timely manner. After doing a preliminary, unofficial evaluation of transfer credit, official transcripts will be sent to Student Records. The Student Records office evaluates coursework for all Lower Division Collegiate classes from those institutions where grades of A, B, C, or P/S (Pass/Satisfactory) were earned. The transfer GPA is not included in the overall GPA on your PCC transcript. Transcripted courses can be viewed via MyPCC in the My Courses tab by clicking on Unofficial Transcript.
International Transfer Credit
It is the responsibility of each student with transcripts from international schools to have them translated, if necessary, and evaluated for acceptance toward a PCC certificate or degree, by a service that is a member of the National Associate of Credential Evaluation Service. This evaluation must be a course-by-course evaluation. Students with transcripts from international schools should check the Evaluation of Foreign Transcripts website or go to Ask the Panther about international transfer credit. Students can also print Foreign Transcript Evaluation information on transcription and evaluation services.
Non-Traditional Credit
A maximum of 45 credits of non-traditional credit may be granted. Non-traditional credit may not be used to establish the residency requirement. Students must submit a Non-Traditional Credit form and pay a non-refundable $10 fee prior to evaluation. Only those subject areas taught by PCC will be considered. See the PCC catalog for full details.
Formal Course Work at Non-Accredited Institutions
Students may be granted credit for course work completed at training sites other than those listed in the “Transfer Credit Practices Directory”. Students must furnish detailed training records, course outlines and, when possible, transcripts. Individual departments will evaluate and assign PCC equivalencies. A maximum of 45 credit hours can be assigned through this process. Only those subject areas taught by PCC will be considered. See catalog for details and contact the Graduation Office for the proper procedure.
Once the credit is accepted and transcripted the student does not need to complete a waiver or substitution form. The Graduation office or the program evaluator will make a note in the area provided on the back of the petition for graduation form.
CLEP
Students must submit scores, along with a Non-Traditional Credit Form, to Student Records for evaluation. For information on ordering CLEP transcripts please visit http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/scores.html.
PCC accepts CLEP scores for some, but not all, subject areas. Score cutoffs vary from subject to subject. PCC does not offer CLEP testing, but it is available through other colleges in the Portland area. You may want to try Mt. Hood Community College, University of Portland, Portland State, George Fox, Warner Pacific, Clackamas Community College or Chemeketa Community College.
CLEP Subject Area Exams, with a score of 50 are accepted as follows:
| Subject | Course(s) | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| American History | HST 201,202,203 | 12 |
| American Literature | ENG 253,254 | 8 |
| Biology | BI 101,102,103 | 12 |
| English Literature | ENG 204,205 | 8 |
| General Chemistry | CH 104,105 | 8 |
| General Psychology | PSY 201,202 | 8 |
| History of Western Civilization | HST 101,102,103 | 12 |
| Human Growth & Development | PSY 215 | 4 |
| Intro Business Mgmt | BA 101 | 4 |
| Intro Business Law | BA 226 | 4 |
| Princ. of Macro Economics | EC 202 | 4 |
| Princ. of Micro Economics | EC 201 | 4 |
| If both Economics tests taken | EC 200,201,202 | 12 |
| College Mathematics | MTH 105 | 4 |
| Precalculus* | MTH 111C | 5 |
| Calculus** | MTH 251 | 4 |
*Precalculus scores of 61 or higher will be awarded MTH 112 (5 credits) in addition to MTH 111C.
** Calculus scores of 64 or higher will be awarded MTH 252 (5 credits) in addition to MTH 251.
PCC does not accept CLEP scores in Writing or Foreign Languages. Official copies of test scores should be sent to the Student Records Office: PCC Student Records, P.O. Box 19000, Portland, OR 97280-0990.
Advanced Placement
Students must send scores to Student Records, along with a Non-Traditional Credit form, for evaluation.
| Test Title: Course Conferred | Score | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| American History (HST 201,202,203) | 4-5 | 12 |
| Biology (BI 101,102,103) | 4-5 | 12 |
| Chemistry (CH 104,105,106) | 4-5 | 15 |
| English Comp/Lit (WR 121) | 3 | 4 |
| (WR 121) & (ENG 104,105,106) | 4-5 | 16 |
| English Lang/Comp (WR 121,122,123) | 3,4,5 | 11 |
| European History (HST 101,102,103) | 4-5 | 12 |
| Calculus AB (MTH 251, 252) | 3,4,5 | 9 |
| Calculus BC (MTH 251,252) | 3 | 9 |
| (MTH 251,252,253) | 4,5 | 14 |
| Physics B (PH 201,202,203) | 4,5 | 12 |
| Physics C (PH 211, 212) | 4,5 | 10 |
| Spanish (SPA 101,102,103) | 3 | 12 |
| (SPA 101,102,103 & SPA 201,202,203) | 4,5 | 24 |
Maximum of 45 credits (including CLEP, AP, Military, NTC) may be transcribed.
Life Experience Credit
In general, PCC does not offer credit for life experience. Some professional/technical programs may grant credit or waivers for specific courses on a case-by-case basis. Contact the program department chair for more information. If a waiver is granted the student will still need to meet the required credit totals for the certificate or degree.
Military Credit
PCC equivalencies can be granted for formal military courses after careful evaluation of transcripts, records and information provided in the “Guide to the Educational Experiences in the Armed Services”. Block credit is not granted and only the subject areas taught by PCC will be considered. Contact the Veteran Services Office for details: 503-977-4502. For credit in professional/technical programs, the department chair of the program will determine equivalencies and/or the chair may contact the Graduation Office for confirmation.
Two credits hours of Physical Education may be granted for military training. A copy of the DD 214 is required. Application should be made on the non-traditional credit form and is approved by the Graduation Office. Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA in their declared major. Please note the VA will not pay for audits, I, W, or NP grades.