Two-Year Academic Programs Designed for Transfer

Credit from national examinations, military courses and training, international institutions, credit for life/work experience, and other types of credit may be evaluated for transfer. Use the links below to view information about each credit type and how these credits are accepted by Minnesota State.

Credit Type

Click each credit type to see a description.

The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a College Board program that allows students to earn college credit by demonstrating their mastery of college-level material in introductory subjects. The College-Level Examination Program or CLEP provides students of any age with the opportunity to demonstrate college-level achievement through a program of exams in undergraduate college courses. CLEP exams do not relate to a specifically designed college-level course taught in high school. Rather, CLEP exams test mastery of college-level materials acquired in a variety of ways--such as through general academic instruction, significant independent study, or extracurriculuar work.

CLEP examinations cover material taught in courses that most students take as requirements in the first two years of college. A college usually grants the same amount of credit to students earning satisfactory scores on the CLEP examination as it grants to students successfully completing that course.

Many examinations are designed to correspond to one-semester courses; some, however correspond to full-year or two-year courses. Each exam is 90 minutes long, and, except for English Composition with Essay, is made up primarily of multiple-choice questions; however, some exams do have fill-ins.

For more information, visit the following websites:

Competency-based education allows students to present nontraditional learning as competencies to be evaluated for credit by qualified faculty members towards their educational program. These competencies must be the equivalent of what would have been (achieved) learned through college coursework. To find out if this program is offered, check with counselors, advisors or college catalogs from the college/university you are planning to attend.

For more information, view the following web pages:

Students may request that credit be granted from non-regionally accredited institutions on a course-by-course basis. Individual institutions determine the transfer of credit for this transcripted work. These courses must be judged to be comparable or equivalent to courses offered at the receiving college or university. Students would usually need to present a syllabus for review. Check with institutions' registrars, counselors, advisors, college catalogs or websites for information.

DANTES - Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support/DSST

DANTES mission is to support the off-duty, voluntary education programs of the Department of Defense and to conduct special projects and development activities in support of education-related functions of the Department. 

The DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST) program is an extensive series of examinations in college subjects that are comparable to the final or end-of-course examinations in undergraduate courses. ACE recommends 3 semester hours of credit per test. DANTES funds DSST testing for eligible Service members and personnel at DANTES military Test Centers. The DSSTs are now also available for use by civilians at universities and colleges throughout the country. 

The DSST program is an extensive series of examinations in college subjects that are comparable to the final or end-of-course examinations in undergraduate courses. ACE recommends 3 semester hours of credit per test. DANTES funds DSST testing for eligible Service members and personnel at DANTES military Test Centers.

For more information, visit the DANTES website.

Credit by examination may be given for selected courses that are regularly taught for credit and described in the college catalog. The instructor determines whether to provide an examination and whether the student meets the standards that would have been expected if the student had done the course work. Students are charged a fee for the exam for which credit may be granted. Check with institutions' catalogs for more information.

International Baccalaureate (for High School Students)

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program is an educational program taught in one of three languages - English, French or Spanish - and is intended for students in their final two years of secondary school, often before entering university. The program, administered by the International Baccalaureate Organization, is one of the most widely recognized pre-university educational programs in the world.

The Diploma Program (DP) curriculum consists of completing six courses from six different subject areas, writing an Extended Essay (EE) of up to 4,000 words, taking part in the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) class, and fulfilling requirements in Creative, Active and Service (CAS) pursuits.

Students pursuing the Diploma take six courses, usually from six different subject areas, with three (or four) of them taken at higher level (HL) and the rest at standard level (SL).

For more information, visit the following websites:

Students who have completed courses in another country may need to have their transcripts evaluated for use at their current institution. Colleges and universities differ in how they accept these courses.

Contact your transfer specialist or admissions counselor for more information or visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website.

Educational opportunities exist to further your military career or prepare for a civilian career, whether you're active duty or retired, stateside or abroad.

You may be eligible to receive credit for your military training and prior learning experiences that have been evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE).

For more information, view the Resources for Veterans and Service Members Pages.

New York Regents College (Now Excelsior College) offered a series of 40 college- level examinations used by more than 900 colleges in the U.S. to award credit by examination or advanced placement. These tests were formerly administered by A.C.T. and are sometimes referred to as ACT-PEP.

The study guides for these courses may be located in the Excelsior College site; however, because the site is guarded by passwords and copyright notices, so we can not link to them here. However, they are available from the College and can be obtained by writing to this address:

Content Guides
Excelsior College
7 Columbia Circle
Albany, NY 12203-5159
testadmn@excelsior.edu

Also, see your Admissions Advisor or Registrar.

For Minnesota State Staff, Faculty, and Administration, access Transfer information through ASA Connect. Not sure how to log in to ASA Connect? View instructions.