Advanced Placement (AP) Policy
Effective Fall 2018
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education Coordinating Board has established a set of guidelines by which institutions must award course credit for advanced placement exams. This policy should be implemented by institutions for entering freshman in the Fall 2018 semester.
I. Course Credit. Under this policy, institutions should award course credit to students who score a three (3) or higher on any Advanced Placement (AP) exam. Credit awarded for any AP exam must be applied to the student transcript and, where appropriate, reduce the total number of required degree hours accordingly by either directly satisfying degree or elective requirements. In order to increase transferability, ACTS courses have been assigned to relevant exams.
These courses are outlined in the following section of this policy. This list is maintained by the Department of Higher Education and will be reviewed every five years.
II. Advanced Placement ACTS Courses. The following table maps AP exams to corresponding ACTS courses. AP exams without a corresponding ACTS course listed below should be awarded at the discretion of the institution.
| AP Exam | ACTS Course |
| Art History | ARTA 1003 Art Appreciation |
| Biology | BIOL1004 Biology for Non-Majors |
| Calculus AB | MATH 2405 Calculus I |
| Calculus BC | MATH 2505 Calculus II |
| Chemistry | CHEM 1004 Chemistry for General Education |
| Computer Science A | CPSI 1003 Introduction to Computers or CS 1001 Computer Science I/Principles of Computer Science |
| Computer Science Principles | CPSI 1003 Introduction to Computers or CS 1001 Computer Science I/Principles of Computer Science |
| English Language & Composition | ENGL 1013 Composition I |
| Environmental Science | GEOL 1124 Environmental Geology |
| European History | HIST 1213 Western Civilization I or HIST 1223 Western Civilization II |
| French Language & Culture | FREN 2013 French III |
| German Language & Culture | GERM 2013 German III |
| Human Geography | GEOG 1113 Human Geography |
| Macroeconomics | ECON 2103 Principles of Macroeconomics |
| Microeconomics | ECON 2203 Principles of Microeconomics |
| Music Theory | MUSC 1003 Music Appreciation |
| Physics 1 | PHYS 2014 Algebra/Trignometry-Based Physics I |
| Physics 2 | PHYS 2024 Algebra/Trignometry-Based Physics II |
| Psychology | PSYC 1103 General Psychology |
| Spanish Language & Culture | SPAN 2013 Spanish III |
| Statistics | MATH 2103 Introduction to Statistics |
| United States Government & Politics | PLSC 2003 American National Government |
| United States History | HIST 2113 United States History or HIST 2123 United States History II |
| World History | HIST 1113 World Civilizations or HIST 1123 World Civilizations II |
III. Limitations
- Additional Credit. (a) Institutions will be limited to awarding minimum credit for one corresponding ACTS course listed in the table above to students who score a three (3) on the exam. If in the best interest of the student, institutions may award a higher-level course for a score of three (3). (b) Institutions may choose to award additional credit for those students who score a four (4) or five (5) on an exam. While transfer institutions are encouraged to accept any additional AP credit awarded, the transfer institution will not be obligated to honor additional credit given beyond the requirement. (c) Institutions may award additional credit for prerequisite courses when credit is awarded for a higher level sequenced course.
- AP Exam Scores Below Three (3). In order to maintain consistency and high academic standards in the state, no course credit may be awarded for an AP exam score below a three (3).
- Courses Not Offered. An institution is not required to award credit for an AP exam if the institution does not offer the corresponding ACTS course.
- Policy Review. Policy effectiveness based on placement and student success may be reviewed annually by ADHE.