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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 ExamACTS Course
Art HistoryARTA 1003 Art Appreciation
BiologyBIOL1004 Biology for Non-Majors
Calculus ABMATH 2405 Calculus I
Calculus BCMATH 2505 Calculus II
ChemistryCHEM 1004 Chemistry for General Education
Computer Science ACPSI 1003 Introduction to Computers or 
CS 1001 Computer Science I/Principles of Computer Science
Computer Science PrinciplesCPSI 1003 Introduction to Computers or
CS 1001 Computer Science I/Principles of Computer Science
English Language & CompositionENGL 1013 Composition I
Environmental ScienceGEOL 1124 Environmental Geology
European HistoryHIST 1213 Western Civilization I or
HIST 1223 Western Civilization II
French Language & CultureFREN 2013 French III
German Language & CultureGERM 2013 German III
Human GeographyGEOG 1113 Human Geography
MacroeconomicsECON 2103 Principles of Macroeconomics
MicroeconomicsECON 2203 Principles of Microeconomics
Music TheoryMUSC 1003 Music Appreciation
Physics 1PHYS 2014 Algebra/Trignometry-Based Physics I
Physics 2PHYS 2024 Algebra/Trignometry-Based Physics II
Psychology PSYC 1103 General Psychology
Spanish Language & CultureSPAN 2013 Spanish III
StatisticsMATH 2103 Introduction to Statistics
United States Government & PoliticsPLSC 2003 American National Government
United States HistoryHIST 2113 United States History or
HIST 2123 United States History II
World HistoryHIST 1113 World Civilizations or
HIST 1123 World Civilizations II

 III.  Limitations

  1. 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. 
     
  2. 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).
     
  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.
     
  4. Policy Review. Policy effectiveness based on placement and student success may be reviewed annually by ADHE.