Updated Implementation Timeline for Granting of AP Credit

In our first AcademicAffairs@NOVA, the Office of Academic Affairs informed the NOVA community about changes to credits granted for AP scores. Please read on for updated information on the new implementation timeline, which has been extended to fall 2025.

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) recently finished a review of how the 23 colleges in the VCCS award credit for Advanced Placement (AP) exams.    

The Issue: Per the State Committee of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), VCCS colleges are required to grant course credit for AP scores of three or higher; however, the 23 VCCS colleges varied in the number of credits and classes for which they were granting credit. To address the issue, the VCCS voted on system-wide consistency to create equity in credits awarded and increase efficiencies. Consistency in credits awarded will make it possible to automate the awarding of credit for official AP scores and decrease the number of exams being brought in for elective (or EEE) credit that then require substitution requests.  

NOVA has long granted course credit, also known as credit for prior learning (CPL) for Advanced Placement (AP) and other standardized assessments of learning. Our Credit for Prior Learning Manual lists the assessments and scores.  

The Process: A small VCCS taskforce:

• compiled the credits being given by exam for all 23 colleges;  
• reviewed the AP exam learning outcomes and aligned them with VCCS course descriptions and course content summaries;   
• surveyed faculty from all 23 colleges in the disciplines for which there are AP exams.  

They used results from all of the above to arrive at their recommendations. Computer science was the only discipline for which the taskforce was unable to make a recommendation. Once the computer science common curriculum is created/updated, a decision will be made on the credits for AP scores.   

The Outcome: The consistent credits for AP scores were approved by the VCCS Academic and Student Affairs Committee (ASAC) on November 8. NEW: The new scores will be implemented system-wide with the new academic year and catalog for fall 2025. The exact date of the transition has not been determined yet, but the catalog will be published in April 2025. Once we know more about the automation process, we will publish the specific transition date. The alignment with the catalog year makes the transition clearer for continuing students.

The Impact: You can see a crosswalk that compares previous AP score equivalencies with new score equivalencies here. For fall 2025, students who submit a transfer credit evaluation request for AP scores will follow the new equivalencies. 

If you have any questions about the implementation plan, please reach out to Phuoc ‘Thomas’ Dang, CPL coordinator, at PDang@nvcc.edu. For other questions, contact Jen Daniels, associate VP of academic affairs (JDaniels@nvcc.edu).   

Submitted by:
Jen Daniels, AVP of Academic Affairs, JDaniels@nvcc.edu