Transferring & Earning Credits
A student who has received a grade of “D” or “F” in a course, or a student who has failed to achieve a designated grade as a prerequisite to another course, may repeat a course up to two times (that is, a student may take the same course a maximum of three times). Any other student seeking to repeat a course must submit a request to do so, including a rationale, through the college’s petition process.
Students must submit a Repeat Class Request to have the highest grade calculated into the BCC Grade Point Average for graduation. This request will result in the lower grade courses having an “R” grade identifier posted next to the grade in the permanent transcript.
Advanced Placement (AP) & International Baccalaureate (IB)
Students who engaged in college-level study in high school through the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program can obtain credit towards a BCC degree, placement in advanced classes, or both, on the basis of their performance on AP or IB exams. For placement into an eligible advanced course, students present an original copy of their test results to the Assessment Office. For credit, the student must ask the testing agency to send scores to the Records Office. Posting of AP or IB credits may be requested after successful completion of 10 BCC credits. Students will not be granted credit if the equivalent college course has been taken.
A maximum of 60 AP and/or IB credits may be awarded; however, not all credits may apply toward a BCC degree or certificate.
For International Baccalaureate (IB), 5 credits are granted for each Higher Level subject in which a score of 5 or higher is earned. For example, a student’s transcript would be noted as “English IB Credit 5.0.”
For Advanced Placement (AP) credits or placement into advanced courses is granted according to AP course and score earned. When credit is granted, a student’s transcript will record for example, AP ART 5.0 CREDITS.
College Credit & Careers Network
High school students may earn college credit for certain professional/technical classes taken at the high school. The student must be registered with the College Credit & Careers Network Tech Prep program and must complete the high-school classes with a grade of “A” or “B” in order to receive college credit.
College in the High School
High school students may earn both high school and college credit in a BCC program coordinated with local high schools. Students take these credits at their own high school. Information is available through the high schools in the area.
College-Level Courses
At BCC, courses numbered 100 or higher are considered “college level.” Courses numbered 099 and below help students prepare themselves for college-level work.
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
A maximum of 15 restricted credits is granted for CLEP examinations after the student has successfully completed 10 credits at BCC. Students should meet with a credential evaluator since no credit will be granted for a BCC course that is a duplication of a CLEP exam. An example of how these credits appear on the transcript is “American Government CLEP Exam Credit 5.0.”
Continuous Enrollment
Students may elect to graduate under the provisions of the official catalog in effect at the time they first started at the college OR at the time they apply to graduate, providing five years have not lapsed and they have remained continuously enrolled at the college.
Credit by Examination
Students may receive credit for prior knowledge without formally taking a course in that area. Exams are limited and may not be available for every discipline. Students must be currently registered and have completed 10 credits at BCC to request an Approval for Credit-by-Exam. An example of how these credits appear on the transcript is “BTS 165 Credit By Exam 5.0.”
Cross-Listed Courses
Certain courses may fulfill requirements in more than one program or discipline. This assists fulfillment of the minimum three distinct discipline distribution requirements for the Associate in Arts & Sciences degree. For example, the catalog description for POLS 201 states “Same as PHIL 201. Either POLS 201 or PHIL 201 may be taken for credit, not both.”
Military Credit
Credits earned in Armed Forces Training Schools (AFTS) and through USAFI and DANTES may not exceed 15 credits towards the Associate in Arts and Sciences degree. These credits are included in the 15 restricted maximum. Official transcripts or DD-214 or DD-295 forms must be submitted. Credit will not be awarded until the student applies for graduation. An example of how these credits appear on the transcript is “PE Military Credit 2.0.”
Out-of-Sequence Courses
Credit is not awarded for prerequisite courses in composition, mathematics, world languages, or sciences completed after a more advanced level course has been completed. For example, students will not be awarded credit for Spanish 102 if it was taken after Spanish 103.
Parallel Courses
Credit is not awarded for those courses that are similar enough in content that students should not receive credit for both classes. The courses will have different titles, course descriptions, and learning outcomes, but credit is not granted for both. For example, the catalog will specify “Either MATH 105 (Precalculus I) or MATH 156 (College Algebra for Business & Social Science) may be taken for credit, not both.”
Reciprocity Agreement
Washington community and technical colleges (CTCs) offer reciprocity to students transferring within the CTC system who are pursuing the Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) degree or the Associate in Science-Transfer (AS) degree. Students who completed an individual course that met distribution degree requirements or fulfilled entire areas of their degree requirements at one college will be considered to have met those same requirements if they plan to complete the same degree when they transfer to another community or technical college in Washington. These degree requirements include Communication Skills, Quantitative Skills, or one or more Distribution Area requirements. Students must initiate the review process and must be prepared to provide necessary documentation to the Evaluations Office. Students must meet Residency Credit and Continuous Enrollment requirements at BCC.
Residency Credit Requirement
At least one-third of the credits required for an associate degree or certificate must be completed in residency at BCC.
Restricted Transfer Credit
A maximum of 60 transfer credits may apply toward an associate degree, and a maximum of two-thirds may apply toward a certificate. All credits are subject to approval by the Evaluations Office based on credit equivalency, applicability to the degree or certificate, and the institution’s accreditation.
The college reserves the right to accept or reject credit earned in professional, vocational or technical courses. Departments may review course equivalencies or requirements completed at other institutions. Some programs
have provisions that coursework completed to satisfy degree or certificate requirements must be current. Previously completed credits may have exceeded the maximum length of time that can lapse from time of completion.
Running Start
Students classified as high school juniors or seniors may apply to this program. Qualified students may earn high school and college credits simultaneously for college level classes.