Advanced Placement Examination

Sierra College accepts Advanced Placement (AP) examinations with scores of three or higher. Currently enrolled students may be awarded up to seven units of credit per examination. Credit is awarded for a Sierra College course or courses; as general education credit; or as elective credit.

Students automatically receive credit for AP examinations if official College Board Advanced Placement scores are sent to the College (Sierra Col­lege CEEB Code=4697). Grades are not assigned and the credit is not used in calculating grade point average. AP credit will not be used to alleviate a substandard grade.

If a student does not want credit, a written request asking that credit be removed from the transcript must be submitted to an Admissions and Records office.

Transfer students are cautioned that, re­gard­less of Si­er­ra College pol­i­cy, some institutions determine Ad­vanced Place­ment credit based on their own lo­cal policies and may recalculate credit. For further in­for­ma­tion please con­sult a coun­se­lor.

College-Level Examination Pro­gram (CLEP)

Sierra College accepts College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) ex­aminations with minimum scores of fifty. Cur­rent­ly en­rolled students may be awarded three units of credit per examination upon submission of official results. The exception to this is for examinations in languages other than English, as detailed in the following table. Credit is award­ed as general education or elective credit.

Sierra College students automatically receive credit for CLEP examinations if official scores are sent to the College. Grades are not assigned and the credit is not used in calculating grade point average. Students are notified when credit is granted. If a student does not want credit, a written request asking that credit be removed from the transcript must be submitted to an Admissions and Records office.

University of California campuses do not accept CLEP examinations. Transfer students are also cautioned that, re­gard­less of Si­er­ra College pol­i­cy, some institutions determine CLEP credit based on their own lo­cal policies and may recalculate credit. For further in­for­ma­tion please con­sult a coun­se­lor.

International Baccalaureate Examination

Sierra College accepts International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level ex­aminations with minimum scores of four or five, depending on the exam. Cur­rent­ly en­rolled students may be awarded three units of credit per examination upon submission of official results. Credit is award­ed as general education credit.

Sierra College students automatically receive credit for IB examinations if official scores are sent to the College. Grades are not assigned and the credit is not used in calculating grade point average. Students are notified when credit is granted. If a student does not want credit, a written request asking that credit be removed from the transcript must be submitted to an Admissions and Records office.

Transfer students are cautioned that, re­gard­less of Si­er­ra College pol­i­cy, some institutions determine IB credit based on their own lo­cal policies and may recalculate credit. For further in­for­ma­tion please con­sult a coun­se­lor.

International Transcript Acceptance

Students wishing to receive credit at Sierra College for courses completed at an international in­sti­tu­tion must re­quest and pay for an eval­u­a­tion of their international transcript(s) through a current member of one of the following: 

The evaluation must include a course by course review which determines se­mes­ter unit value, grade and lower/upper di­vi­sion sta­tus. In most cases, stu­dents are grant­ed elec­tive cred­it only for lower di­vi­sion course work com­plet­ed at in­ter­na­tion­al institutions. No credit is granted for upper-di­vi­sion courses. Stu­dents wishing to be granted credit for specific Sierra College gen­er­al ed­u­ca­tion/learning skills or ma­jor cours­es must submit course de­scrip­tions in En­glish with course substitution petitions.

International coursework from non-United States regionally accredited institutions cannot be used to meet California State University General Education-Breadth requirements, Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum requirements, and Associate Degree for Transfer requirements. Although international courses may be accepted by four-year universities, evaluation of such courses is  determined independently by each transfer institution.

Military Service Credit

A veteran who was on active duty one year or long­er and received an honorable discharge may re­quest that 5 units of military training credit be ap­plied to­ the Health Education/Physical Education associate degree requirement. Cred­it has no bearing on the student’s GPA and may not trans­fer to a four-year university. To request credit, stu­dents must submit a copy of their DD-214 to an Admissions and Records office or the Veterans Resource Center. Stu­dents must submit an application for admission be­fore military credit may be awarded.

Veterans receiving VA educational benefits through the Sierra Col­lege Veterans Resource Center must apply for mil­i­tary cred­it by the end of their second semester of en­roll­ment, re­gard­less of the number of units com­plet­ed at Sierra.

Transcripts from Other Colleges and Universities

Sierra College accepts official transcripts from United States institutions that are accredited by one of the following accrediting organizations (formerly known as Regional Accrediting Organizations):

  • Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  • Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
  • New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
  • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
  • WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)

Transcripts are evaluated for acceptance of all lower-division degree-applicable credit courses. Once an official transcript is received, it becomes the property of Sierra College. Qualifying transcripts shall become part of the student's permanent academic record. Appropriate units and subject content will be applied to major and general education areas to meet Sierra College graduation requirements and may not be removed. When course repetition occurs, the last grade and credit earned from an accredited institution will be included in the computation of the grade point average. Students should meet with a counselor to determine which courses fulfill Sierra College’s degree and/or certificate requirements. 

To ensure timely and accurate posting of transfer courses, students should submit their sealed official transcript(s) to a campus Admissions and Records office early in the application process. A Transfer Credit Request should also be submitted.

Transfer credit is also used to fulfill prerequisite requirements. 

High School Articulation

High school articulation is a collaborative process link­ing ­curriculum between institutions to assist students in mak­ing smooth ­transi­tions from secondary to postsecondary lev­els with­out ex­pe­ri­enc­ing de­lays or duplication of learn­ing. High school ar­tic­u­la­tion agree­ments have been developed with many area high school and ROP programs which make it ­possible for students to gain college credit for spec­i­fied courses once they have enrolled at Sierra College.

Reference: Sierra College Board Policies/Administrative Procedures Chapter 4.