Mar 19, 2024  
Catalog/Handbook 2016-2017 
    
Catalog/Handbook 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Accelerated Credit


Accelerated Mechanisms

Polk State College follows the Florida guidelines in acceptance of credit for nationally-standardized accelerated mechanisms. All credit is awarded in accordance with the State Board Rule 6A-10.024, allowing students to proceed toward their educational goals as rapidly as possible.
 

The state of Florida maintains an approved list of equivalencies for various kinds of accelerated opportunities. It can be found on the articulation website. The FloridaShines.org website links to details for each of the following:

  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • Advanced International Certificate of Education Program (AICE)
  • International Baccalaureate (IB)
  • College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
  • DSST (DANTES)
  • Excelsior College exams

In addition, FloridaShines.org maintains Frequently Asked Questions about accelerated credit and a comparison of high school accelerated credit opportunities such as Dual-Enrollment, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate courses.

Minimum satisfactory scores for accelerated credit are set by the State Board of Education and are subject to change. Current scores can be found on the Florida Department of Education website. Credit is not awarded in areas for which college credit has already been earned, or for CLEP if the course  are similar areas has been attempted. at the college-level.

Polk State College reserves the right to evaluate credit from other accelerated means. Students are welcome to submit documentation and official records for consideration for the above mentioned accelerated mechanisms and others that are not necessarily state authorized but meet the rigors of college academic equivalency. Examination scores must be submitted on an official score report from the organization administering the examination. Accelerated credit is posted to the academic record along with the source of the credit. Students planning on transferring to schools outside of the Florida State University System (SUS) or Florida College System (FCS) are responsible for determining the acceptability of this credit.

A maximum of 45 semester hours of combined accelerated credit, or Advanced Placement, or other non-traditional means of earning credit may be applied toward an associate’s degree of 60 hours.