Approved by the: University Senate February 17, 1994
Accepted by the: Administration April 6, 1994
Action by the: Board of Regents May 13, 1994
REPORT OF THE REVIEW COMMITTEE ON AWARDING CREDIT FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
This committee was charged with recommending clear, uniform policies for
the awarding of University credit for several standardized examinations.
The members of the committee were:
Carol Cline, Assistant Director, Admissions
Linda Ellinger, Associate to the Vice President for Arts,
Sciences, and Engineering
David Frank, Professor, Mathematics
Kenneth Heller, Professor, Physics
William Hanson, Professor, Philosophy
The review committee met several times during winter and spring quarters to
review current practices on granting credit for Advanced Placement (AP) and
International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations. We also looked at data on
the subsequent success of University students who have been granted such
credit. Summaries of some of our findings are included in the discussions
below.
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ADVANCED PLACEMENT
==================
Advanced Placement (or AP) tests are administered by the College Board to
high school seniors who have been enrolled in special Advanced Placement
classes. In the fall of 1990, 170 NHS students who were admitted to the
Twin Cities campus were awarded credit for one or more AP exams taken in
high school; 51 students at Morris and 16 at Duluth also received AP
credit. Appendices A and B show the credits granted in 199091 for both
NHS and NAS students for IB, AP, CLEP, and Credit-by-Exam at all campuses.
For the fall, 1990 Twin Cities group, credit was awarded for a total of 237
exams (some students were awarded credit for more than one examination).
The mean number of University of Minnesota credits granted for AP exams on
the Twin Cities campus in fall, 1990 was 10.13; the range was 055. The
examination for which students most commonly received credit was Calculus
AB (79 students), followed by Literature/Composition (43), American History
(25) and Language/Composition (23). Fewer than 15 students were awarded
credits for any of thirteen other examinations.
The present University policy on awarding credit varies by campus. (A
complete listing of current credit awards is included as Appendix C.) In
most cases, the Twin Cities campus has given credit only for scores of 4 or
5 on the exam; Morris and Duluth tend to give some credit for scores of 3
and above. In some cases, variable credit has been awarded for different
scores; for example, on the Twin Cities Campus, a score of 3 on the Art
History exam allows exemption from a distribution requirement; a score of 4
is granted four credits of art history, and a score of 5 is granted 8
credits of art history. That same examination, regardless of score (3, 4,
or 5) would be granted 10 credits at Morris, while at Duluth a score of 3
would be awarded an exemption and a score of either 4 or 5 would receive
eight credits. This situation, while it might be justifiable on each
campus, renders the University incapable of giving a clear message to
students about how we treat AP exams; it also prevents us from acting as a
unified system in our discussions with other higher education systems. (For
comparative purposes, a summary of practices at other Big Ten institutions
is included as Appendix D.)
In reviewing data on the success of students on the Twin Cities campus who
had been awarded AP credit, we discovered that the subsequent mean GPA of
the 170 students admitted in fall, 1990 was 3.21. Only 24 of the 170
students had a cumulative GPA of less than 2.5, while 66 had a GPA of 3.5
or greater. Clearly, these students are quite successful at the
University. In a more detailed follow-up, we looked at the subsequent
success in math courses of students who had taken the Calculus AB exam. Of
the 79 students who took the exam, 70 had taken a subsequent math course.
The average ³follow-up² math grade of students who had had a score of 4 on
their Calculus AB exam was 3.22 on a 4.0 scale; the average grade of
students who had had a 5 score was 3.45.
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International Baccalaureate
===========================
The IB exams differ from the AP exams in that students enrolled in IB
programs are taking a comprehensive curriculum rather than a set of
discrete advanced courses. The following description is taken from the
General Regulations for all IB programs: "The examination for the Diploma
requires candidates to offer six subjects, each normally studied over a
period of two years. At least three and not more than four must be offered
at the higher level, and the others at the subsidiary level." Students may
come to the University either with a full IB diploma, or with a certificate
which recognizes specific higher level or subsidiary level test scores.
Present University policy on IB scores is the same for all three campuses.
For most examinations, credit is given for a score of 5 or higher on a
7-point scale; in some cases, credit is given for a score of 4. With three
exceptions, credit is given only for higher level exams; credit for
subsidiary exams is awarded in Art/Design, Biology, and Computer Science.
Appendix E summarizes current University policy on credit awards.
The IB program is still relatively new in Minnesota; in the fall of 1990,
only 7 students received credit at the Twin Cites campus for IB exams.
According to information gathered by Matt Dion in CLA, Minnesota schools
awarded 11 IB diplomas and 308 IB certificates in 1990. He indicated that
there was no data available on how IB diploma or certificate students
perform after enrollment in college. Appendix F provides comparative data
on credit awards for IB at other Minnesota institutions and at Big Ten
schools.
Our committee was also asked by Associate Vice President Kvavik to review a
request by Tom Keith, International Baccalaureate Coordinator at the
Minneapolis Public Schools, to consider a comprehensive and attractive
credit award for students who complete the IB diploma. As part of our
discussion of such an award, we reviewed data provided by the Admissions
Office on policies used by other major institutions in awarding IB credit.
It generally appears that some institutions, including Harvard and
Stanford, are more generous in their credit awards than is the University
of Minnesota.
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Assumptions Guiding our Recommendations
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In making the following recommendations, we have operated according to a
set of assumptions about the University's goals and about the students who
are seeking credit awards for AP and IB.
1. The University wishes to encourage high-ability students to enroll
here. We want to encourage policies that, while maintaining high academic
standards, make the University an attractive place for the best students.
2. High-ability students have many educational opportunities, and they
make intelligent comparative judgments about the schools they are
considering attending, including the advantages offered by variations in
policies on issues such as advanced placement.
3. AP and IB classes are usually taken by high-ability students. In most
schools, these classes have the reputation of being tough and
time-consuming. Furthermore, the exams themselves are not taken by all
students who take the class, and not passed by all students who take them.
Therefore, a student with a "passing" score has already gone through a
sorting process.
Given these assumptions, we have recommended a simplification of the
granting of AP and IB credit, and have recommended offering credit to
students with passing scores as determined by the nationally-normed exam
results. Our recommendations have been drawn in large measure from draft
recommendations prepared by Admissions Office staff (Newton Smith, Karen
Lukas) and by CLA Admissions director Matt Dion.
===================================================
Recommendations for Advanced Placement Credit
at the University of Minnesota
===================================================
The following recommendations are for the Twin Cities, Morris, and
Crookston campuses of the University:*
1. The University should set 3 as the standard minimum score for
awards on all tests. Where a department has conducted studies
that show that a score of 3 is too low to predict success in
sequential courses, a higher score may be established. No
department is obligated to offer credit for any AP exam, although
departments may be asked to provided to SCEP an explanation of
any decision not to award credit for AP.
2. Where a test covers material that is substantially similar to
an existing University course, credit for that course should be
awarded. Departments will determine which courses(s) are covered
by the exam.
3. Where a test covers material that is deemed to be college
level but that is not substantially similar to an existing
course, the University should award four "blanket credits" in
courses numbered 1999 or 3999 in appropriate departments. This
practice would recognize the college level achievement of the
student without placing that student in advanced courses for
which he or she may not be fully prepared.
4. "Exemptions" or "partial exemptions" should not be granted.
These are confusing to students and advisers alike. Either grant
credit under 2 or 3 above, or do not grant credit.
5. In most cases, differential credit should not be awarded for
different scores (e.g., 4 credits for a score of 3, 8 credits for
a score of 4, and 12 credits for a score of 5). The only
exceptions may be in cases where the exam covers material that is
clearly sequential in nature (e.g., mathematics), where a higher
score represents more coverage of material, rather than a better
grade on the material. SCEP may ask departments to make a case
for any decision to award differential credit for different
scores.
6. With the guidance and approval of the appropriate campus
committee (e.g., the Council on Liberal Education on the Twin
Cities campus), allow students to use blanket credit awards to
meet certain liberal education requirements.
7. Require periodic review of the tests (at least every five
years) to determine if changes should be made in the award
schedule. In addition, a system should be established that will
provide the capability to review and track the academic
performance of students granted credit with an AP score of 3 for
the first three years. Responsibility for setting up a tracking
system and organizing a schedule of periodic reviews should rest
with the Director of Admissions.
======================================================
Recommendations for International Baccalaureate Credit
at the University of Minnesota
======================================================
The following recommendations are for the Twin Cities, Morris, and
Crookston campuses of the University:
1. Students who complete an IB diploma with a score of 30 or
higher and no examination scores lower than 4 should be
offered 12 credits for each of three higher level
examinations, plus 3 credits for each of the subsidiary
exams, for a total of 45 credits. Credits should be
transcripted according to the same rules as those suggested
for the AP exams: where a test covers material that is
substantially similar to an existing University course,
credit for that course should be awarded; where a test covers
material that is deemed to be college level but that is not
substantially similar to an existing course, the University
should award blanket credits in courses numbered 1999 or 3999
in appropriate departments.
2. No credit should be given for subsidiary level exams other
than those included as part of the IB Diploma as described in #1
above, but students may receive credit as in #1 for any Higher
Level exams with a score of 5 or higher.
3. With the guidance and approval of the appropriate campus
committee (e.g., the Council of Liberal Education on the Twin
Cities campus), allow students to use blanket credit awards to
meet certain liberal education requirements.
4. Require periodic review of the tests (at least every five
years) to determine if changes should be made in the award
schedule. In addition, a system should be established that will
provide the capability to review and track the academic
performance of students granted credit for IB exams.
Responsibility for setting up a tracking system and organizing a
schedule of periodic reviews should rest with the Registrar
and/or Director of Admissions.
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* These recommendations are also being forwarded to the administration at
the University of Minnesota-Duluth for consideration and possible adoption.