Earn Credit for What you Already Know
Northampton Community College understands that many students come to us with knowledge and expertise already in hand. Whether you have served in the military, taken Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams, have been part of extensive on-the-job-training or apprenticeships, participated in a non-credit program, earned certificates for professional development, taken online classes at a non-regionally accredited school, are fluent in a second or third language, or have spent dedicated years of service in a given career – we value what you have learned and, whenever possible, want to award you college credit for that work through our Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Program.
What does earning college credit for prior learning mean for you?
- Fast-track your degree completion, certificate, or transfer plans.
- If you can demonstrate that you already have the knowledge and learning outcomes covered in a given class, you won’t have to take it and your transcript will reflect college credit for that class.
- You can get a jump start on completing your degree or certificate by only taking those classes that you need.
- Earning college credit for prior learning will save you time and money.
How do you earn credit?
- Apply to NCC. The application will include deciding on the NCC major you want to pursue and will prompt assigning you to an Academic Advisor who works with students in your program of interest. If you are undecided in your major, connect with our Center for Career Development for major exploration.
- Send NCC all official transcripts: high school, other colleges/universities, military transcripts, AP/IB, etc. This will help us begin the process of evaluating you for any potential transfer credits.
*Credits from non-regionally accredited schools will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. - Schedule a meeting with your assigned Academic Advisor to discuss how your transcripts have been evaluated and determine if there are other potential areas you may be able to turn your previous experiences into college credit.
- If you feel you may have additional college-equivalent experiences, complete the PLA Self-Assessment form to connect with the Office of Prior Learning for more information and next steps!
Check out the information below to see how your scores from AP and CLEP Exams can be applied towards your NCC degree or how an existing bachelor's degree or non-credit certification can translate into credits at NCC.
