Course Share, Transfer Credit, and Credit by Exam
CIC Online Course Sharing Consortium (Course Share)
Wabash students may take a limited number of Council of Independent Colleges Online Course Sharing Consortium (CIC-OCSC) courses — referred to as Course Share — for Wabash credit. Available courses are identified by the Registrar in consultation with academic departments. Students should consult their academic advisor to select approved courses and must register through Wabash College. Course Share is available for summer study only, unless special permission is granted by the Dean of the College.
Course Share courses appear on the Wabash transcript alongside other Wabash courses but are treated as transfer courses. Wabash accepts Course Share credits under the following conditions:
- Combined Course Share, transfer, and credit-by-exam credits may not exceed the limits established in Wabash's transfer credit policy.
- Students may take no more than two Course Share courses per summer session (May/June or July/August) and no more than four in a single summer.
- Students must earn a C- or higher to receive Wabash credit.
- No more than one Course Share or transfer credit may apply to any distribution requirement that requires multiple course credits.
- No more than two Course Share credits may apply toward a single major or minor, with approval from the relevant department or program.
- After beginning a Course Share course, a student may drop it only with approval from his academic advisor or the Registrar's Office. Drop dates vary by course; students incur the full tuition cost once the drop date has passed.
Course Share courses are graded CR (for C- or higher) or NC and do not affect the Wabash GPA. CR-graded courses count toward graduation. Course Share courses follow the policies and procedures of the teaching institution, including those governing the course calendar and academic integrity.
Transfer Credit
To earn a Wabash degree, a student must complete at least 18 course credits at Wabash. No more than 16 credits from outside sources — including transfer credit, Course Share credit, and credit by examination other than Wabash exams — may apply toward a Wabash degree.
Once enrolled, a student may apply no more than 10 credits from outside sources toward the 34 credits required for graduation. These outside credits include transfer credit, Course Share credit, and credit by exam other than Wabash-administered exams. As a result:
- A student who enters with 10–16 outside credits may not apply additional transfer credits after enrollment.
- A student who enters with fewer than 10 outside credits may apply transfer credits until reaching the 10-credit limit.
- A student who enters with no transfer or exam credit may apply up to 10 transfer or Course Share credits after enrolling.
Courses completed through a Wabash-approved off-campus study program are recorded on the transcript as transfer credit but are treated as Wabash courses for purposes of these limits.
Wabash will accept transfer credits from other colleges and universities under the following conditions:
- The institution must be regionally accredited.
- The coursework must be liberal arts in nature and acceptable to Wabash.
- The final course grade must be at least C-.
- An official academic transcript — not a grade report or unofficial transcript — is required to establish transfer credit.
- No more than one transfer credit may apply toward any distribution requirement that requires multiple course credits.
- No more than five course credits per semester may be transferred.
- The credit to be transferred must not be available through a Wabash-approved Course Share offering.
One Wabash course credit equals four semester hours. A two-semester-hour course counts as one-half credit; a course of three, four, or five semester hours counts as one credit. Academic departments or program committees make the final determination on transfer credit and whether a transfer course may satisfy major or minor requirements.
Transfer credit, Course Share credit, and credit by exam other than a Wabash departmental exam appear on the academic record without a letter grade and are excluded from the GPA. Transfer credits applied toward a major or minor, the World Language requirement, or mathematics and science requirements must be approved by the appropriate department or committee, and all transfer credits must be approved by the Registrar.
Current students requesting transfer credit for non-Course Share courses must submit the Transfer Course Request Form on the Registrar's webpage. Transfer credit will not be accepted without prior approval from the Registrar and, when required, the appropriate academic department. If applicable, any requirement to enroll in an equivalent Course Share course must also be waived.
Dual Enrollment Programs
Transfer credit for courses in which a student also received high school credit requires completion of an additional, higher-level course in the relevant Wabash department or program, subject to the department or program chair's approval. If no corresponding department, program, or course exists at Wabash, transfer credit will not be granted. Credit is awarded upon earning a grade of B- or higher in the Wabash course.
College credits earned by high school students through courses taken on a college campus with the general college population may be evaluated as transfer credit — rather than dual enrollment credit — subject to Wabash's standard transfer credit conditions.
Credit by Examination
A new student may receive credit upon enrollment based on examination scores demonstrating high achievement in a subject. Recognized exams and credit requirements are listed below.
Credit by exam will not be granted — or will be removed — if a student takes a comparable course covering the same material. Additionally, college placement exam results take precedence over credit by exam. For example, AP credit will be forfeited if placement results require the student to take a beginning course. In all cases, the relevant department determines the amount of credit awarded.
Advanced Placement (AP)
Wabash grants credit for AP exam scores of 4 or 5 in subjects relevant to its academic programs. Most AP credit is recorded as elective credit; some programs have established direct course equivalencies, as listed below.
Department or program chairs may designate credit equivalencies for specific Wabash courses — including equivalencies that satisfy prerequisite or distribution requirements — and students may request that the Registrar's Office update their academic record accordingly.
The Mathematics and World Languages programs may grant or deny AP credit based on College placement exam results.
| Exam Title | Score | Equivalency | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| African American Studies | 4, 5 | Black Studies elective | 1 |
| Art History | 4, 5 | ART-101 | 1 |
| Biology | 5 | Non-lab elective | 1 |
| Calculus AB | 4, 5 | MAT-111 | 1 |
| Calculus BC | 4, 5 | MAT-111 and MAT-112 | 2 |
| Chemistry | 4, 5 | Non-lab elective | 1 |
| Computer Science A | 4, 5 | CSC-111 | 1 |
| Computer Science Principles | 4, 5 | CSC-101 | 1 |
| Economics - Micro & Macro (must take both) | 4, 5 | ECO-101 | 1 |
| English Language/Composition | 4, 5 | Language Studies elective | 1 |
| English Literature/Composition | 4, 5 | Literature elective | 1 |
| Environmental Science | 4, 5 | Non-lab elective | 1 |
| French Language | 4, 5 | FRE-101 | 1 |
| German Language | 4, 5 | GER-101 | 1 |
| Government/Political Science - Comparative | 4, 5 | PSC-121 | 1 |
| Government/Political Science - U.S. | 4, 5 | PSC-111 | 1 |
| History - European | 4, 5 | European History elective | 1 |
| History - U.S. | 4, 5 | U.S. History elective | 1 |
| History - World | 4, 5 | World History elective | 1 |
| Music Theory | 4, 5 | MUS-130 | 1 |
| Physics 1 OR Physics C (Mechanics) | 4, 5 | PHY-177 (non-lab), or PHY-109 if the student completes the labs for PHY-109 at Wabash | 1 |
| Physics 2 OR Physics C (Electricity & Magnetism) | 4, 5 | PHY-178 (non-lab), or PHY-110 if the student completes the labs for PHY-110 at Wabash | 1 |
| Precalculus | 4, 5 | MAT-100 | 1 |
| Psychology | 4, 5 | Psychology elective, or PSY-101 if the student takes a 200 level Psychology course (other than PSY-201) and earns a B- or higher. Exam credit or back credit cannot be applied to a major or minor in Psychology. | 1 |
| Spanish Language | 4, 5 | SPA-101 | 1 |
| Statistics | 4, 5 | MAT-103, MAT-104 | 1 (0.5 for MAT-103 and 0.5 for MAT-104) |
Please contact the Registrar’s Office at 765-361-6416 for questions about exams not listed. AP credits earned in Biology or Chemistry will not fulfill the college laboratory science distribution requirement.
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Wabash may award credit for International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma courses completed at the higher level (HL) with an examination grade of 5, 6, or 7, provided the course is liberal arts in nature and applicable to a Wabash academic program. IB credits may not fulfill science laboratory requirements, and academic departments or programs may impose additional limits on their applicability.
| Exam Title | Score | Equivalency | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | 5, 6, 7 | CHE-111 upon completion of CHE-111 labs at Wabash | 1 |
| Economics | 5, 6, 7 | ECO-101 | 1 |
| English Literature | 5, 6, 7 | Literature elective | 1 |
| English Language & Literature | 5, 6, 7 | Language Studies elective | 1 |
| History - Americas | 5, 6, 7 | HIS-200 | 1 |
| Spanish | 5, 6, 7 | SPA-101 | 1 |
| Physics | 5, 6, 7 | PHY-111 upon completion of PHY-111 labs at Wabash | 1 |
| Psychology | 5, 6, 7 | Psychology elective, or PSY-101 if the student takes a 200 level Psychology course and earns a B- or higher | 1 |
Cambridge International Exams (CIE)
Cambridge International Exams, A-Level, may receive credit subject to review by the appropriate department or program chair.
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
College Level Examination Program credits may receive credit subject to review by the appropriate department or program chair.
Wabash Departmental Exams
Wabash may grant credit for College-designed and administered examinations, with or without a grade, at the discretion of the department or program chair. Not all departments or programs offer this option; students should consult the relevant department or program chair.