Course equivalency
Encyclopedia
Course equivalency is the term used in higher education
describing how a course
offered by one college
or university
relates to a course offered by another. If a course is viewed as equal or better than the course offered by the receiving college or university, the course can be noted as an equivalent course. A course equivalency can be unilateral, meaning it is deemed equivalent by the receiver. Or, it could be bilateral, meaning both sender and receiver acknowledge their acceptance of each other's course as equivalent. The methods and measures used to determine course equivalency vary by institution, state, region and country.
often requires the determination and evaluation of prior course learning. Receiving institutions usually maintain course equivalency tables listing how courses equate by sender institution. Unless the receiving institution maintains an online public reference to the course equivalency tables, sending institutions often have difficulty projecting transferbility of their course offerings. As a result, student transitions from sender to receiver, if outside the normal path, can be very problematic. This has led many states to legislate reforms, regulations and mandates to augment the tracking of course equivalencies in recent years. On the federal level, Congress and the Department of Education have been debating the issues well documented in the GAO report to Congress, October 2005.
Colleges and universities historically have utilized standalone electronic tools to track course equivalencies and facilitate the course evaluation process. Institutions, led by state education agencies are shifting to collaborative tracking tools sharing course repositories like the National Course Atlas developed by AcademyOne, Inc. to facilitate how institutions and their faculty propose, evaluate and manage course equivalency decisions online in a proactive manner. Institutions and state education agencies also utilize shared portals publishing the output of their proactive efforts to help improve student transfer guidance. The national portal, CollegeTransfer.Net has the largest database of course equivalencies spanning states and institutions in the United States published by 1,000 institutions mapping 3 million course decisions. Further, utilizing shared collaborative tools enables institutions, faculty, departments and administrators to ensure systematic procedures applied quickly, accurately, and equally by reducing the duplication of effort and the lack of transparency across institutional curricula since both sender and receiver see the results when sharing a common repository like CollegeTransfer.Net.
The most common course attributes evaluated to determine course equivalency are description, academic credits
, accreditation, type of instructor, method of instruction
, length of the course, number of meetings, total class time, level of rigor, level of instruction, learning outcomes, grade scale, pre-requisites, co-requisites and textbook
. This is not an exclusive list of course attributes. Generally, faculty
perform the determination of course equivalencies. Course equivalency decisions can be appealed by presenting evidence to an academic department.
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
describing how a course
Course (education)
The very broad dictionary meaning of the word course is the act or action of moving in a path from point to point . There are multiple meanings for this word, some of which include: general line of orientation, a mode of action, part of a meal, a mode of action, and many more. This article focuses...
offered by one college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
or university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
relates to a course offered by another. If a course is viewed as equal or better than the course offered by the receiving college or university, the course can be noted as an equivalent course. A course equivalency can be unilateral, meaning it is deemed equivalent by the receiver. Or, it could be bilateral, meaning both sender and receiver acknowledge their acceptance of each other's course as equivalent. The methods and measures used to determine course equivalency vary by institution, state, region and country.
Background
College transferCollege transfer
College transfer is the movement of students from one higher education institution to another and the process by which academic credits are accepted or not accepted by a receiving institution.-Background:...
often requires the determination and evaluation of prior course learning. Receiving institutions usually maintain course equivalency tables listing how courses equate by sender institution. Unless the receiving institution maintains an online public reference to the course equivalency tables, sending institutions often have difficulty projecting transferbility of their course offerings. As a result, student transitions from sender to receiver, if outside the normal path, can be very problematic. This has led many states to legislate reforms, regulations and mandates to augment the tracking of course equivalencies in recent years. On the federal level, Congress and the Department of Education have been debating the issues well documented in the GAO report to Congress, October 2005.
Colleges and universities historically have utilized standalone electronic tools to track course equivalencies and facilitate the course evaluation process. Institutions, led by state education agencies are shifting to collaborative tracking tools sharing course repositories like the National Course Atlas developed by AcademyOne, Inc. to facilitate how institutions and their faculty propose, evaluate and manage course equivalency decisions online in a proactive manner. Institutions and state education agencies also utilize shared portals publishing the output of their proactive efforts to help improve student transfer guidance. The national portal, CollegeTransfer.Net has the largest database of course equivalencies spanning states and institutions in the United States published by 1,000 institutions mapping 3 million course decisions. Further, utilizing shared collaborative tools enables institutions, faculty, departments and administrators to ensure systematic procedures applied quickly, accurately, and equally by reducing the duplication of effort and the lack of transparency across institutional curricula since both sender and receiver see the results when sharing a common repository like CollegeTransfer.Net.
The most common course attributes evaluated to determine course equivalency are description, academic credits
Credit (education)
A course credit is a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an academic course taken at a school or other educational institution.- United States :...
, accreditation, type of instructor, method of instruction
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, length of the course, number of meetings, total class time, level of rigor, level of instruction, learning outcomes, grade scale, pre-requisites, co-requisites and textbook
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
. This is not an exclusive list of course attributes. Generally, faculty
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
perform the determination of course equivalencies. Course equivalency decisions can be appealed by presenting evidence to an academic department.
See also
- College transferCollege transferCollege transfer is the movement of students from one higher education institution to another and the process by which academic credits are accepted or not accepted by a receiving institution.-Background:...
- Articulation (education)Articulation (education)In Australia and United States education, articulation or more specifically course articulation, refers to the process of comparing the content of courses that are transferred between postsecondary institutions such as TAFE institutes, colleges or universities...
- Career college
- Community collegeCommunity collegeA community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
- Junior collegeJunior collegeThe term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
- UniversityUniversityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
- List of colleges and universities