Credit laundering?

[Lunita]

Hi,
I am wondering whether it is possible to get CLEP credits honored with a CC and then go on and get an Associates with them and transfer to an institution they have an articulation requirement with. Is that considered credit laundering? Thanks

[rachel83az]

Credit laundering is when you try to pretend that credits came from a different source than where they actually came from.

So long as both schools accept CLEP exams, and you don't try to disguise that they are CLEP exams (which I don't think would even be possible), you can reuse your CLEP exams to get as many degrees as you want (within reason, of course). Credits are not "used up" simply because they went toward another degree first, especially when it comes to Associate -> Bachelor's degrees.

[jsd]

There's also the possibility that the second institution doesn't accept CLEP, but does accept the associates as a "block" transfer, regardless of the credit sources for the AA/AS. This too would not be credit laundering, but is another example of how these agreements sometimes work.

[Lunita]

Yes, I think that is the case here. The second institution does not accept CLEP but the first does but they have an agreement. Hopefully, it would work.

[rachel83az]

As long as they have an articulation agreement, it should work. But there is always the small chance that it won't work. It depends on the policies of the schools in question and the exact nature of the articulation agreement. I would suggest talking to an advisor at the school with the Associate's degree.

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As an example, IIRC, Rio Salado and Arizona State University have an articulation agreement. I forget the exact details but I think that, even though there is a block transfer thing that goes on, it only applies to part of the Associate and not all of it or it only applies to certain programs at each school. Which I think is a bit weird, but I'm not the one making policies.

[Tedium]

You do have to watch out if you’re trying to get a second bachelors. A lot of place require additional credits after the first degree, so essentially all credits earned before you graduate the first time are not factored into the new degree requirements. Essentially those credits are “used up”.

That’s not what you’re talking about, but I thought I’d throw it out there as a case when precious credits can’t be used.

[jsd]

precious credits

my precious...

[Tedium]

Lol *previous

[dfrecore]

As long as they have an articulation agreement, it should work. But there is always the small chance that it won't work. It depends on the policies of the schools in question and the exact nature of the articulation agreement. I would suggest talking to an advisor at the school with the Associate's degree.

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As an example, IIRC, Rio Salado and Arizona State University have an articulation agreement. I forget the exact details but I think that, even though there is a block transfer thing that goes on, it only applies to part of the Associate and not all of it or it only applies to certain programs at each school. Which I think is a bit weird, but I'm not the one making policies.

I think generally what happens is that schools say "if you took the Gen Ed's at a CC and want to transfer, we'll take those in a "block" but it's not necessarily 60cr since most schools don't require 60cr of GE.
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I know for sure that in CA, the CC's will generally take CLEP & DSST exams - but the DSST exams will NOT transfer to the CSU-system schools, and the CLEP and DSST will NOT transfer to the UC-system schools.  So, you can't take CLEP & DSST exams and then think that because the CC gave you an AA degree, that it will automatically transfer to a CSU/UC school; you actually have to get your CC courses certified that they meet the requirements of the CC and the 4yr school.  So if you use a CLEP exam to meet a requirement, you can't get certified for a UC school (you can't get the IGETC certificate).