For most members of the Class of 2018, courses they started this week will be the first of 35 credits required to graduate — a change from prior years, when students often entered Dartmouth with credit from qualifying scores on Advanced Placement tests and other exams. While transfer credits from courses taken at community colleges or other institutions still apply, this is the first year Dartmouth will stop granting pre-matriculation credit. Some students called the policy fair to those whose high schools did not offer college-level classes, but others said it would decrease D-Plan flexibility.
Previously, the College accepted qualifying scores on AP, A-Level and International Baccalaureate examinations as course credit, granting up to nine per student. Under the new policy, qualifying scores will serve as “credit on entrance,” appearing on transcripts but not counting toward the 35-credit graduation requirement. Departments may continue to consider AP, IB and A-Level scores in course placement or exemptions.
The office of the registrar declined to comment.
The faculty approved this change in November 2012 and attracted national media attention after its 2013 announcement, leading to debates over the future and validity of pre-matriculation credits. Some worried that with the policy, students could no longer use pre-matriculation credits to graduate in fewer terms and pay less tuition.
Former Committee on Instruction chair Hakan Tell, who guided the policy through the voting process, said the committee’s main goal was to increase Dartmouth’s academic rigor. Throughout the approval process, Tell said he received “pretty much universal” support from faculty.
“The idea is to focus on our academic mission, to focus on what we are really all about and to send signals to students that we are very willing to engage with you academically,” Tell said.
In early 2013 interviews with The New York Times and Inside Higher Ed, Tell said that only 10 percent of more than 100 students who scored a five on their AP psychology exams passed Dartmouth’s introductory psychology placement exam. At the time, Tell called AP courses “extremely useful and valuable” for high school students, but he said that they were not comparable to college courses.
Students can use advanced high school credits for course placement and exemption, but the policy varies by department.
Most students used pre-matriculation credits to take more two-course terms, not to graduate early and save on tuition, Tell said, calling this reduced course load “a pity.”
In a policy change this summer, the number of four-course terms students can take without paying extra tuition rose from three to four, a move that Tell said will accommodate students wishing to save money by taking an extra off-term or graduating early. This change was discussed as “part and parcel” of the pre-matriculation credit policy, but went into effect later due to the approval process, Tell said.
In 2014, 35 students petitioned the Registrar for an additional four-course term, requiring extra tuition, and 47 requested an extra two-course term, according to the Registrar’s Office Annual Report.
Former Academic Affairs Committee member Ryan Tibble ’14 noted that students affected by the policy will take more Dartmouth courses, he thought this was not the best way to strengthen student-faculty relationships.
First-year dean Brian Reed said that he and many of his colleagues have adopted a “wait-and-see” attitude toward the policy. Reed, who previously worked with the Class of 2014, recalled that some of his former advisees told him the policy would have limited their ability to take off-terms senior year.
He said the policy will affect his advising in the short term on topics like dropping classes, as students must now be more cognizant of the 35-credit requirement. But each of those credits will now represent demanding “Dartmouth-quality” courses, he said.
Trevor Packer, College Board senior vice president for AP and instruction, wrote in an emailed statement that while his company respects Dartmouth’s right to make its own policy decisions, AP courses predict college success and allow students to save money.
“College faculty and AP teachers collaborate to develop, deliver and evaluate AP courses and exams,” he wrote in the statement. “Their partnership ensures the courses are rigorous, relevant and valid.”
Of six freshmen interviewed, many said they were not concerned by the policy and noted that it did not affect their decision to apply or matriculate. Three of six upperclassmen interviewed said they disagreed with the policy.
Brooke Hilliard ’18 said she supported the change because she did not have the opportunity to take AP or IB classes in high school.
“I feel that it puts me at an equal playing field going into classes,” she said. “I think it’s fair to place people, but I feel like it gives everybody the same level, as people aren’t getting credit for classes that they don’t have to take further on.”
Danielle Kimball ’17 said that while the policy change was not a big concern for her, she could understand students’ financial worries. Like Kimball, Rachel Patel ’17 said her several pre-matriculation credits could allow her to graduate early if she chose, though neither student said she wanted to do so.
Vincent Puzak ’17 said he also disliked the policy, as entering with five AP credits has given him the flexibility to take courses that he would not have been able to take otherwise.
Committee on Instruction member and computer science professor Devin Balkcom said the committee will reevaluate the policy in a few years. He added that he believes Dartmouth’s decision is part of a broader conversation surrounding the meaning of a college degree, from high school to online courses.
