Undergraduate Non-Traditional Credit

Texas A&M University-Texarkana recognizes that, in some cases, students may have acquired knowledge relevant to the pursuit of an undergraduate degree in areas other than a formal-classroom setting. The university refers to credits the student has earned in this fashion as non-traditional credit. The student cannot apply these credits toward satisfying the residency requirement. A&M-Texarkana accepts the following alternative methods of establishing credit:

Military Service Credit

The university may grant credit for military-technical courses as indicated on a military transcript and listed for credit in the latest edition of  “A Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services” and recommendations of the Commission on Accreditation of Service Experiences (CASE). Military-service credit  applies to the BAAS degree. For other undergraduate degree programs, HB 269, Section 1, allows institutions to award undergraduate students for all physical-education courses required for the person’s degree and additional course credit for up to 12SCH for courses that meet the elective course requirements for the degree. To qualify for this type of credit, students must meet the following requirements:

  • A student must have graduated from an accredited high school or a high school operated by the U.S. Department of Defense.
  • A student must be an honorably discharged member of the U.S. Armed Forces who completed a minimum of two years of service; or, if the student completed less than two years of service, the military must have discharged him or her due to disability.

The university does not automatically apply the additional 12 semester credit hours of military credit to the student’s undergraduate record unless the student is seeking the BAAS degree.  Students who wish to have this credit applied to their record must contact the registrar’s office for information regarding this process. The student must provide a DD214, disability-discharge documentation, and a high-school transcript to the Registrar’s Office to confirm eligibility.

Note: Applying this additional military credit may incur increased tuition rates due to excessive credit as well as negatively impact a student’s eligibility for the Undergraduate Tuition Rebate Program.

Students with military credit should request that the military institution send their transcripts to Texas A&M University-Texarkana.  Courses the student has taken through the United States Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) may transfer at face value. The veteran should contact the Office of Admissions for evaluation of credits.

To receive credit, students who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard (Active Duty, Reserve or National Guard) should submit a Joint Service Transcript (JST).  Students who served in the Air Force (Active Duty, Reserve or National Guard) should submit a Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) transcript.  Please contact the A&M-Texarkana Veteran Services Center at 903-334-6602 or veterans@tamut.edu for information on requesting these transcripts.

Institutionally Devised Examination Credit

Students may challenge any undergraduate course in the university’s course inventory, with the exception of practicum and field-experience courses, through successful completion of an evaluation process.
The student may initiate a challenge examination according to the following procedures:

  • Obtain the proper request form from the registrar’s office
  • Contact the appropriate dean to submit the application
  • Submit a $50.00 fee to the Business Office

The dean will arrange for the administration and evaluation of the examination. Students must apply at least two weeks prior to taking the examination.

After officials grade the exam, the dean forwards the request form to the registrar indicating whether the university should award credit. The university will notify the student of the outcome; and, if appropriate, the university will post credit to the student’s academic record with a grade designation of CR (credit). Note: Credit received for an institutionally devised exam will not fulfill residence-credit requirements.

Experiential Learning Credit

Students may receive college credit toward a degree for competencies acquired through selected work experiences, in-service training programs, and vocational or technical education. The university awards credit for learning and not for experience.  Texas A&M University-Texarkana follows the academic guidelines for assessing prior learning found in the publications of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and the American Council on Education (ACE).  Students should address questions on assessment procedures and awards of this type of credit to the VPAA.  A student may apply no more than 18 SCH to a degree, with the exception of the BAAS. Additional information on experiential learning as it applies to BAAS is provided under the Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences degree overview in this catalog.

Correspondence and Extension Credit

Students may apply no more than 30 semester credit hours of extension and correspondence (combined) course work toward a baccalaureate degree. Students may complete no more than 18 of the 30 semester credit hours through correspondence.

Texas A&M University-Texarkana does not offer correspondence or extension courses. The A&M-Texarkana transcript designates courses taken at a university and classified as extension by notation on the student’s transcript as extension courses.