INTRODUCTION
The college affordability crisis looms large for
working and middle-class Americans. Parents and
students are reeling from record levels of student
loan debt and ever-increasing tuition hikes. Total
student loan debt is now a record $1.26 trillion and
the typical 2016 college graduate has $37,172 in
student loan debt, up six percent from last year.
1
The costs of postsecondary education are now higher
in the United States than anywhere else in the world.
Despite the buildup of student debt, colleges and
universities continue to jack up prices in the form
of higher tuition and fees. The cumulative change
in tuition and fees at all types of higher education
institutions has grown (in constant dollars) by 129
percent from 1981 to 2014. Median family income,
of course, has not kept pace, growing only 11 percent
over the same period. In 1981, annual college tuition
and fees represented 18 percent of median family
income. Now they account for 37 percent.
2
For a growing number of students the cost of
college has become so high that they sometimes
are forced to choose between skipping meals
and paying for tuition, books, and dorm rooms.
According to a study by Sara Goldrick-Rab of 4,000
community college students, slightly more than
half of respondents indicated they experienced
marginal to very low food security.
3
If college costs
continue to rise at their current pace, Congress may
have to consider a free college lunch program for
undergraduates.
Fortunately, responsible political leaders are pushing
to make college affordable. Hillary Clinton has put
America’s ballooning student debt crisis at the center
of the 2016 debate. In contrast, Donald Trump has
MEMO
SEPTEMBER 2016
BY PAUL WEINSTEIN, JR.
About the author
Paul Weinstein Jr. is a senior fellow with the Progressive Policy Institute and directs the Graduate Program in Public Management at the Johns
Hopkins University.
Diminishing Credit: How Colleges
and Universities Restrict the Use
of Advanced Placement
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DIMINISHING CREDIT: HOW COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES RESTRICT THE USE OF ADVANCED PLACEMENT
offered no ideas for bringing college costs under
control.
Clintons “New College Compact” is a big,
multifaceted plan to take the debt monkey off the
backs of millennials who attend public universities.
But one thing it is not is cheap — the price tag is
$350 billion.
4
And while it does try to curb college
tuition costs at public institutions, it doesn’t roll
them back.
In a 2014 report entitled “Give Our Kids a Break:
How Three-Year Degrees Can Cut the Cost of
College,” PPI proposed a more ambitious remedy that
would actually reduce the cost of college: Awarding
degrees in three years rather than four. If three-year
bachelor’s degrees became the norm in America,
as they are in much of Europe, students would see
up to a 25 percent savings in tuition and fees. And
because the proposal would free up class room and
dorm space, colleges could make up the lost tuition
by increasing the number of students they enroll in
any given year. On average, students and families
would see total savings of $8,893 for undergraduates
attending four-year public schools (in-state) and a
$30,094 reduction for those at private institutions.
5
Best of all, it wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime.
Cutting tuition by a quarter, of course, would
also reduce the amount students need to borrow.
Nearly 70% of bachelor’s degree holders have taken
out student loans, with an average debt burden
of $29,400. Assuming someone borrows $29,400
at 4.66% over four years, the interest owed would
amount to $7,505. But shaving a year off college cuts
that interest tab to about $5,629, a savings of $1,876.
And keep in mind we are talking averages here; the
many students carrying debts well above the average
will reap bigger savings.
6
Nonetheless, it would be naïve to expect most U.S.
universities and colleges to move toward three-year
degrees without a nudge from public policy. It will
likely require a mixture of incentives and penalties
to encourage the vast majority of schools to move in
this direction. Fortunately, some schools have taken
the initiative and have begun offering a three-year
degree option. Leading the way are Bates College,
St. Johns University, Purdue, the University of
South Carolina, the University of North Carolina
Greensboro, the University of San Francisco, Florida
State, and Wesleyan College, among others.
7
HOW UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES RESTRICT
CREDIT FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENT WORK
Another way for students to finish one semester
early or perhaps graduate in three years is to earn
Advanced Placement (AP) credit. AP’s origins
lie in a 1952 study by three preparatory schools
(Lawrenceville School, Phillips Academy, and
Phillips Exeter Academy) and three universities
(Harvard, Princeton, and Yale) that recommended
allowing high school seniors to study college level
material and to take examinations that (depending
on the score achieved) would enable them to get
college credit for their work.
8
This report led to the
creation of the AP program, run by the College
Board, a nonprofit organization.
Today, over one million high school students take AP
courses in 36 subject disciplines, and their number
is growing. According to the College Board, the
number of total AP examinees doubled from 2003
to 2013 (going from 514,163 to 1,0
03,430). About a
quarter of those examinees are minorities, whose
share of the total has more than quadrupled during
that same decade, going from 58,489 to 275,874.
9
Yet while the number of students taking AP exams
grows, colleges and universities are making it
increasingly difficult for them to get actual college
credit. Eighty-six percent of the top 153 universities
and colleges in the United States restrict the
awarding of AP credit, denying students hundreds
of millions in tuition savings. Only a handful of
colleges deny AP credit altogether, but many others
restrict the granting of credits. As a result, students
who start their undergraduate studies thinking they
have enough AP credits to graduate a semester or
year early often discover their school has denied
some or all of their AP coursework. “The AP system
Eighty-six percent of the top 153
universities and colleges in the United
States restrict the awarding of AP
credit, denying students hundreds of
millions in tuition savings
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increasingly resembles the frequent flier programs
of legacy airlines,” notes Bruce Reed, President
Clintons former top domestic policy adviser. “They
are worth a lot more when you earn them than when
you try to redeem them,” Reed stated.
In researching this study, I examined the AP policies
of the top 102 universities and top 51 colleges
according to U.S. News and World Report.
10
According
to information made publicly available by the College
Board and these schools, a majority of colleges and
universities limit the use of AP credit towards a
degree. Based on the data shown in Tables 1 and 2,
there are four primary ways schools restrict AP credit.
1. Disallow course credit for any AP work. Nine schools
give students no credit for AP work. These
institutions include some of the top schools in the
country: Dartmouth University, Brown University,
the California Institute of Technology, Williams
College, and Amherst College.
2. Restrict the number of AP subject areas that are eligible
for course credit. Only 25 percent of the schools in
this study allow students to receive credit in all
AP subject area disciplines.
11
The rest (75 percent)
eliminate some subject areas from consideration.
The schools that give credit for all AP subject areas
tend to be public universities.
3. Hike the minimum AP score needed to receive credit.
Almost half (44 percent) of the top schools do not
accept a score of 3 on AP exams for credit. AP
exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. A score of 5
means the student is extremely well qualified to
receive college credit for that course. A score of 4
means the student is well qualied, and a score
of 3 indicates that the student is qualified.
12
Yet
even though the College Board considers those
who score a 3 to have achieved a grade of C, C+ or
B-, 64 schools choose not to recognize that score.
And among some elite schools such as Harvard,
MIT, and Haverford, the minimum score is a 5.
13
In response to this raising of the bar for AP credit,
Texas enacted a law in 2015 that requires the state’s
colleges and universities to give credit for scores
of 3 or higher on AP tests (an exception was made
for prerequisites). The law’s sponsor has argued
that accepting all scores of 3 for credit will save
students in Texas up to $160 million in foregone
tuition.
14
While that might be overly optimistic, the
fact remains more students will be able to cut their
tuition bill in Texas.
4. Cap the total amount of AP credit that students can
receive. Another way colleges restrict the use AP
credit is by capping the total amount of AP credit
granted to any one student. Some 38 percent of
the schools on our list cap the amount of AP credit
they will give students, making it nearly impossible
in some cases for students to graduate early.
THE AP CREDIT SQUEEZE
Why are schools restricting the use of AP? One
rationale is quality. Many schools and their faculty
argue that AP courses are not an adequate substitute
for actual college courses. At zero-credit Dartmouth,
Michael Mastanduno, Dean of Faculty of the School
of Arts and Sciences, explains: “Ultimately the
decision to modify the policy was made to require our
students to take full advantage of the faculty expertise
Over one million high school
students take AP courses in 36
subject disciplines, doubling
numbers from 514,163 in 2003
to 1,003,430 in 2013
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RANK INSTITUTION
AWARD
AP CREDIT
% AP
TESTS
ACCEPTED
MINI.
SCORE
CAP AP
CREDITS RANK INSTITUTION
AWARD
AP
CREDIT
% AP
TESTS
ACCEPTED
MINI.
SCORE
CAP AP
CREDITS
1 Princeton University Yes 55 4 Yes 30 Boston College Yes 94 3 No
2 Harvard University Yes 44 5 Yes 30
University of North
Carolina— Chapel Hill
Yes 97 3 No
3 Yale University Yes 38 4 No 32 New York University Yes 83 4 Yes
4 Columbia University Yes 65 4 Yes 33 University of Rochester Yes 55 3 No
4 Stanford University# Yes 41 4 Yes 34 Brandeis University Yes 80 4 Yes
4 University of Chicago Yes 71 3 Yes 34
College of William
and Mary
Yes 86 4 No
7 MIT Yes 82 5 No 36
Georgia Institute of
Technology
Yes 89 3 No
8 Duke University N/A N/A N/A N/A 37
Case Western Reserve
University
Yes 91 4 No
9
University of
Pennsylvania
Yes 41 4 Yes 37
University of
California— Santa
Barbara
Yes 100 3 No
10
California Institute of
Technology
No 0 N/A N/A 39
University of
California— Irvine
Yes 100 3 No
10
Johns Hopkins
University*
Yes 31 4 No 39
University of
California— San Diego
Yes 97 3 No
12 Dartmouth College No 0 N/A No 41 Boston University Yes 86 4 No
12
Northwestern
University ###
Yes 100 4 Yes 41
Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute
Yes 78 3 Yes
14 Brown University No 0 N/A N/A 41 Tulane University Yes 94 4 No
15 Cornell University Yes 53 4 No 41
University of
California— Davis
Yes 94 3 No
15 Vanderbilt University Yes 92 4 Yes 41
University of Illinois—
Urbana- Champaign
Yes 100 3 No
15
Washington University
in St. Louis****
Yes 80 4 Yes 47 Lehigh University Yes 83 4 No
18 Rice University Yes 89 4 No 47
Northeastern
University
Yes 97 4 No
18
University of Notre
Dame***
Yes 55 4 Yes 47
Pennsylvania State
University— University
Park
Yes 100 3 No
20
University of
California— Berkeley
Yes 72 3 No 47 University of Florida Yes 100 3 No
21 Emory University Yes 89 4 Yes 51 University of Miami Yes 86 3 Yes
21 Georgetown University Yes 83 4 Yes 52
Ohio State
University— Columbus
Yes 100 3 No
23
Carnegie Mellon
University
Yes 92 4 No 52 Pepperdine University Yes 100 3 No
23
University of
California— Los
Angeles
Yes 100 3 No 52
University of Texas—
Austin
Yes 92 3 No
23
University of Southern
California
Yes 100 4
Yes 52
University of
Washington
Yes 89 3 No
26 University of Virginia Yes 86 4 No 52 Yeshiva University Yes 72 4 No
27 Tufts University Yes 75 4 Yes 57
George Washington
University
Yes 100 4 Yes
27 Wake Forest University Yes 100 3 No 57
University of
Connecticut*
Yes 94 4 No
29
University of
Michigan— Ann Arbor
Yes 86 3 No 57
University of
Maryland— College
Park
Yes 92 3 Yes
TABLE 1: ADVANCED PLACEMENT CREDIT POLICIES OF TOP 102 UNIVERSITIES
15
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RANK INSTITUTION
AWARD
AP CREDIT
% AP
TESTS
ACCEPTED
MINI.
SCORE
CAP AP
CREDITS RANK INSTITUTION
AWARD
AP CREDIT
% AP
TESTS
ACCEPTED
MINI.
SCORE
CAP AP
CREDITS
57
Worcester Polytechnic
Institute
Yes 69 4 No 82
Texas Christian
University
Yes 86 3 No
61 Clemson University Yes 100 3 No 82
University of
California— Santa
Cruz
Yes 100 3 No
61
Purdue University—
West Lafayette
Yes 100 3 No 82 University of Iowa Yes 100 3 No
61
Southern Methodist
University
Yes 100 4 No 86 Marquette University Yes 88 3 No
66 Fordham University Yes 97 4 Yes 86 University of Denver Yes 94 3 Yes
66 University of Pittsburgh Yes 86 3 No 86 University of Tulsa Yes 83 3 Yes
69
University of
Minnesota—
Twin Cities
Yes 69 3 No 89
Binghamton
University— SUNY
Yes 72 3 No
70
Texas A&M
University— College
Station
Yes 94 3 No 89
North Carolina State
University— Raleigh
Yes 92 3 No
70 Virginia Tech Yes 97 3 Yes 89
Stony Brook
University— SUNY
Yes 100 3 Yes
72 American University Yes 94 4 Yes 89
SUNY College of
Environmental Science
and Forestry
N/A N/A N/A N/A
72 Baylor University Yes 78 3 No 89
University of
Colorado— Boulder
Yes 97 3 No
72
Rutgers, The State
University of New
Jersey
Yes 97 4 No 89
University of San
Diego
Yes 100 3 No
75 Clark University Yes 94 4 No 89 University of Vermont Yes 100 3 No
75
Colorado School of
Mines
Yes 86 4 No 96 Florida State University Yes 100 3 No
75
Indiana University—
Bloomington
Yes 100 3 No 96 Saint Louis University Yes 66 3 No
75
Michigan State
University
Yes 94 3 No 96 University of Alabama Yes 100 3 Yes
75
Stevens Institute of
Technology
Yes 83 4 No 99 Drexel University Yes 100 4 No
75 University of Delaware Yes 94 3 No 99
Loyola University
Chicago
Yes 83 3 No
75
University of
Massachusetts—
Amherst
Yes 91 3 No 99
University at Buffalo—
SUNY
Yes 85 3 No
82
Miami University—
Oxford
Yes 100 3 No 102 Auburn Yes 92 3 No
# 3 for Physics
* 3 for Calculus
** 4 for Calculus
## 4 for Chinese
### 3 for Chemistry
***2 for Italian
****3 for French
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and unique academic resources that characterize
a Dartmouth educational experience.
15
While no
longer granting AP credit, however, Dartmouth
continues to let students with high AP scor
es opt out
of some introductory courses or get exemptions from
certain requirements. That of course acknowledges
that some incoming students have already mastered
college-level subjects, but denies them any credit for
their extra work in high school.
A more prosaic reason for denying students AP credit
could be boosting tuition revenue. It’s no secret that
U.S. colleges and universities depend increasingly on
tuition to keep their doors open. The Government
Accountability Office (GAO) has found that both
public and private colleges and universities have come
to rely more heavily on tuition and fees as support
from state and local governments has declined. With
AP credits eating into their tuition revenue, schools
seem to be taking a different attitude toward the value
of course work students do in high school.
Whatever the rationale, denying students the ability
to use AP credit to graduate early is shortsighted.
RANK INSTITUTION
AWARD
AP CREDIT
% AP
TESTS
ACCEPTED
MINI.
SCORE
CAP AP
CREDITS RANK INSTITUTION
AWARD
AP CREDIT
% AP
TESTS
ACCEPTED
MINI.
SCORE
CAP AP
CREDITS
1 Williams College No 0 N/A N/A 25 Bryn Mawr College Yes 89 4 Yes
2 Amherst College No 0 N/A N/A 25 Colorado College Yes 94 3 Yes
3 Swarthmore College Yes 69 4 No 25 Kenyon College Yes 100 4 Yes
4 Bowdoin College Yes 55 4 Yes 32
College of the Holy
Cross
Yes 100 4 Yes
4 Middlebury College* Yes 78 4 Yes 32 University of Richmond Yes 92 4 Yes
4 Pomona College Yes 89 4 Yes 35
Mount Holyoke
College
Yes 100 4 Yes
4 Wellesley College** Yes 81 5 Yes 36 Pitzer College Yes 47 4 Yes
8 Carleton College Yes 89 3 Yes 37 Lafayette College Yes 81 4 No
9
Claremont McKenna
College
Yes 47 4 Yes 38 Skidmore College Yes N/A 4 Yes
9 Davidson College Yes 89 4 Yes 38 Union College* Yes 83 4 No
9
United States Naval
Academy
Yes 48 4 No 40 Dickinson College Yes 19 4 No
12 Haverford College Yes 97 5 Yes 40
Franklin and Marshall
College
Yes 100 4 Yes
12 Vassar College Yes 55 4 Yes 40 Whitman College Yes 78 4 Yes
14 Hamilton College+ Yes 64 4 43 Occidental College Yes 100 4 No
14 Harvey Mudd College No 0 N/A N/A 43 Trinity College Yes 86 4 Yes
14 Smith College Yes 78 4 Yes 45 Bard College Yes 100 5 No
14
Washington and Lee
University
Yes 89 4 Yes 45 Centre College Yes 78 4 No
14 Wesleyan University Yes 75 4 Yes 45
Soka University of
America
No 0 N/A N/A
19 Colby College No 0 N/A N/A 48 Connecticut College Yes 100 4 Yes
19 Colgate University* Yes 69 4 No 48 Gettysburg College Yes 100 4 No
19 Grinnell College* Yes 97 4 Yes 48
Sewanee— University
of the South
Yes 94 4 No
22
United States Military
Academy
No 0 N/A N/A 51 Depauw Universitgy Yes 81 4 Yes
23 Macalester College## Yes 69 4 Yes 51 Furman University* Yes 86 4 No
23 Oberlin College Yes 69 4 No 51 Rhodes College* Yes 86 4 Yes
25 Bates College Yes 89 4 Yes 51 St. Olaf College Yes 100 4 Yes
TABLE 2: ADVANCED PLACEMENT CREDIT POLICIES OF TOP 51 LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES
16
DIMINISHING CREDIT: HOW COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES RESTRICT THE USE OF ADVANCED PLACEMENT
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For one thing, students who take AP exams are
less likely to drop out of college than those who
don’t.
16
According to a study by the College Board,
“when compared to their matched peers, research
consistently shows that students who score a 3 or
higher on an AP Exam typically: earn higher GPAs
in college; perform as well or better in subsequent
college courses in the discipline than non-AP
students who took the introductory class in college;
take more—not lesscollege course work in the
discipline; are more likely to graduate college within
five years; have higher graduation rates.
17
Secondly, colleges and universities can make up
any revenue shortfall by increasing the number of
students they accept to match students who graduate
early. Thus for most schools, being more generous
with AP credit awards should be a revenue neutral
proposition.
EXPANDING AP AND THREE-YEAR DEGREES
An important first step for moving towards a three-
year degree would be to expand credit for the
successful completion of AP coursework, and of
the International Baccalaureate (IB). To get there
would require schools to be willing to accept enough
credit to count for at least two semesters of college.
While obviously not every student would be able
to follow this path, rewarding those who do would
help students and families reduce the cost of tuition
and recognize an important academic achievement.
Furthermore, any student who would receive AP or
IB credit under an expanded approach could benefit
both academically and financially. To get there,
policymakers should consider the following:
1. Follow the lead of Texas. Congress should
enact a law requiring any public or private
college or university that enrolls students who
receive federal aid or subsidized loans grant
course credit for scores of 3 on any AP exam.
In addition, all 36 AP subject tests should be
accepted for credit. If colleges and universities
feel some AP courses are not sufciently
rigorous, they should work with the College
Board to eliminate or improve the quality
of those courses, rather than limit student’s a
bility to earn credit.
2. Limit AP and IB credit caps. While no school should
be forced to hand out a degree to a student who
does not complete most of their coursework at
that institution, no student should be denied
the ability to graduate early. Caps on AP and
IB credits should be limited to one-year of
coursework, ensuring students who have enough
AP credit to graduate in three years (or three-
and-a-half) can.
3. Make AP exams free. The AP test costs $92 per
exam.
20
That number adds up the more tests you
take. No one should be prevented from getting AP
credit because of a fee. The next administration
should find budgetary resources that would allow
anyone who has successfully completed an AP
course the ability to take the AP exam in that
subject area for free.
CONCLUSION
America is in the midst of a debate on how to make
college affordable for future generations of students.
One simple and inexpensive way to cut the cost of
college is to ensure institutions of higher education
don’t unfairly limit credit for AP and IB work. As
this study shows, thousands of Americans are
attending schools that don’t give them full credit for
their AP work. Changing that would be a huge
win for America’s students, as well as the nations
colleges and universities.
The Government Accountability
Office has found that both public
and private colleges and universities
have come to rely more heavily on
tuition and fees as support from state
and local governments has declined
8
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ENDNOTES
1. A Look at the Shocking Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2016,Student Loan Hero, accessed August 11, 2016 https://
studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics-2016/
2. Paul Weinstein Jr., “Give Our Kids a Break: How Three-Year Degrees Can Cut the Cost of College. Progressive Policy
Institute, September 9, 2014. http://www.progressivepolicy.org/issues/economy/give-kids-break-three-year-degrees-can-
cut-cost-college/
3. According to Goldrick-Rab, very low food security includes multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and
reduced food intake Twenty-two percent of the respondents indicated that they had cut the size of their meals or
skipped meals and were hungry because they didn’t have enough money for food.
4. “Clinton’s College Affordability Proposal, Explained,” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, October 13, 2015.
http://www.crfb.org/blogs/clintons-college-affordability-proposal-explained
5. Paul Weinstein Jr., “Give Our Kids a Break: How Three-Year Degrees Can Cut the Cost of College, Progressive Policy
Institute, September 9, 2014, http://www.progressivepolicy.org/issues/economy/give-kids-break-three-year-degrees-can-
cut-cost-college/
6. Ibid
7. Sue Shellenbarger, “Universities With Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Programs,Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2010.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703341904575266352925815936
8. A Brief History of the Advanced Placement Program, The College Board, Site Accessed August 11, 2016 http://www.
collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/ap/ap_history_english.pdf
9. The 10th Annual AP Report To The Nation” The College Board, 2014. https://research.collegeboard.org/programs/ap/
data/nation/2014
10. “Best Colleges National Universities Rankings” and “Best Colleges Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings,” U.S. News & World
Report, 2014, http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges
11. For the purposes of this study, the AP Capstone Courses (Research and Seminar) were not included.
12. http://education.seattlepi.com/grade-pass-ap-exam-3070.html
13. A total of 6 schools have a minimum score of 5. This includes two schools that allow a score of 4 in one subject area.
14. Matthew Watkins, “Law Allows More College Credits for High Schoolers,Texas Tribune June 19, 2015. https://www.
texastribune.org/2015/06/19/new-law-could-make-it-easier-high-schools-get-ap-c/
15. As Ranked By UU.S. News & World Report. Data included in this table was collected from the College Board as well as
individual University catalogs and handbooks. The use of U.S. News & World Report rankings does not constitute an
endorsement of those rankings.
16. As Ranked By U.S. News & World Report. Data included in this table was collected from the College Board as well as
individual University catalogs and handbooks. The use of U.S. News & World Report rankings does not constitute an
endorsement of those rankings.
17. Ofce of Communications, “Dartmouth Issues Statement Clarifying Advanced Placement DecisionDartmouth News,
February 8, 2013. https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2013/02/dartmouth-issues-statement-clarifying-advanced-
placement-decision
18. The 10th Annual AP Report To The Nation” The College Board, 2014. https://research.collegeboard.org/programs/ap/
data/nation/2014
19. Ibid
20. Exam Fee and Reductions: 2016, The College Board. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/
calendar/190165.html
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