The following are the key grading practices provided for review, comparison and consideration when assessing SUNY’s current practices and policy approaches.
Data Update: Nov 30, 2025
At a Glance: Minimum Grade Required
55 Campus Policies Available
Minimum Grade: Overall
Minimum Grade: 2-Year
Minimum Grade: 4-Year
State-Level AP Policies
State-Level Advanced Placement Policies
As of fall 2024, 37 states have implemented statewide or systemwide AP credit policies, which typically require all public higher education institutions to award credit for AP Exam scores of 3 or higher.
| State or System | Min Score | State | Comments | Source/URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Community Colleges | 3 | CA | Course credit or general education requirements, as appropriate. Commencing January 1, 2017, begin development of, and each community college district subsequently shall begin adoption and implementation of, a uniform policy to award a pupil who passes an Advanced Placement examination course credit for California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum, California State University General Education Breadth, or local community college general education requirements, as appropriate for the pupil' s needs, in a course with subject matter similar to that of the Advanced Placement examination. | Source |
| Colorado Department of Higher Education | 3 | CO | Aligned with general education requirements | Source |
| Florida Department of Education and Board of Governors | 3 | FL | Public state colleges and universitiesin Florida are required to award the minimum recommended credit for AP, AICE, IB, DSST, DLPT, UExcel (Excelsior), and CLEP exams as designated. | Source |
| Illinois Board of Higher Education | 3 | IL | On August 13, 2015, HB 3428 was signed into law amending The College and Career Success for All Students Act (Public Act 099-0358) which now provides that a student who takes a College Board Advanced Placement examination and receives a score of 3 or higher on the examination is entitled to receive postsecondary level course credit at a public institution of higher education. The Act requires each public institution of higher education to comply with the same standard of awarding course credit to any student receiving a score of 3 or higher on a College Board Advanced Placement examination and applying the credit to meet a corresponding course requirement for degree completion at that institution of higher education. | Source |
| Kansas Board of Regents | 3 | KS | With the exception of five exams, each state university shall award credit for all AP exam scores at 3 or above for the equivalent course(s) at their institution. (See Also www.kansasregents.gov/resources/09182025_Policy_Manual.pdf) | Source |
| Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education | 3 | KY | In 2011, the Kentucky legislature passed HB 160, which standardized the transfer process at Kentucky's public institutions. Resulted in identified courses and standard scores for awarding credit for AP, CLEP, IB, Cambridge International, and DSST exams based on the new Kentucky Standard Acceptable Scores for National Exams Table. | Source |
| Louisiana Board of Regents | 3 | LA | Established statewide standardized scores. | Source |
| Minnesota State | 3 | MN | Minn. Stat. 120B.13 Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Programs requires the colleges and universities of the Minnesota State to award college credit to high school students who receive a score of three or higher on an advanced placement examination, or a score of four or higher on the international baccalaureate program examination. | Source |
| North Dakota University System | 3 | ND | NDUS Procedure 460.4: The Academic Affairs Council adopts guidelines for minimum AP, CLEP, IB, and DSST examination scores. The required minimum credit-granting scores, number of semester hours of credit to be granted, and specific course equivalents shall be provided in an annually published document. | Source |
| Nevada System of Higher Education | 3 | NV | Board policy states that beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year, scores of 3, 4, and 5 on the exam shall be accepted for credit to satisfy electives, general education requirements, or major requirements. Institutions must publish their policies governing these exams in their course catalogs. | Source |
| Ohio Department of Higher Education | 3 | OH | Students who obtain an AP exam score of 3 or above will be awarded the aligned courses(s) and credits for the AP exam area(s) successfully completed. General education courses and credits received will be applied towards graduation and will satisfy a general education requirement if the courses(s) to which the AP area is equivalent fulfill a requirement. If an equivalent course is not available for the AP exam area completed, elective or area credit will be awarded in the appropriate academic discipline and will be applied towards graduation where such elective credit options exist within the academic major. Additional course or credits may be available when a score of 4 or 5 is obtained by students. Award of credit for higher score values vary depending on the institution and academic discipline. In academic disciplines containing highly dependent sequences (Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics- SEM) students are strongly advised to confer with the college/university advising staff to ensure they have the appropriate foundation to be successful in advanced coursework within the sequence. | Source |
| South Carolina Commission on Higher Education | 3 | SC | Each public institution of higher education shall give credit in appropriate courses for scores of three or higher on pertinent Advanced Placement examinations. | Source |
| South Dakota Board of Regents | 3 | SD | Board practice specifies that when new standardized exams, military rank or course equivalencies, and certification or licensure equivalencies are requested or when modifications are made faculty in the respective disciplines are asked to evaluate course materials and make an equivalency recommendation. The faculty discipline councils will evaluate annually any requests and where faculty discipline councils are not available, Academic Affairs Council will request an ad hoc faculty team to evaluate. Faculty will provide a summary of findings by the committee to the academic support staff on the committee(See also https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/sdbor.tableau/viz/SDBORPriorLearningandValidatedCredit/PriorCredit) | Source |
| Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board | 3 | TX | A student in any of Grades 6-12 must be given credit for an academic subject in which he or she has had no prior instruction if the student scores a three or higher on a College Board advanced placement examination that has been approved by the school district board of trustees for the applicable course. | Source |
| Virginia State Council of Higher Education | 3 | VA | In accordance with Virginia law (§23.1-906), SCHEV's policy on credit for pre-college exams asks institutions to grant as much credit as possible for passing scores, but allows the faculty to set the specific credit policies for each subject based on the institution's academic standards and the likelihood of students' continued success in that subject. | Source |
| Board of Regents University of Wisconsin System | 3 | WI | Students who take an AP exam, earn a score of 3, 4 or 5, and enroll at a UW System institution will be awarded college credit. AP courses and exam scores are reviewed by UW faculty to determine the equivalent course or elective credit and the number of credits based on the score earned on each exam. | Source |
| West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission | 3 | WV | High school students completing advanced placement examinations of the College Board with a minimum score of 3 shall receive credit at any university, as indicated in the list of advanced placement exams offered by the College Board. The Chancellor maintains a list of all College Board advanced placement exams and the minimum number of credits that each institution shall grant. The university shall award credit solely on the basis of satisfactory performance of a score of 3 or higher on the advanced placement examinations. | Source |
State-Level IB Policies
State-Level International Baccalaureate Policies
| State or System | Min Score | State | Comments | Source/URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Department of Education and Board of Governors | 4 | FL | Public state colleges and universities in Florida are required to award the minimum recommended credit for AP, AICE, IB, DSST, DLPT, UExcel (Excelsior), and CLEP exams as designated. Students enrolled in an IB program are eligible to receive postsecondary credit only if they obtain a passing score on the corresponding IB examination. However, public school students in Florida are exempt from the payment of any fees associated with the administration of the examinations regardless of whether they achieve a passing score. Cut-off scores and postsecondary course equivalencies are determined by the ACC and approved by the SBE. See also: https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5421/urlt/Statewide-Articulation-Manual.pdf | Source |
| Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education | 4 | KY | In 2011, the Kentucky legislature passed HB 160, which standardized the transfer process at Kentucky's public institutions. Resulted in identified courses and standard scores for awarding credit for AP, CLEP, IB, Cambridge International, and DSST exams based on the new Kentucky Standard Acceptable Scores for National Exams Table. | Source |
| Louisiana Board of Regents | 4 | LA | Students must enroll in a full-time International Baccalaureate® program with six courses, including language arts, math, social sciences, experimental sciences, and foreign languages. Students that score a 4 or higher on a scale of 1 to 7 on the standardized end-of-course exams earn college credit. | Source |
| Minnesota State | 4 | MN | Minn. Stat. 120B.13 Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Programs requires the colleges and universities of the Minnesota State to award college credit to high school students who receive a score of three or higher on an advanced placement examination, or a score of four or higher on the international baccalaureate program examination. | Source |
| South Dakota Board of Regents | Varies | SD | Board practice specifies that when new standardized exams, military rank or course equivalencies, and certification or licensure equivalencies are requested or when modifications are made faculty in the respective disciplines are asked to evaluate course materials and make an equivalency recommendation. The faculty discipline councils will evaluate annually any requests and where faculty discipline councils are not available, Academic Affairs Council will request an ad hoc faculty team to evaluate. Faculty will provide a summary of findings by the committee to the academic support staff on the committee(See also https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/sdbor.tableau/viz/SDBORPriorLearningandValidatedCredit/PriorCredit) | Source |
| Virginia State Council of Higher Education | Varies | VA | In accordance with Virginia law (§23.1-906), SCHEV's policy on credit for pre-college exams asks institutions to grant as much credit as possible for passing scores, but allows the faculty to set the specific credit policies for each subject based on the institution's academic standards and the likelihood of students' continued success in that subject. | Source |