General Questions
Use our map to find out if your school offers the Indiana College Core. If it doesn’t, reach out to your counselor for more information on ways you can earn it or how your school might be able to offer it.
You may be able to take courses online or at a local college campus to complete the Indiana College Core.
You may also be able to take a CLEP exam. A non-profit called Modern States offers free faculty-taught instruction to help you prepare for a CLEP exam and possibly allow you to take it for free!
Almost all public institutions will require additional general education coursework (i.e., additional competencies, and more than 30 hours), and some degree programs require that specific coursework be completed for admission to a particular program, or completion of degree objectives.
The Commission conducted a survey of the Indiana public institutions in early 2024, which indicated that a student may have to complete up to 12 credits beyond the Indiana College Core to fulfill general education requirements at the university. The number of credits a student may have to complete beyond the ICC will depend on dual credit course selection in high school and the requirements of the institution a student attends after high school. It is important to work closely with your counselor when completing the Indiana College Core and meeting college admission requirements.
All public institutions are required by Indiana legislation to accept the Indiana College Core as a block, meaning they will accept all 30 credits and apply them to the general education requirements of the institution. Some of the Indiana privates colleges and universities will also accept the Indiana College Core. Check out the Who Accepts It page to learn more.
Transcripts & Exam Scores
As part of the Core confirmation process, the student will need to request their college transcripts from all higher education institutions with which they have earned credit. These transcripts must be sent to the college or university that is awarding the Indiana College Core. They also need to send any AP and/or CLEP exam scores for evaluation.
Work with your high school counselor as part of the Indiana College Core confirmation process, the student will need to request their college transcripts from all higher education institutions with which they have earned credit.
These transcripts must be sent to the college or university that is awarding the Indiana College Core.
The student will also need to request their AP and/or CLEP exam scores from the College Board to be sent to the college or university awarding the Indiana College Core. This will enable them to determine if the student has met the competency requirements to earn the Indiana College Core.
Dual credit is college courses taken in the high school with your high school teacher earning transcripted college credit.
Credit by exam allows a student to receive college credit for prior learning by demonstrating mastery of course outcomes—skills and knowledge—by taking the course exam(s). It is not transcripted college credit.
The Indiana College Core is a part of all majors at Indiana public colleges and universities (and some Indiana private colleges and universities). Using this tool will help you choose courses that will both count toward your major and earn the Indiana College Core.
College and university accreditation requires that at least half of the credits earned toward a credential (like the Indiana College Core certificate) are from the awarding institution.
Indiana state financial aid cannot be applied to the Indiana College Core. Students receiving state financial aid must be enrolled at an Indiana eligible college/university meeting all enrollment requirements.
In accordance with institutional polices, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), CLEP, and dual credit may count towards fulfillment of the Indiana College Core requirements at public institutions. Students who transfer to another institution should be aware that test credit will be reevaluated upon transfer in accordance with the receiving institutions’ articulation policies. Institutions may accept other forms of credit according to their own existing policies, but these hours will not count towards the requirements of the Indiana College Core.
In terms of the Indiana College Core, block transfer means that all 30 hours earned in the certificate will count toward your general education core requirements at a public postsecondary institution. The courses will not be evaluated individually.
Dual Credit refers to college courses taken at a high school taught by a high school teacher. Dual Enrollment refers to college courses taken on a college campus, online, or in the high school taught by a college faculty member.
Get Started
Use this tool to create your plan of college-level credit you will take in high school to make up the Indiana College Core.