What is the ICC?
The Indiana College Core (ICC) is a 30-credit hour block of general education credit, guaranteed to transfer between all public institutions in the state, as long as students complete all coursework with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has published several helpful sites to give more background and context.
1. The Indiana Core Transfer Library's ICC Page includes ICC Guidance, a toolkit for high schools and FAQs.
2. The My College Core site is a planning tool to aid students and counselors in planning a student's route to earn the ICC. The resources area includes more helpful information, like a page to help high schools get started planning their ICC options, as well as student FAQs, and a database of AP/dual credit equivalents that meet ICC requirements.
Students who earn the ICC certificate, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher, are able to transfer all 30 credit hours to any public institution in the state of Indiana.
Generally speaking, 30 credit hours is equivalent to a full year of college.
The courses that are part of the ICC are, by and large, going to fulfill USI general education requirements or similar requirements at other colleges and universities.
USI's dual credit is offered at no charge to students and families, helping students create a significant nest egg of usable credit on their way to earning a degree or credential.
Students can complete high school feeling more confident in their abilities to be successful in college.
Students may not be able to engage in as many high school extra-curricular activities or work as many hours if completing the ICC.
Students who attend a career or technical education program have other opportunities for dual credit that align with their specific college and career interests, but the ICC probably will not be available to them, due to the time they spend in CTE coursework.
The dual credit or AP courses a student needs to earn the ICC might not line up perfectly with each student's high school graduation requirements or interests.
Standalone dual credit courses can still benefit students, transfer to their intended institutions, and help them toward graduation. Existing transfer agreements, as outlined on the Indiana Core Transfer Library, still apply to many of the dual credit courses at your high school.
High schools will need to carefully consider their staffing, both now and in the future, if planning to offer the ICC.
Because the ICC does not completely replace USI's general education curriculum, Core 39, students who are working toward the ICC and considering USI are strongly encouraged to work with our ICC advisor, Tim.
Tim can provide guidance to students when they have an intended major in mind and can share insight about how courses earned with the ICC fulfill USI degree requirements. He can help students unpack the details of our publicly available degree maps.
Because Tim also is the Director of the Center for Exploring Majors, he can discuss major and career exploration with undecided students as well. Students and families can contact Tim through the CAP Advising page.
For students who are seeking admission to other colleges and universities, the Indiana Core Transfer Library's Transfer Database is the best place to begin determining how a course from one institution will transfer to another.
Each institution has determined how its general education courses fit into the ICC's six competency areas. The ICC is able to be earned by students after matriculation to college as well as by students still in high school. While in high school, students must earn at least 15 of the 30 hours from the same dual credit provider, known as the primary postsecondary partner. The other 15 hours can come from another dual credit provider, successful AP or CLEP exam scores, or professor-on-loan models.
At USI, our general education curriculum is known as Core 39, because it is composed of 39 credit hours. Students who complete the ICC will have made significant progress toward completion of Core 39, but there will still be a few courses left to take, like a first-year experience course required of all incoming students and in some cases, upper-level courses required by particular majors.
What are the USI Core 39 General Education Curriculum Courses Available Through CAP?
Many USI courses count toward the ICC, but the following chart details the specific USI courses offered through the dual credit College Achievement Program (CAP) that count toward the ICC. The chart below also includes AP courses and qualifying scores that count toward USI's ICC.
How USI CAP and AP Courses Fit into the ICC
CAP courses offered in each of the six competency areas are visible below; click each box to view details.
English (ENG) 101
Students will take no more than one course from Written Communication.
Communication Studies (CMST) 101
Students will take no more than one course from Speaking and Listening.
Mathematics (MATH) 111, College Algebra
Mathematics (MATH) 114, Quantitative Reasoning
Students will take no more than one course from Quantitative Reasoning.
Anthropology (ANTH) 131 - Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Biology (BIOL) 105 - Biology of Human Concern
Biology (BIOL) 251 - Environmental Conservation
Chemistry (CHEM) 142 - Survey of General Chemistry
Chemistry (CHEM) 143 - Survey of Organic and Biochemistry
Geography (GEOG) 112 - Earth System Science
Physics (PHYS) 101 - Introduction to Physical Sciences
Students will take at least one course from each Ways of Knowing category but will have to take multiple courses from this area to result in 30 credit hours.
French (FREN) 203 & 204 - Intermediate French I & II
German (GERM) 203 & 204 - Intermediate German I & II
Health Professions (HP) 211 - The Health Care Delivery System and Health Care Policy
Spanish (SPAN) 203 & 204 - Intermediate Spanish I & II
Psychology (PSY) 201 - Introduction to Psychology
Students will take at least one course from each Ways of Knowing category but will have to take multiple courses from this area to result in 30 credit hours.
English (ENG) 105 - Introduction to Literature
History (HIST) 101 - U.S. to 1877
History (HIST) 102 - U.S. since 1877
Students will take at least one course from each Ways of Knowing category but will have to take multiple courses from this area to result in 30 credit hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, per the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Students who earn the ICC in high school are awarded a formal credential - the ICC certificate - from the college or university. One entity must be responsible for collecting transcripts and test scores, verifying the student has earned the credential, and then awarding the certificate.
No, per the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. At least one public college or university must be the primary postsecondary partner in order for the credential to be awarded.
While students are in high school, they do not use financial aid to pay for dual credit. However, any college course attempted or earned, as well as college credit awarded by exam (like AP and CLEP) is adding up in the background. Upon matriculation, students will need to be aware of limitations on their institutional, state, and federal aid. For example, USI's Satisfactory Academic Progress, or SAP, policy can be found here. For example, there is a maximum timeframe on degree completion. Typically, students have 1.5 times the number of hours in a degree program to earn that degree; if a bachelor's degree is 120 hours, then students have 180 hours available of earned and attempted credit before becoming ineligible for certain types of aid.
Yes, students will need to abide by the transcript prices at each college or university where they have earned dual credit. Students already are required to disclose all previously earned college credit at the time they decide which institution to attend.