Retrocredits – Spring 2025

Students who are enrolled in a qualifying class during Spring 2025 must apply by the end of the fourth week of a 16 week session (DEADLINE: Friday, February 7, 2025).

Online applications for the Spring 2025 term will open on January 13 2025. Hardcopy applications and receipts are NO LONGER REQUIRED (see the top of the application for those instructions – DO NOT BRING A HARDCOPY TO THE DEPARTMENT). The system is now setup to notify the department AFTER the payment has gone through ($30 non-refundable fee). We now receive the information we need to print applications from our front office. Students will be sent an email to confirm receipt, so if students don’t get an email, within five working days after the payment was made, they need to contact Johanka.Colmenares@nau.edu or they may miss the window to apply. Read below carefully – the processing times listed are for Fall and Spring terms; Summer processing times usually happen sooner after grades post.

How retroactive credits work

View this video for more information.

Retrocredits are only valid at Northern Arizona University; they will not transfer to another institution.

If you successfully complete the language course (with a grade of B or better), you will receive credit hours for the course you are enrolled in and the appropriate number of ungraded retroactive credit hours if you have paid the fee and received confirmation your application was received before the deadline. If you paid but didn’t receive a confirmation email from the GLC office within five days, please email Johanka.Colmenares@nau.edu on the sixth day, or ASAP, to make sure your application and payment were received. This must be the responsibility of the student because the department is not notified if transactions don’t go through.

If you receive a C, you will pass the course and receive credits for that course but you will not earn the retroactive credits for the skipped courses. You are not allowed to attempt to earn retroactive credits in the same language more than once during your college career. The maximum number of retrocredits a student can earn is 16 total. Example: students can apply and earn 8 credits in FRE by taking and passing FRE 201 with an A or B; 4 credits in JPN by taking and passing JPN 102 with an A or B, and another 4 credits in GER by taking and passing GER 102 with an A or B. Note: Each language requires a separate application. Please contact Johanka.Colmenares@nau.edu if you have any questions.

Qualifications

This must be the first course in this language you have taken at NAU or any other university or community college (this includes CLEP, IB, and AP credit). Students are NOT eligible for retroactive credit in a language they have already earned credits for at the college level. This qualification stands whether the student has the credits posted to their transcripts or not. Any attempt to get retrocredit by not disclosing previously earned credits in the applicable language at the college level will be deemed as academic dishonesty. If you’re not sure of a situation, please contact the Department of Global Languages and Cultures for clarification before making your payment.

Students who have taken language courses in high school, have acquired language skills from travel/living abroad, family of origin, etc. are some examples of the students who are eligible for retro credits.

Retrocredits are only valid at NAU, they will not transfer to another institution. If a student successfully completes the NAU language course (102 or above, skipping 101 or more) with a grade of B or better, and has submitted an application before the deadline, the student receives credit hours for the course they are enrolled in and the appropriate number of un-graded retroactive credit hours.

Students are not allowed to attempt to earn retroactive credits in the same language more than once during their college career; however, a student who receives a W in a qualifying course may apply for retrocredit again because they still have not earned credit in the language. Participation in this program is by application to the Department of Global Languages & Cultures which retains final authority to adjudicate exception cases.

Procedure

Based on their previous experience, students enroll at their predicted entry level (assessment from a faculty member may be required). Students seeking Spanish classes MUST take the Online Placement Exam and PLEASE follow the Instructions for enrollment. We recommend students of other languages be placed by an instructor; however, this is not always feasible. When placement is not otherwise available, advisers can predict entry level by assuming that one (1) year of high school language with a grade of B or better is the equivalent to one (1) semester of college language. Students apply for retroactive credit within the first four weeks of the semester in which they are enrolled in the retroactive credit eligible course – students do not apply for retroactive credit before their enrollment in the qualifying course. Students will have only the first week of a semester to move up or down in level due to the stringent attendance requirements in language classes.

Deadline

You must apply and pay for retroactive credit within the first four weeks of the semester in which you are attempting the language; aka: enrolled in the more advanced course. This deadline was set by ABOR years ago when GLC applied for approval of this program and cannot be overridden or surpassed by NAU.

Cost

There is a $30 non-refundable processing fee for the retrocredit application. You must make your payment online (the link is below) and print the receipt. This charge will not appear on your LOUIE Account. This fee is non-refundable. Make sure you are eligible for retrocredits before you pay the fee and hand in the hard copy application.

Processing timeline

Retrocredits will usually be posted to the student’s transcripts 12-16 weeks after final grades are posted. Each hard copy application must be manually processed by three different people across two different departments. We appreciate your patience. Contact the department for help with enrollment in subsequent classes that depend on Retrocredits posting.

Retroactive credit policy
Students who apply for retroactive credit and earn a B or better in:

• 102/105/112 – will be given retroactive credit for the corresponding 101 course upon successful completion of 102/105/112
• 201 – will be given retroactive credit for the corresponding 101 and 102 courses upon successful completion of 201
• 202/212 – will be given retroactive credit for the corresponding 101, 102, and 201 courses upon successful completion of 202/212
• 301, 311, 303, 309, or FRE 303W – will be given retroactive credit for the corresponding 101, 102, 201, and 202 courses upon successful completion of 301, 311, 303, 309, or FRE 303W.

Important Note: Enrollment in SPA 304W – and thus the corresponding SPA 311W or SPA 312W for heritage/native speakers – as a first college course in Spanish disqualifies students from Retrocredit per ABOR.

Retroactive credit level course equivalency

• Courses for which retroactive credit may be awarded are 101, 102, 201 & 202 (CHI, FRE, GER, ITA, LAN, JPN, and SPA).
• Retroactive credits will only be awarded for 101, 102, 201 & 202.
• The maximum number of retroactive credits allowed is 16 hours (across all languages).

Ready to apply?

Go to the Online Retrocredit Form application process (please use spaces instead of punctuation when answering the questions). We recommend students print out the application and the receipt to keep for their records.

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