Abstract:
This study investigated how university officials at five public universities in the
Commonwealth of Virginia responded in the aftermath of a law concerning credit
policies for International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP)
examinations. Mandated by the Code of Virginia § 23-9.2:3.8, this policy is unique in the
area of AP and IB recognition in the United States and required public colleges and
universities to complete four steps by May 31, 2011. These included setting comparable
credit recognition policies for both AP and IB examinations, providing credit for both IB
standard and higher level examinations, identifying the requirements students met by
successfully completing the IB Diploma, and reporting policies to the State Council for
Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and publishing those policies on university
websites. Interviews, artifact analysis, and website reviews were used to produce policy
case studies of five Virginia universities’ compliance with the law. In addition to documenting policy compliance, additional goals of the study included understanding
university officials’ attitudes concerning the law, IB student readiness for college-level
course work, and general perceptions of the IBDP and IB students.
