RACC Standards of Good Practice

Attachment A
Standards of Good Practice
Clarification of the Registered Apprenticeship-College Consortium
(RACC) Framework

The following points are for purposes of clarifying the Principles, Criteria and Conditions for
Membership in the RACC.
I.
RA Program College Credit Recommendation by Third Party Evaluators
(Conditions for RA Sponsors Membership and Criterion 1)
All RA sponsor RACC members must have their programs evaluated by a third party
organization to determine the college credit value of the apprenticeship completion certificate.
Many organizations use third party evaluators to assess training and education programs offered
outside of the traditional college classroom setting and translate them into college credit
equivalencies. The following organizations are acceptable as Third Party Evaluators.
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American Council on Education (ACE), an organization that represents presidents and
chancellors of all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions;
National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS), established by the Board of
Regents of the University of the State of New York to create a college advisory service;
and
Two- and four-year postsecondary institutions that provide a similar assessment process
as ACE and NCCRS. The Departments of Labor and Education, with the guidance of the
Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA), will disseminate
descriptive information on current and new third party evaluators for purposes of RACC
membership.

II.
Applying “Appropriate College Credit” from Registered Apprenticeship (RA)
Completion Certificates (Principle 1 and Criterion 1)
Two- and four-year postsecondary RACC members agree to award credit for learning acquired
in the apprenticeship at levels consistent with the American Council on Education (ACE) Guide,
the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) or other third-party evaluators
by two- and four-year postsecondary institutions that the DOL and ED have found acceptable.
 Once the recommended college credit is determined by the evaluator for a Registered
Apprenticeship program, it will be posted on the RACC web clearinghouse.
 RACC post-secondary institutions will abide by the posted recommendation to the best of
their ability. If courses taken through an apprenticeship do not correlate exactly to
courses provided by the postsecondary institution, then fewer credits may be applied.

III.

RACC Recognition of Existing Articulation Agreements:

Many Registered Apprenticeship programs and two- and four-year postsecondary institutions
already have existing articulation agreements that outline the number of college credits granted
from the apprenticeship certificate of completion. Joining the RACC will have no effect on
existing articulation agreements regarding any of the terms agreed to by the parties. However, if
a national program has received recommended credit hours from ACE or NCCRS those are the
number of hours that will be recognized by other RACC members.
IV.

Conditions of Membership: Roles and Expectations of RACC Members

It is expected that RA Sponsors will do the following:
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Designate a Point of Contact (POC) who will work with journey workers to help them
prepare transcripts and other paperwork for colleges. This individual will have an
understanding of Registered Apprenticeship articulation agreements and be able to help
journey workers with the college application process regarding the RA articulation
agreement.
Provide information on the official website of the member RA sponsor about the RACC,
how journey workers can apply their RA completion certificate towards a college degree,
and the number of college credits the completion certificate is worth as recommended by
the Third Party Evaluator.

It is expected that Two- and Four-Year Postsecondary Institutions will do the following:
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V.

Designate a POC who will work specifically on Registered Apprenticeship programs and
the admission of journey workers to the institution. This individual will have an
understanding of Registered Apprenticeship articulation agreements, provide assistance
to journey workers and RA sponsors, and serve as an advisor and subject-matter expert to
the institution in the college admissions process for journey workers from RA programs.
Provide information on the official website of the member institution about the RACC
and how journey workers can apply their RA completion certificate towards a college
degree at the institution.
Member Information to be Provided on the RACC Website

Information about RACC member RA sponsors and postsecondary institutions for purposes of
articulating the RA certificate towards college credit and aiding journey workers to earn college
degrees will be posted on the RACC website. The following information will be requested:

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Two- and four- year postsecondary institutions will be asked to provide location, point
of contact, the RA programs with which the institution has articulation agreements,
number of credits given for each Registered Apprenticeship program, and prior learning
tests that are accepted by the institution;
RA Sponsors will be asked to provide the location, point of contact, number of credits
given by a third party evaluation organization, and the number of and contact information
for all RA training centers that are part of the national sponsor’s (if applicable) college
credit recognition;
Organizations that represent institutions and sponsors, information will be asked to
provide the type of organizations they represent and the nature of the relationship so they
can represent them in the RACC, contact information and point of contact.