DARS/Advisors - Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement Credit on DARS

How dual enrollment and Advanced Placement credit appear on DARS with Core GenEd

Overview

For first-year students whose first term of enrollment at UW-Madison is Summer 2026 or later, dual enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), and similar test credits may be used to satisfy Core General Education (Core GenEd) requirements if applicable.

Students whose first term of enrollment at UW-Madison or any institution of higher education is prior to Summer 2026 are not subject to Core GenEd requirements. As a result, dual enrollment and AP credits for those students will not carry Core GenEd designations, and the Core GenEd requirement will not appear on their DARS audit.

Example - Student with dual enrollment credit:

Catalog Year: 20271, Fall 2026

AltCatYr 1: 20271, Fall 2026

AltCatYr 9 (Core GenEd Catalog Year): 20263, Summer 2026

This first-year student entered UW-Madison in Fall 2026 and brought in the following dual enrollment coursework:

  • GEN BUS X10 taken Fall 2025
  • STAT301 taken Fall 2025
  • LEGAL STX14 taken Spring 2025
  • PSYCH 202 taken Fall 2024

Student with dual enrollment credits

Notes:

  • Gen BUS X10 and LEGAL STX14 do not carry Core GenEd category designations and will not be used to satisfy Core GenEd
  • The Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning Core GenEd category is satisfied by the student’s placement test score and the four credits of STAT 301
  • PSYCH 202 carries the Social & Behavioral Science (SBS) Core GenEd designation and satisfies the category

DARS Core GenEd Requirement - Dual enrollment credits satisfy requirements where applicable

Example - Student with Advanced Placement credit:

Catalog Year: 20263, Summer 2026

AltCatYr 1: 20263, Summer 2026

AltCatYr 9 (Core GenEd Catalog Year): 20263, Summer 2026

 

This first-year student entered UW-Madison in Summer 2026 and brought in Advanced Placement credit:

  • HISTORY X13 does not carry a Core GenEd designation and does not satisfy a Core GenEd category
  • MATH 114 carries the Math & Quantitative Reasoning (MQR) designation
  • ZOOLOGY 151 carries the Natural Science & Wellness + Lab (NSWL) designation and satisfies the laboratory component of the requirement

Student with AP credit

Advanced Placement credits shown at top of DARS:

Student with AP credit shows 16 total AP credits on DARS. Some AP courses do not carry Core GenEd designations

Notes:

  • Ten total credits of AP coursework apply to the Core GenEd requirement
  • The Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning category still requires one additional credit to meet the six-credit requirement
  • The laboratory requirement of the Natural Science + Wellness Lab category is satisfied, but one more credit of NSW coursework is needed
  • The remaining NSW credit may come from either a laboratory (NSWL) or non-laboratory NSW course

DARS Core GenEd Requirement - AP credits satisfy requirements where applicable

Starting Spring 2027 and Later:

Beginning in Spring 2027, Core GenEd designations on transfer and test credits will vary based on the institution where the course was taken.

Dual Enrollment Credit

First-year students

  • Dual enrollment coursework from a non-UW institution will receive UW-Madison Core GenEd designations
  • Dual enrollment coursework from another Universities of Wisconsin institution earned Summer 2026 or after will retain the Core GenEd designation assigned by the sending UW institution

 Transfer students

  • Students transferring from a non-UW institution will receive UW-Madison Core GenEd designations on eligible dual enrollment coursework
  • Student transferring from another UW institution will retain the Core GenEd designation assigned by the sending UW institution
  • Note, only students whose Core GenEd Catalog Year is 20263 or after will be subject to Core GenEd Requirements

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

First-year students

  • Advanced Placement credits awarded directly by UW-Madison will receive UW-Madison Core GenEd designations, where applicable

 Transfer students

  • Students transferring from a non-UW institution will receive UW-Madison Core GenEd designations on eligible AP credit
  • Students transferring from another UW institution will retain the Core GenEd designations assigned by the originating UW institution

 

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Keywords:
dars, DARS, transfer 
Doc ID:
162072
Owned by:
Makenzie R. in Office of the Registrar
Created:
2026-06-19
Updated:
2026-06-22
Sites:
Office of the Registrar