If your teen is earning college credit during high school, you might wonder: “Where is this credit kept until we need it?” That’s a great question, because when your student is ready to apply to college, you’ll want to easily find everything they’ve worked so hard to earn. This post tells you who has your teen’s records, and how to access them.
Start With the High School Transcript
Before we talk about college credit, don’t forget that college credit in high school also counts as high school credit. This is called double-dipping, and it’s one of the best parts of early college credit!
As the parent (and homeschool administrator), you are in charge of keeping the high school transcript. That’s the record that lists every course your teen has taken in high school. So, every time your teen earns college credit, write it down on their homeschool transcript.
PRO TIP: Various types of college credit are recorded differently on a high school transcript, but even if you’re unsure of exactly how to record it on their final transcript, record the title and grade now so you don’t forget! You can worry about the title and credit later.
Even if you haven’t made an official transcript yet, keep a notebook of everything they earn. Later, you can use that notebook to build the final transcript.
Where College Credit Is Stored
1. Credit from any College
Examples: dual enrollment, summer classes, winter classes, mini-courses, ASU, and some study abroad programs.
Stored at: The college (on an official college transcript)
What you do: Nothing-it’s saved for you automatically.
Each college your teen attends keeps its own record. Even if they don’t finish a course or degree, that college creates a permanent transcript. Later, your teen will have to request that transcript when applying to colleges, jobs, or the military. This disclosure (sending of the record) is required! Almost every college in the country reports student enrollment into the National Student Clearinghouse, so trying to hide enrollment is not recommended.
2. CLEP Exams (College Board)
Stored at: College Board (on an official CLEP transcript)
What you do: Nothing-it’s saved automatically.
Only passed exams go on the transcript. You can send a score to a college right away or wait until later. When you’re ready, one transcript includes all the passed exams and costs about $20. Disclosure of CLEP exams is voluntary, so you can keep these scores private if you want. You may decide to include them in the Common App if you want, but it’s not routine.
3. AP Exams (College Board)
Stored at: College Board (on an official AP transcript)
What you do: Nothing-it’s saved automatically.
This transcript shows all exams your student has taken, even low scores, but colleges won’t see them unless you choose to send the report. Disclosure of AP exams is voluntary. There is a section in the Common App that let’s you report AP scores, but it is optional.
4. DSST Exams (Prometric)
Stored at: Prometric (on a DSST transcript)
What you do: Nothing-it’s saved automatically.
You can send scores to colleges when you take the test or later. Only the scores you send will be seen by colleges. Disclosure of scores is optional.
5. ACE Credit (Sophia, Study.com, StraighterLine, Saylor, and others)
Stored at: Credly.com (ACE’s transcript system)
What you do: You must add each course manually to your student’s free Credly account.
Credly is the website that stores ACE credit. If you don’t add the course, the credit may be lost—especially if the company closes later.
✔️ Always add each ACE course to Credly, even if the provider says they can send it directly to the college.
✔️ One Credly account holds all your ACE credit.
✔️ Colleges won’t see your credits unless you send a transcript.
✔️ No grades or fails are shown—only completed courses.
6. NCCRS Credit (Coopersmith, Davar, and others)
Stored at: The course provider (no official system)
What you do: Send proof directly to each college when you need to.
NCCRS does not have a transcript-holding system like Credly. That means your credit is only saved by the provider. You should send credits to the college right away—every time. If the company closes and you haven’t sent the credit yet, you will lose it. (We saw this in 2025 when OnlineDegree suddenly went out of business!)
Final Thoughts
Your teen might earn college credit in many ways—but it’s your job to keep track of it all.
📝 Write each course on their high school transcript.
📄 Know where each kind of credit is stored.
📤 Send official transcripts when your teen applies to college.
Good records now mean no stress later!
