Advanced Placement and Credit by Examination

SFA offers several options for students to earn college credit through various placement programs and national examinations. Students can receive college credit through the College Level Examination Program, Advanced Placement Program of the College Board, International Baccalaureate Program and SFA departmental examinations.

Policies Governing Credit by Examination and Advanced Placement

The following are university policies and procedures that apply to all credit awarded through any advanced placement or credit-by-examination program.

1. Students pay a $10 fee for each locally administered departmental advanced placement examination.
2. Credit by examination may not be earned for:
   1. any course (or its equivalent) in which the student is currently officially enrolled at SFA beyond the 12th class day
   2. any subject area in which the student has already earned credit for a more advanced course except by permission of the dean
   3. or any course for which the student has already received a grade.
3. To earn credit for a locally administered examination, a student must make a score equivalent to at least a C. Departments may, however, require a grade equivalent of A or B.
4. Credit-by-examination courses are identified on the transcript as such to distinguish them from classroom courses. They are recorded on the transcript as a credit (P) rather than a letter grade. Unsuccessful attempts to earn credit by examination are not recorded on the transcript.
5. A student may receive credit for a maximum of 32 hours of coursework in credit-by-examination programs. These hours do not count as credit earned in residence.
6. Credit received by examination satisfies degree requirements in the same way as credit earned by passing courses. A student’s cumulative GPA will not be affected by receiving credit by examination.
7. Credit earned by examination does not apply to SFA residence requirements and does not satisfy requirements for the provisional program or Pathways.
8. The CLEP or AP policy in effect at the time the test is taken will determine the credit awarded.
9. Students may not attempt credit for a CLEP examination in which a failing grade has been earned at any educational institution for the course.

Subject to change.

Advanced Placement Program

Students should specify SFA’s code 6682 to have official test scores sent to the Office of Admissions. The College Board’s AP Office can be reached at (609) 771-7300 or (888) 225-5427 or by email at apexams@info.collegeboard.org.The following is a list of SFA courses and credit hours that are awarded for successful AP scores:

College Board’s Advanced Placement Examinations

College-Level Examination Program

Students may take CLEP tests at SFA or at any other location and should specify the code 6682 to have official scores sent to the Office of Admissions. Credit will be awarded based on SFA’s credit-by-exam policy in effect at the time the test was taken. Students must wait six months to retake an exam and must not currently be enrolled in the course. In addition, students may not take the same CLEP test more than twice. The College Board’s CLEP office can be reached at (800) 257-9558 or by email at clep@info.collegeboard.org to have additional score reports sent. The following are the minimum computer-based CLEP score requirements to receive college credit at SFA:

International Baccalaureate Program

Students who participate in the International Baccalaureate Program may receive college credit for exam scores of 4 or higher on most higher-level (HL) exams and 5 or higher on most standard-level (SL) exams. The amount of credit awarded will depend upon the exam scores and the level of the courses. In compliance with SB 111 students admitted will be granted a minimum of 24 hours of credit if they have earned the IB diploma and have no score lower than a 4 on the HL and SL exams. If qualified, credit will be awarded for a score of 4 instead of 5 on the SL exams as shown on the following equivalency chart:

*Must pass lab for credit.

Internally Administered Examinations

Students already enrolled at SFA may acquire pass credit by successfully completing internally administered examinations or by a departmental advanced placement system that allows students to earn credit or bypass certain courses.

Departments currently awarding either advanced placement or credit by examination are listed below. Students interested in taking an internally administered examination should contact the appropriate department to seek approval and pre-register.

1. ACCT 2301  Students must provide evidence of some practical experience or education in accounting and should inquire about the content of the examination prior to making application to take the test. The minimal passing grade is B.
2. Art: Students who receive unanimous consent from all members of the Advanced Standing Committee may waive the prerequisites ARTS 1316  and/or ARTS 1311  and go to the next highest-level course. If a student receives a grade lower than C in the next highest-level course, the student will then be required to take that course for which she or he received advanced placement. If the student is given a grade of C or higher, the student will be allowed to replace the bypassed hours with an additional art elective. If the student receives a grade of A in the next highest-level course, she or he may petition the Advanced Standing Committee for credit in the bypassed course. Interested students should check with the chair for portfolio submission deadlines.
3. CHEM 1311  and CHEM 1312  (General Chemistry): The minimal passing grade on these examinations is C. A separate lab test is administered for CHEM 1111 -CHEM 1112 .
4. COSC 1301  and BCIS 1305 : To qualify for the examination, a student must provide evidence of some practical experience or education in computer application software and the operating system. The examination consists of a written component and a computer-based competency component. Applicants should inquire about the content of the examination prior to making application to take the test. The examination can be taken only once per student. The minimal passing grade is B.
   
   CSCI 1302 : To qualify for the examination a student must not have previously attempted CSCI 1302 . Applicants must register for the examination through the Department of Computer Science  at least 24 hours before the examination time. The test will normally be administered on the third class day of a term. The test will be graded by a committee of at least three faculty members. The student will receive credit for CSCI 1302  only if all graders agree that the student has sufficient knowledge of the programming language. Students will not be permitted to take the examination more than once.
5. English: Qualified students may earn advanced placement credit as a consequence of their performance in an accelerated course for freshmen, ENGL 1303 . Students who have a score of 28 or higher on the English section of the ACT or a 580 or higher on the SAT reading test are eligible to enroll in ENGL 1303 . Those who perform well in this course, earning an A, will be recommended by the instructor for six hours of advanced-placement credit and will fulfill their core curriculum requirement for rhetoric and composition. A grade of B or C will earn three hours of advanced-placement credit (ENGL 1301 ).
6. GEOL 1303  and GEOL 1304  (General Geology): The minimal passing grade is B.
7. MATH 1316  (Plane Trigonometry), MATH 1314  (College Algebra) and MATH 1318  (Plane Analytic Geometry): The minimal passing grade is C.
8. Military Science: Students who have prior military service and students who participated in JROTC in high school may be eligible for advanced placement not to exceed four semesters. Eligibility will be determined by the professor of military science after interviewing the student.
9. Modern Languages: Advanced placement with credit for courses bypassed may be earned in French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Such credit is available in the sequence of FREN 1311 , GERM 1311 , PORT 1311  and SPAN 1311  - FREN 1312 , GERM 1312 , PORT 1312  and SPAN 1312 , FREN 2311 , GERM 2311 , PORT 2311  and SPAN 2311  - FREN 2312 , GERM 2312 , PORT 2312  and SPAN 2312 , SPA 241 - SPAN 2315 , and FREN 3303  and SPAN 3303 . In the 1311-3303 sequence, the student must earn a grade of C or higher in the course taken in order to receive bypass credit. Bypass credit may be earned only in sequence. Repeated courses do not carry bypass credit. In all cases, the student must apply for bypass credit from the dean of the College of Liberal and Applied Arts  through the Department of Languages, Cultures and Communication .
   
   Students who are unsure as to proper placement in language courses are strongly encouraged to take the placement examination offered free each semester by the department. The examination carries no credit and is for placement only. On the basis of the score earned on the examination, the language advisor recommends a course commensurate with the student’s level of competence in the language.
10. Music: Through internally administered examinations, students may earn a maximum of six hours’ credit in music theory. The minimal passing grade is B.
11. SOCI 1301  (Introduction to Sociology): Student seeking pass credit for SOCI 1301  must earn a score of 50 or higher on the Introduction to Sociology CLEP exam.
12. Theatre: All courses currently offered by the School of Theatre and Dance  are available for advanced placement. The awarding of advanced placement signifies that the student has successfully met all academic and/or performance objectives for the course under consideration.
    
    The faculty member, when satisfied that the student has successfully met the objectives for the particular course, will recommend to the theatre faculty that advanced placement be awarded. The student will be granted advanced placement upon the approval vote of a majority of the theatre faculty. Notification of the awarding of advanced placement will be entered on the student’s official SFA transcript.
13. SGNL 1301  and SGNL 1302  (Beginning and Intermediate American Sign Language): The SGNL 1301  placement test consists of:
    1. a computer-based test with vocabulary, phrases, numbers and fingerspelling
    2. and signing the “Three Little Pigs” following a model provided by the department.

The SGNL 1302  departmental exam consists of:

1. a computer-based receptive test
2. and an interview with a faculty member.

For both tests, a score of 80% or higher is required. Students desiring to be considered for advanced placement should contact the departmental instructor currently or most recently teaching the particular course. The faculty member and student will develop an evaluation procedure consisting of examinations and/or projects that will attempt to assess the student’s competencies in the specific course content.

The awarding of advanced placement entitles the student to enroll in the next level course within the appropriate area of concentration or place out of an area requirement if advanced credit is not stipulated in the degree plan. The awarding of advanced placement does not carry university credit or require the student to pay tuition charges for awarded courses.

Correspondence Work

While SFA does not offer correspondence courses, it recognizes correspondence work completed at other regionally accredited institutions within the following limits: the maximum of such total credit allowed for correspondence study is 18 semester hours, and all transfer credit must be approved by the Office of Admissions.