| Adviser Information File |
| Undergraduate Policies and Procedures |
| CONTENTS | Arts and Sciences policies Procedures Restrictions Grades Transfer credit by examination CLEP credit Department policies on credit by examination |
Arts and Sciences policies |
Credit by examination is a mechanism by which students can receive UW credit for independent study or work completed with private teachers. Regularly admitted and currently enrolled students may take special examinations, sometimes known as "challenging a course," in subject matter offered by the University to gain credit without being enrolled in specific courses. All undergraduate courses in the College are open to credit by examination unless the department specifically excludes the course. Credit by examination requests must be approved by the faculty examiner and the department chair.
Credit by examination can also be used to earn credit for work completed at unaccredited institutions, if a formal examination is deemed necessary by the chair of the concerned department(s). In other cases, the department may be willing to "validate" such coursework without an examination. Students wishing to validate credit should contact the Admissions Office for forms and procedures. NOTE: Some other UW schools and colleges also allow credit by examination. Students should check with the school or college offering the course in question. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Procedures |
Initial inquiries about credit by examination and challenging a course should be directed either to the department chair or to the undergraduate adviser of the specific department. If the student appears eligible to challenge a course (see Restrictions, below), the student will be put in contact with the appropriate instructor, who will determine if the student is academically qualified to take the examination. Permission to challenge a specific course rests with the instructor.
After the student talks with the instructor designated as the one responsible for the course in which the examination is to be taken, the Graduation and Academic Records Office (264 Schmitz Hall) certifies the student's eligibility to take the examination and then issues the application for credit by examination. The instructor and departmental chair must sign the form. The signed form must be brought to the Graduation and Academic Records Office no later than Friday of the second week of the quarter. A payment of $25 per course requested must then be made to the Student Fiscal Services Office. Examinations are administered by the Office of Educational Assessment, no later than the fifth week of the quarter, unless other arrangements are made with the individual instructor for administering the examination. No student is permitted to take more than two examinations in three-, four-, or five-credit courses, nor more than three examinations in one- or two-credit courses, in one day. Should the student plan to take more examinations in a given quarter, an additional day may be permitted and arrangements may be made with the Office of Educational Assessment or with the individual instructor. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Restrictions |
Specific departments may impose particular restrictions, as noted in the departmental policy chart which follows. The general University restrictions are as follows:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grades |
All courses taken credit-by-examination are assigned a numerical grade, unless the course is offered Credit/No-Credit only. The minimum grade to be awarded credit is 2.0; no credit is earned if the student's grade on the examination is below 2.0. As with other extension credit, grades earned are not included in the student's grade-point average.
Eligible students may choose the Satisfactory/Not-Satisfactory (S/NS) option, but should be warned that only electives may be taken S/NS. If the S/NS option is chosen, a numerical grade is assigned and "S/NS option" written at the bottom of the credit-by-examination grade card. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transfer credit by examination |
Credit earned by examination at other colleges is transferable to the UW, if the following two conditions are met.
Transfer credit by examination is posted as extension credit, with a notation that it was transferred and not UW credit by exam. No more than 45 transfer extension credits (including College Board AP credits not awarded by the UW) count toward a UW degree. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CLEP credit | The College of Arts and Sciences does not accept credits based upon the College-Level Examination Program general examinations. At present, no department accepts credits for the specific CLEP subject-matter examination in that field. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Department policies on credit by examination |
In many UW departments no undergraduate courses may be challenged. Departments which allow certain courses to be challenged, or allow courses to be challenged under some circumstances, are listed below.
|
