Credit by Examination
An appointment is now required for all tests. We are unable to accommodate walk-ins. Please call Testing Services at (501) 569-3198 to reserve a date and time.
Get credit for what you know!
Each year, many college students “test out” of classes. The concept is simple. If you already have skills or knowledge in a specific area, why take the class? Students enjoy the low prices and convenience of earning credit by examination. Why not join in?
Program Overview
Students who wish to obtain credit through examination may do so in selected courses. There are seven sources of examination credit:
- The Advanced Placement Program (AP) of the College Board;
- The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) of the College Board;
- The Excelsior College Examinations (ECE) of the Excelsior College in New York;
- The UALR Departmental Examination Program (DEP) that includes other standardized tests as well as locally constructed examinations.
- The DANTES DSST exams
- Foreign Language Placement Exams (FCAPE, GCAPE, SCAPE)
- The International Baccalaureate (IB) program from the International Baccalaureate Organization.
Credit by Exam, Your GPA, and Your Academic Records
Credit obtained through examination is recorded as approved hours on the official permanent record without grade or grade points after the student is enrolled at UALR. In other words, credit by exam does not affect your gradepoint average, and you must be attending courses in order for credits to be posted.
You can’t use credit by exam to raise a grade in a course. For example, if you made a D in Introduction to Sociology, the only way to remove the D from your GPA is to retake the course and make a higher grade. Taking the CLEP test in Sociology won’t help — and you can’t get credit twice
for the same course anyway. If you made an F in Introduction to Sociology, you could take the CLEP test to try to earn the credit hours, but the F would remain in your GPA.
There is no limit on the number of hours you may earn through credit by exam. Schedules for the examinations vary. It is important that registration deadlines and score reporting dates for each
program be carefully observed.
Transferability of Credits
Credit by exam policies vary considerably from campus to campus. Receiving credit at one school is no guarantee of receiving credit at another school.
If you are transferring in to UALR and you tested out of courses at another school, check UALR’s
policies listed below to determine if you (a) took tests that are accepted at UALR; and (b) made a passing score according to UALR policy. If you did, contact the national testing company (for example, CLEP) to have an official score report sent to UALR Testing Services for evaluation. Photocopies and student copies are unofficial and will not be accepted.
If you earn test-out credits at UALR and you decide to transfer to another university, you will need to check with that university to determine their policy. Again, the fact that you have test-out credits posted on your UALR transcript is not a guarantee that the credits will be recognized
elsewhere.
Procedures for Establishing Credit at UALR
Official CLEP, AP, ECE, DANTES, and IB score reports must be sent directly to the Office of Testing Services from the national testing company.
Departmental exams generally are graded in the department, and related reports are released from the department. The procedure for documenting credit is the same as described above.
Policy Review
Only examinations that have been approved by the faculty of the appropriate department are included in the credit by examination program.
Decisions as to which tests are accepted are made by UALR faculty members. The minimum score required for each approved test has been set by the faculty of the department involved.
Credit by examination satisfies degree requirements in the same way as credit earned by passing a course. Unsuccessful attempts to earn credit by examination will not be reflected on the academic record.
Special Accommodations
Special testing accommodations are provided for students with documented disabilities. Specific arrangements should be made with the Testing Coordinator well in advance of registration for CLEP or DEP exams. Registration information for AP and ECE exams includes directions to be followed for those tests. Please see our Accommodations for Students with Disabilities section for more information.