Kettering College provides an alternative way for students to receive college credit by demonstrating their competency in subject areas mastered.

Why does Kettering College have credit-by-examination?
It is an alternate way for students who are attempting to demonstrate competence through departmental examinations to gain college credit.

How does a student know what type of examinations are available?

Kettering College can provide a pre-approved list of AP, CLEP, DANTES, Excelsior, or validation examinations. Departments also have an up-to-date listing of kc credit-by-examinations.

Can students take credit-by-examination through kc if the examination is available through another source?

Students are expected to take pre-approved standardized examinations when available.

Will students be able to request credit-by-examination for any course offered at kc?  

Departments from which the credit is to be awarded determine which courses would be available for student to earn credit-by-examination. kc has no plans to write examinations upon student request. 

When should a student request to take a credit-by-examination?

• Students have to take exams prior to enrolling in a course.
• Students may not take the exam during the first week of class and then drop the course if they pass the examination.
• Students should request a credit-by-examination after they have met all the eligibility requirements.

What procedure must a student follow to request credit-by-examination?

Students must:

1. Fill out the credit-by-examination application.
2. Submit the application to the Records Office to obtain approval for eligibility.
3. Pay examination fee. (amount to be determined)
4. Take eligibility-approved application to assigned advisor for approval.
5. Take signed application to department chair for approval and to schedule an examination. (Examinations are given only at times specified by the department.)

Who needs to approve the request?

Students must request approval from

1. Records office for eligibility
2. Academic advisor
3. Chair of department in which credit is to be awarded

What is the advisor’s responsibility in the approval process?

• The advisor should discuss all options with the student.
  1. If standardized test exists, the advisor needs to advise the student to follow appropriate procedures for taking the standardized test.
  2. If student is eligible to take a validation examination, the advisor needs to advise the student to follow procedures to take the validation examination
  3. Advisor needs to discuss with the student how a “P” grade would stack up to an actual grade for program entry.
  4. Advisor needs to determine if receiving credit-by-examination for requested course would not be detrimental to the chances of acceptance into, or progression through, the student’s declared program of choice. 
• Advisor needs to check if the student meets all eligibility requirements.
• Advisor needs to sign off on the credit-by-examination application.
• Once the request is approved, the advisor needs to follow up with the student and the chair of the department in which credit is to be awarded. 

What determines if a student is eligible to sit for examination?

• Student has been admitted in to a specific program OR student has been admitted to take arts and sciences courses in preparation to enter a specific program.
• Student has completed all prerequisites prior to taking the examination.
• Student has not previously attempted to earn credit-by-examination in a particular course.
• Student has an overall GPA of 2.5.
• Students may not sit for an examination once they have registered for the equivalent course

Will exams be scheduled during business hours?  

It is up to the chair of the department in which credit is to be awarded from to determine the test schedule. Items that affect exam scheduling include :

• The registration schedule, so that a student will not register for the class while waiting to take an examination.
• Add/drop deadlines
• Faculty breaks
• Program entry deadlines
• Grading turn-around
• The time it takes to complete application process for credit-by-examination
• Evening examination schedules
• Other crunch times

Will students be eligible to take alternate examinations for a particular class in which they have already received college credit for partial content?  (i.e. PSYC 138 Child, Adolescent, Adult)

If an examination exists for a course in which a student requests partial credit, then the student would be required to take the existing examination which covers full course content and pay the recording fee for the full-credit hours.

Who will grade the examination?

• Department chair
• Individual instructor

Will the student be able to keep the examination once completed? 

Examinations will not be returned to students but will be kept in department files for seven years.

How will students be notified that they passed an examination?

The chair of the department from which the credit is to be awarded is responsible for notifying the student and the records office of the examination results. 

What is the passing minimum for an examination?

Examination passing score is equivalent to a “C” or above.

Once a student is notified they have successfully passed the examination, what do they need to do to make sure the grade is recorded?

Students need to pay the appropriate recording fee before credit hours will be recorded. (amount to be determined)

What fees are involved with credit-by-examination?

• Examination fee which must be paid prior to taking exam (amount to be determined)
• Recording fee which must be paid once student has passed the examination.  (amount to be determined)  

How does a student pay their examination fees? 

• Visit the records office to pay your examination fee
• Fees cannot be charged to a student account
• Funds received will be recorded on the application for credit-by-examination
   

Will a student be able to use financial aid to pay for the college credit earned?

Financial aid is not available for college credit earned as credit-by-examination.

How will this grade be recorded on a student’s transcript?

• All examinations will be recorded in the records office as "P" pass or "F" fail.
• "P" grades will be entered on the student's academic transcript, along with the appropriate "College Credit" awarded. "P" grades are not calculated in GPA.
• "F" grades will be recorded on the academic advisor's transcript only.  College credit hours are not awarded, and "F" grades are not calculated in GPA.

updated 5/7/09