Credit by Examination

CREDIT BY EXAMINATION

VERIFY WHICH POLICY YOU FALL UNDER

The current credit-by-exam scores listed on these pages are for the current semester, and may not apply to you.  The way that you can determine which policy your score falls under is to take the semester you first enrolled in courses at UTA, and the date you took the exam; whichever is later determines which semester's policy determines the required score.

For students who are started previous to this year, and the test was taken previous to this year, students should refer to the previous credit-by-exam policies.

WHAT IS CREDIT BY EXAMINATION

UTA recognizes that many students have gained academic achievement in certain subject areas prior to entering an institution of higher education. UTA strongly encourages such superior attainment, recognizes it for academic purposes and permits students who have done such work to obtain course credit through examination. It is the student's responsibility to read and understand the following policies before attempting to attain credit-by-exam. Testing Services recommends students consult with their academic advisors to make sure the credit by exam will be applied to their degree program.

Credit by examination aims to give students the opportunity to receive credit by examination in courses within the regular curricular offerings of the University where proficiency may be practically and validly determined.

Currently enrolled undergraduate students, new students with a completed admission on file and former students may attempt to earn advanced standing credit through any of the credit by examination testing programs. Some of these tests may be taken before arriving on campus and others are available only at UTA. New students should carefully consider their opportunities to gain advanced standing before registering for courses in their first semester.

Faculty members in the academic departments select the test, set the levels of performance required for placement and credit and specify who is required to take tests. Testing Services assists departments by coordinating policies and procedures, giving tests and reporting credit.

Credit-by-exam policies are reviewed periodically and are subject to change without notice.

GENERAL POLICIES1

  • Credit by examination is available to undergraduate students with a completed application on file, currently enrolled students and formerly enrolled students who meet eligibility requirements. There is no limit to the amount of credit earned by examination.
  • Prospective students may take examinations to establish their eligibility to receive credit, however, credit is awarded only to currently enrolled students or to former students who meet eligibility requirements. A prospective student may claim credit prior to enrollment but the credit will be posted as earned credit after Census day of the first enrolled semester. 
  • Credit by examination may not be used for graduate credit and no such credit, graduate or undergraduate, may appear on graduate student transcripts2.
  • Credit by examination can be awarded only for courses in which the student has neither a passing nor failing grade (including a Z in English) at UTA or transfer credit from another institution of higher education. You may not use credit-by-exam for courses that have a grade exclusion. Official test scores must be sent to Testing Services for credit by examination to be awarded. Credit by examination earned at other institutions is treated as transfer credit only if the sending institution posts such credit on the student's transcript with regular catalog course numbers and with a grade of at least C, with the symbol CR or with a similar designation representing credit earned without letter grade.
  • Credit by examination can be used to meet prerequisites for higher-level courses.
  • Credit earned by examination satisfies degree requirements in the same way as credit earned by passing courses, except it does not count as credit earned in residence. Credit by examination cannot be used to satisfy the general degree requirement for (a) 30 semester hours in residence and (b) at least 18 semester hours in residence of advanced coursework (courses numbered 3000 and 4000), to include 12 hours of advanced coursework in the major field.
  • After the official Census Date, students may earn credit by examination for a course they are enrolled in only if the student drops the course with a W or upon written approval of the chair of the appropriate academic department. Once a grade is posted for the course, the student may not petition for credit earned by exam.
  • Most academic departments award semester hours of credit but no letter grades. In a few subjects credit may be awarded with grades of A, B or C, depending on the level of test performance. For each course in which grades are assigned, students may choose to accept credit hours recorded either with the letter grade or as credit only. Accepting credit only will not affect the student's cumulative grade-point average. After credit has been posted to the academic record, a student's choice of letter grade or credit only cannot be changed.
  • To have credit reported to the Registrar, students must complete the Petition for Credit by logging into MyMav>UTA Customizations>Petition for Credit.  A student's test results will be evaluated for eligibility in accordance with academic department policies in effect  when the student enrolls at UTA or when the student takes the exam, whichever is later. Credit by examination will be posted to a student's official record after the Census Date of their first semester at UTA. 
  • Credit by examination on a transcript from another institution of higher education is considered transfer work and will transfer to UTA, subject to the same conditions as corresponding resident coursework from that institution. The Office of Admissions is responsible for evaluating all transfer work.
 

1Approved by the UTA Undergraduate Assembly on April 18, 1995.

2University of Texas at Arlington Graduate Catalog, 2002-2004, pg 35.

TUITION REBATES FOR CERTAIN UNDERGRADUATES

One of the conditions of Texas Educational Code §54.0065 states that to be eligible for tuition rebate under this program, a student must have attempted no more than three hours in excess of the minimum number of hours required for his/her degree. (If the student's degree requires 120 semester credit hours and (s)he graduates with 123 hours, (s)he may qualify).

Attempted hours include every course, for which the student has registered, as of the official Census Date, in every semester, including developmental courses, repeated courses and courses from which the student withdraws. Course credit earned exclusively by examination is also eligible, except only the number of semester credit hours earned exclusively by examination in excess of nine semester credit hours is treated as hours attempted.

For details on this go to: College For Texans.

STEPS TO BE FOLLOWED BEFORE AND AFTER TAKING TESTS

  • Determine whether or not tests are required before registering for certain courses.
  • Determine whether or not optional tests are appropriate, considering your academic background and previous learning experiences.
  • Obtain test descriptions and study for the tests.
  • Decide which tests to take before arriving on campus. In choosing a test date, students should consider when they will be best prepared to take the test and when they will need test scores. The test retake policy should also be considered.
  • If tests are taken before coming to UTA:
    • List UTA as a score recipient and the testing company will send an official score report directly to UTA.
    • Keep a copy of the score report to present, if necessary, to your advisor when registering for courses.
    • Compare your score with the level of performance required on the test you took to earn credit by examination.
  • In order to have credit by examination appear on a student's academic record, the student must login to MyMav and follow the steps outlined here to petition for credit. The petition may be submitted at any time during a student's studies here, but the petition is subject to the provisions of the General Policies.