Deadlines for CBE Testing and Claiming Credit

Deadlines for CBE Testing

The deadlines (by claiming date, as outlined below) for credit to be applied to each session are:

• Spring: May 31
• Summer: August 31
• Fall: December 31

Graduating seniors who need CBE credit to meet their graduation requirements should check with their program’s office to find out if they have deadlines that precede these.

The testing center at Texas State University (TEMC) closes for approximately two weeks at the end of December every year for Winter Break, and on other recognized holidays, so the deadlines to test for students who wish to test on campus may be earlier than the above. Please check university calendars for specific closure dates.

For CLEP exams taken at other testing centers, TEMC will consider the date that official score reports are received as the date that credit is claimed, unless the student submits a CBE Registration Form and a photocopy of the unofficial score report with a passing score prior to that, in which case the date of receipt of those two documents will be considered the date of the claim. The CBE Registration Form can be requested by email at testingcenter@txstate.edu. When taking CLEP at another testing center, the student should select Texas State as the official score recipient. CLEP will send the official score report to TEMC.

Reporting CBE Credit

Once a student claims credit at the Testing Center, TEMC will report the credit to the Registrar’s Office where it will become part of the student’s official academic record. Applying the credit to the student’s Texas State transcript may take up to three weeks after the official score report is received.

Accommodations

• Students with disabilities who may require accommodations for tests to be taken in the TEMC testing lab (not in ATSD) or the Testing Center, Round Rock (not DS testing) must contact the Office of Disability Services (512.245.3451) prior to taking the test. Verification of disability will be required.
• It is the responsibility of the examinee to inform the proctor on duty in the testing lab prior to the start of any test of any accommodations that need to be applied.
• All examinees who require accommodations must complete a SM Accommodated Testing Request Form to test at our San Marcos facility or the TCRR Accommodated Testing Request Form to test at our Round Rock facility at least two weeks prior to the desired exam date. Requests will be processed within two business days. Please note our testing lab hours and available start times for the exam you wish to take when selecting your appointment time and make sure to take into account additional time you may need.

Texas State University Credit-By-Examination Policies

Applying CBE Credit

In general, credit-by-exam will be awarded as “credit only” (CR) and will not affect a student's GPA; however, grades of A or B in addition to CR may be awarded by the Department of Modern Languages for the French, German, and Spanish CLEP exams to recognize superior achievement. Letter grades, if awarded, will be included in the GPA. In cases where grades of A or B may be awarded, the student will have the option to request that a CR be awarded instead.

Credit-by-exam satisfies degree requirements in the same way as does credit earned by passing courses except that is does not count as credit earned in residence. Credit for graduate courses cannot be earned via examination.

Credit earned via credit by exam at another post-secondary institution and included on their transcript for students transferring to Texas State will be evaluated for transfer eligibility in the same manner as other traditional course credit.

Unsuccessful Attempts and Retakes

Students may retake an exam only after three (3) months have elapsed. Certain credit examinations may have a limit in the number of attempts permitted.

Unsuccessful attempts to earn credit by examination will not be recorded on the transcript or other official records except as needed to record the number and date of test attempts.

Requirements

Any prerequisites for a course must be satisfied prior to the examination in that course.

The credit-by-exam program requires the passing of a nationally normed or local test such as CLEP, AP, or a departmental exam or a combination.

Cut Scores and Course Equivalencies

Credit-by-exam performance standards are set by the department in which the courses are taught. These standards hold university wide and cannot be raised or lowered by other departments or schools.

If a department chooses not to award course credit for one of their courses on the basis of CLEP, IB, AP or other CBE exams, no other program, school, department, or administrative unit within the university can accept CLEP scores for that course.

Credit-Bearing-Exams (CBE) such as CLEP, AP, IB, or ACTFL may be taken at locations other than Texas State University; however, credit will be evaluated based upon Texas State's criteria.

Exceptions

Special circumstances regarding credit-by-examination taken at Texas State will be considered by the relevant academic department and the Testing, Evaluation, and Measurement Center (TEMC) on an individual student basis. Special circumstances regarding the transfer of credit-by-examination to Texas State will be considered by the department, TEMC, and the Office of Admissions on an individual student basis.

The Department of Occupational, Workforce, and Leadership Studies may offer some additional credit-by-exam options for students in that program.

Updates and Changes to CBE Policy

CBE Policies and Procedures, including cut scores, exams accepted for credit, and course credit(s) earned may be changed by the authorized academic department without prior notice. Each department is expected to review its credit-by-examination procedures on an annual basis. However, formal policy and procedural changes will be made every two years with the implementation of the new catalog.

Provost's CBE Policies

For the Texas State University Provost's Policies and Procedures statement about credit-by-exam, see their Policy and Procedures page.

Texas State will support the award of credit for the College Board Advanced Placement Program. However, departments are responsible for selecting the courses to receive credit and the appropriate cut-off scores.