Credit by Examination

Overview

Person taking test.

TMCC recognizes the fact that students accumulate a great deal of information outside the classroom without formal instruction. There are times when this information may be extensive enough to satisfy the requirement of certain courses offered by the College.

Note that if a student has taken a higher level class that is subsequent to the one they want to test out of, the credit by examination would not be permitted (example: student received permission to enroll in or has completed Spanish 212 and now would like to take the credit by examination test for Spanish 112 credit; this would not be permitted because Spanish 112 is a lower level class than Spanish 212).

Credit by examination is not considered as part of a student's resident credit requirement and is not considered as part of the credit load carried by a student. All credits earned through examination are on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis, and therefore are not included in a student's GPA.

Policies of the College relating to credit by examination are stated in the TMCC Catalog under Transfer Credit Policy on the Evaluation of Previous Training and Education. Changes to the list of courses eligible for credit by exam must be approved through Academic Affairs.

Departmental Exam Procedures

  1. Student reviews current courses eligible for credit by exam. Only examinations on the current approved list of courses eligible for credit by exam may be applied for.
  2. Student completes and signs required petition form for desired exam. If questions arise about applicability of credits, student should contact the appropriate division.
  3. Student submits completed, signed petition form with a check for fee payment.
  4. Admissions and Records personnel review petition form and if approved, fee is sent to Accounting Services/Cashier’s Office, and completed form is sent to the appropriate division.
  5. The department notifies student of approval to test, and schedules the student for a date to take requested exam.
  6. Department grades the completed test as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and returns the form to Admissions and Records.
  7. If the student has successfully passed the exam, Admissions and Records personnel post information to the student's permanent record. The exam credit will show up on the transcript as a note rather than part of that semester's regular class credit. Credits earned by exam only count within TMCC and are not transferable.
  8. A student may not re-take a departmental examination. Credit by examination may not transfer to other colleges and universities.
  9. From the time of application to take a departmental examination, a student has one full semester in which to complete the examination.