Examinations to Earn Credits

Policy on Examinations for Credit and Proficiency

EXAMINATIONS FOR CREDIT AND PROFICIENCY
The University of Minnesota offers "proficiency examinations" and "special examinations for credit" to currently registered undergraduate degree-seeking students which are given at the discretion of the appropriate academic department.

1. Proficiency Examinations shall be administered by the appropriate academic department, require no fee, and yield no credit or grade but may fulfill prerequisites for advanced courses or satisfy requirements. Proficiency examinations may be taken at any time, and if the student's work is of passing quality, a notation shall be made on his/her transcript saying "Course X satisfied by proficiency examination." A student may not first take a University of Minnesota course and earn a grade, subsequently take a proficiency exam for that course content, and then request that the original course grade be bracketed from the transcript.

2. Examinations for Credit are assessed a $50 per credit fee. All requirements (e.g., application completed, fee paid, departmental test administered and scored) for these examinations must be completed and all paperwork submitted to the Office of the Registrar no later than the last day to add a class for that term . Materials received after the deadline date will be effective in the following term. Credits earned by examination shall not count as residence credits. A student may not first take a University of Minnesota course and earn a grade, subsequently take an examination for credit for that course content, and then request that the original course grade be bracketed from the transcript.

Applications for these examinations may be obtained in the Office of the Registrar.

A student must do "C-" quality work on an "examination for credit" to earn credit, and a notation shall be placed on the transcript showing the course and credits earned. Effective fall 1999, examinations for credit earn the letter "T." These credits will be included in the cumulative credits (but not term credits) but the "T" grade will not be reflected in either the term or cumulative grade point average. If the student fails to do "C-" quality work on the examination, no notation shall be made on the transcript.

The "examination" administered by a department may be a typical final examination, an oral test, written papers or projects, or any other combination of work which will satisfy the examiners that the student has adequately achieved the values of the course.