Credit by Examination

To reduce the length of time and cost to complete a program of study, students may receive up to 30 combined hours of credit for approved courses towards a Bachelor’s degree or 15 hours towards an Associate of Arts degree through any of the following: CSC 120 Computer Applications Examination, institutional-departmental examinations, the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) subject examinations, the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DSST/DANTES), or the Advanced Placement (AP) program. No grades are recorded for credit by examination.

CSC 120 Computer Applications Examination:
This credit by exam is an option to obtain course credit for computer skills for students who bring work and learning experiences that enable them to demonstrate mastery of Windows, Microsoft Office Suite, and internet/world wide web capabilities. Students will pay $100 to attempt the exam; if students pass the exam they will receive 3 credit hours on their transcript for the CSC 120 course. If students do not pass the exam, the $100 is non-refundable. Credit earned from this examination will not be used to compute the grade point average. The exam may be taken on campus or at selected proctoring sites off campus. Contact the Registrar for more information.

Institutional-Departmental Examinations:
Arrangements for these exams must be made through the deans. Students desiring credit by examination must present evidence of probable success in the examination subject area before permission will be granted. Departmental Credit by Exam is limited to 9 credit hours (unless otherwise stipulated by an articulation agreement in which the student is a participant); a student may not attempt credit by exam for any 400 level course. Credit by Exam must be attempted during the first year a student is enrolled at TU. A $200.00 fee per examination is required, and a copy of the examination and score must be signed by the examination administrator and submitted to the registrar; students achieving a satisfactory score will have the credit or exemption entered on their academic transcript.

Advanced Placement Program:
Advanced Placement courses are offered to high school students by some area high schools. Students interested in receiving such credit should contact their high school guidance counselor or the university registrar. A score of 3 or above on the AP exam is required to earn college credit.

CLEP or DSST/DANTES Subject Examinations:
Thomas University is an examination center. Additional information on (a) CLEP and DSST/DANTES examinations, (b) courses for which CLEP or DSST/DANTES examinations are accepted, and (c) scores required is available from the registrar.

DANTES: Thomas University accepts scores recommended by ACE (American Council on Education) for each subject test. ACE recommends 3 semester hours of credit per test. The cost for this test is $60 for current Thomas University students and $70 for all others. Appointments for test taking are to be made with the Registrar.

The following chart lists passing test scores for each test subject.