Departmental Exams

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English Credit by Examination

Credit may be earned at WKU through the following examination programs:

• Advanced Placement Program (AP)
• American College Testing Program (ACT)
• Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
• Departmental examinations developed by WKU departmental faculty committees

What is the difference between the CLEP and departmental exams?

CLEP is a national, standardized examination administered through WKU's Counseling and Testing Center. Students who want to test using the CLEP procedure should contact Counseling and Testing at 270-745-3159. The English departmental exams are created and graded by English Department faculty. Students who wish to take a departmental exam should read on.

Requirements for taking the departmental exam:

A student must be fully matriculated, in good standing, and regularly enrolled at WKU. Credits earned in this manner will be recorded on the student's official transcript but will not be considered as a part of the normal semester load in the term in which the examination is taken.

A student may not register for a departmental examination for a course while he or she is enrolled in that course.

A student may not take a departmental examination for a course that has been previously attempted at WKU or at another accredited institution.

IMPORTANT:

Information about each of the available exams is presented below. All students, however, should note that because this work is intended to gauge relative mastery of the knowledge and skills of a full semester course, credit is not granted for performances that might qualify as a weak pass in the work of an actual section of the course; credit will be granted only for strong work that clearly indicates the examinee has a solid background in the scope of the course. Students are advised to undertake departmental exams only if they have reason to believe they can be successful by virtue of having appropriate background and skill, not merely in vague hopes of avoiding the work of a course.

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English 100

The College Composition CLEP test is the designated departmental examination for credit for English 100. Interested students should contact the WKU Counseling and Testing Center (270-745-3159) for guidelines. 

English 200

The Counseling and Testing Center administers the departmental exam for English 200.  Students wishing to attempt credit for English 200 should look at the "English 200  Department Exam" information in the alphabetical listing of available tests on their RegisterBlastpage. Click here  for the English 200 Departmental Exam Study Guide.  Effective fall semester 2015, the English Department no longer awards credit for the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP Exam.

English 300

The English 300 exam has been discontinued.

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After testing has been completed, the English Department will notify the Registrar in writing as to whether or not the student demonstrated acceptable proficiency. If the department recommends that credit be granted, the semester hours earned will be recorded on the official transcript. However, the credit will not be used in computing the grade point average since letter grades will not be assigned.

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