CLEP college algebra exam

Hi Folks

My son passed the CLEP college algebra exam with a 55%. He is on his first semester at Florida International University and they told him he would not get credit for his CLEP college algebra exam. They told him that he needed a letter grade in order to receive credit towards his algebra requirement. Does this make any sense to you? Any ideas?

C. Lorie

 

I believe each institution sets its own policies in regard to acceptance of CLEP examinations for credit. It is not a universal thing. Not all CLEP exams are accepted at all higher education institutions. FIU's transfer credit in regard to CLEP exams can be found here:

http://admissions.fiu.edu/clep-print.htm

In your son's case, he definately scored high enough in order to receive credit for the exam at FIU, according to their own policy.

This same question is also addressed at FIU's own web site:

http://cas.fiu.edu/Advising/FAQs/I%20took%20a%20CLEP%20exam.htm

I hope this helps.

 

I would find the section in FIU's catalog regarding CLEP and take it the registrar. Your son will probably only get an S, but he should get credit for it.

Now it could be that they require a letter grade for Algebra in order to register for a higher math, like Calculus. That's what UF does. They require a C or higher and will not take an S. You will still get credit for course with an S, but will have to take it again for a grade if you want to get into calculus.

Sometimes you can get around this by taking a Calculus readiness exam and doing well.

 

At my on-land school, University of Southern Maine, you can get credit for a specific course through CLEP and DSST/DANTES, provided the test matches a course, and if it does not, you can get 3 semester hours of general credit. What you cannot do, however, is meet a university core requirement by testing out. FIU may have told your son something similar. Does it make sense? I guess it does to the administration, but they have not explained their reasoning to the rest of us.

 

Thanks everyone.