Many AU students have never heard of the College Level Examination Program — a College Board-administered test that can accelerate education at a lower price.
The tests, more commonly referred to as CLEP exams, are catered to students who feel they have already mastered the material they would have to cover at their university. Students who take the exams have generally acquired their college-level knowledge from independent studies, advanced high school courses and on-the-job training and cultural pursuits, according to CollegeBoard.com.
The cost per credit hour at AU is $1,148. Therefore, if students pass a CLEP exam — which carries a $72 price tag — in place of a three-hour credit course, they will save $3,372.
The exams cover 32 topics, according to CollegeBoard.com, but AU only accepts five of them as replacements for general education courses, according to Jamie J. Wyatt, assistant director of General Education. These subjects include American government, general chemistry, introduction to macroeconomics, introduction to microeconomics and introduction to sociology. The only CLEP testing center at a D.C. college is the Catholic University of America, according to the College Board Web site.
Students must achieve a score of 75 out of 80 or higher in order to obtain the general education credit, according to the “Exam Equivalencies” undergraduate advising document. Once students have submitted their scores, the exams are forwarded to their corresponding departments for review, Wyatt said. The department faculty members then decide if the test was rigorous enough to prove the students have a firm handle on the material, thus exempting them from taking the course.
“It takes motivation and focus to prepare for a CLEP exam. Many students would prefer not to take an examination without formal instruction,” Executive Director of CLEP Ariel Foster said. “In short, they are ‘not for everyone.’”
CLEP was established in 1967, according to Foster, and despite any financial and logistical benefits the exams may offer students, they are not well known among the AU student body. Questions about CLEP exams almost never reach Wyatt.
“As long as I’ve been in this office, I’ve never gotten any articulation about a CLEP exam,” she said.
In addition to testing students, College Board offers free CLEP exams to Active Duty and Reserve military personnel. Military veterans may also seek reimbursement from exam fees, according to the College Board Web site. The exam also appeals to working adults who want to obtain a degree, international students who wish to demonstrate their knowledge overseas and people changing careers.
Kristianna George, a freshman in the Kogod School of Business, said she is not familiar with the CLEP exams and would have been interested in taking them in order to save money.
“I’ve heard about them, but I don’t really know what they are and I’ve never taken them,” she said.
Kelsey Cadden, a sophomore in the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs, said she had heard of getting course credits for Advanced Placement and SAT II examinations, but never for CLEP. However, she said if she had known about them, she might have tried taking one for physics, a class she currently enrolled in but also took in high school.
“I think AU students like to take classes for their major instead of [general education courses] which have nothing to do with what they’re studying,” Cadden said.
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