Undergraduate Bulletin > Academic Regulations & Policies > Placement Exams
Placement Examinations
Placement tests are administered each summer during orientation (SOAR) and each semester during the advising and registration period by the departments concerned.
The results of placement tests in French, Latin, and Spanish are binding for student placement in courses. Students may enroll in mathematics courses at the level at which they place or in lower level courses. Students will neither receive credit nor will they be exempt from University distribution requirements based on their performance on the tests.
American Sign Language Placement Examinations
All students who have had prior experience with American Sign Language in high school or elsewhere, or who are deaf or hard of hearing and consider themselves native signers, or who are transfer students must take the placement exam to enroll in SES 102 American Sign Language II through SES 306 American Sign Language VI. The American Sign Language placement exam is offered at the beginning of each semester. The test takes approximately one hour to an hour and a half and is a written and performance exam. A study guide and additional information is provided on the Professions in Deafness Program Web site: www.uncg.edu/ses/ses_deaf/
French, Latin, and Spanish Placement Tests
Students who started French, Latin, or Spanish in secondary school and who are beginning their study of that language at UNCG must take a placement test. All transfer students returning to the study of French, Latin, or Spanish begun in high school but not previously pursued at the college level must also take the placement test. Students who are transferring credits in these languages from another college need not take the test in order to continue the same language at UNCG. See Romance Languages for more information about the French and Spanish placement tests.
Mathematics Placement Test
There is no prerequisite for MAT 112, 115, and 150; hence, no student is required to take the Mathematics Placement Test. See http://www.uncg.edu/mat/undergraduate/mathplacetest.html.
Science or Business majors with very strong backgrounds in precalculus or calculus should consult (at least two months prior to the beginning of a semester via matplace@uncg.edu) with the Department of Mathematical Sciences in order to discuss the possibility of taking the Mathematics Placement Test.
Placement Without Credit
Students with exceptional ability are encouraged to take examinations for placement without credit in order to take advantage of opportunities for advanced courses and for individual research or other creative endeavors.
Examinations for placement without credit will be administered by the departments or schools concerned. It is recommended that departments or schools make available to interested students reading lists and other source material that might assist the students in preparing for the examination.
Passing an examination of this type will not alter the number of hours required in that area or subject. Successful completion of an examination for placement at the 100 level in the student’s major field shall have the effect of increasing the number of hours accepted toward graduation above the 100 level by the number of hours so waived.
In all cases in which requirements of prerequisites are waived, by placement examination or other means, this fact should be reported in writing by the appropriate department head to the University Registrar's Office and should be entered on the student’s record.
Special Examination for Credit
In exceptional circumstances, students may attempt to establish academic credit through a Special Examination upon the recommendation of the department or school and under the supervision of the University Registrar.
Only those courses that are designated by the department or school may be credited by special examination. The department or school shall administer a written examination, except in cases where mastery of techniques may be demonstrated in other formats. Applications for the exam shall be made to the University Registrar with the written permission of the head of the department or school, at least 30 days before the examination. A nonrefundable fee will be charged, and is payable in the Cashiers and Student Accounts Office.
Examinations must be taken before the last semester or 12-week summer session preceding the completion of the student’s degree requirements. Students may not be tested in material for which they received high school credit, and transfer students may not extend the number of hours allowed in transfer by this method. Credit will not be given for a prerequisite to a course for which the student has already received credit. No examination may be given in a course for which the student has registered for audit.
No more than 12 semester hours may be earned toward graduation by this procedure. The School of Nursing has a special exemption to present 30 semester hours by the Special Examination Program. Credits earned in this manner may not be used to fulfill residency requirements.
A student must consult in advance with the faculty advisor and with the head of the department or school concerned and file evidence of having prepared for the exam. Assistance should be given to the student in developing reading lists and other source material.
Results of all examinations shall be reported to the Registrar before the first day of the next registration period. Credit, but no grade points, will be granted when the level of performance is C or better.
