Credit by Examination (ACT, AP, CLEP, IB)

Entering students and regularly enrolled students may obtain advanced placement with credit in certain courses by obtaining high scores on the appropriate test(s):

ACT English Subtest score of 27-30

ENGL 1010

SAT Critical Reading Subtest score of 610-690

ENGL 1010

ACT English Subtest score of 31 or higher

ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020

SAT Critical Reading Subtest score of 700 or higher

ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020

The ACT code for Tennessee Tech is 4012.  The SAT code is 1804.

A.P. Examination

Score

Course Exemption

Semester Hours

Biology

4
5

BIOL 1010 or 1110
BIOL 1010 & 1020 or BIOL 1110 & 1120

4
8

Calculus (AB)

3

4

MATH 1830

MATH 1910

3

4

Calculus (BC)

3

4

MATH 1910

MATH 1910 & 1920

4

8

Chemistry

4a
5

CHEM 1110 or
CHEM 1010 & 1020
CHEM 1110 & 1120 or CHEM 1010 & 1020

4
8
8

Computer Science A

4 or 5 

CSC 2100, 2101

Economics:  Micro

4 or 5

ECON 2010

3

Economics:  Macro

4 or 5

ECON 2020

3

English Language and Composition

4
5

ENGL 1010
ENGL 1010 & 1020

3
6

Environmental Science

4 or 5

BIOL 3130

4

English Literature and Composition

4

ENGL 2330

3

French Language

3
4 or 5

FREN 1010 & 1020 

FREN 1010, 1020, 2010 & 2020

6
12

German Language

3
4 or 5

GERM 1010 & 1020

GERM 1010, 1020, 2010 & 2020

6
12

Government and Politics:  United States

4 or 5

POLS 1000

3

History (U.S.)

4 or 5

HIST 2010 & 2020

6

History (European)

4 or 5

HIST 1010 & 1020

6

History (World)

 4 or 5

HIST 1110 & 1120

 6

Human Geography

3

GEOG 1120

3

Spanish Language

3
4 or 5

SPAN 1010 & 1020

SPAN 1010, 1020, 2010 & 2020

6
12

Statistics

4 or 5

MATH 1530

3

Physics B

4 or 5

PHYS 2010 & 2020

8

Physics C:  Mechanics

3

4 or 5

PHYS 2010

PHYS 2010 or 2110

4

4 or 3

Physics C:  Electricity and Magnetism

3

4 or 5

PHYS 2020

PHYS 2020 or 2120

4

4 or 3

Psychology

4

PSY 2010

3

aStudents may submit the exam essay portion for departmental evaluation for possible credit in CHEM 1120.
CLEP (College Level Examination Program) - 25 subject matter tests from which to select - credit given in corresponding courses for acceptable scores. Credit is not given for the general examinations. For further information, contact the Admissions Office.

PLTW (Project Lead the Way Credit) –  ENGR 1210 (1 credit hour) will be awarded to secondary school students who participate in the “Project Lead the Way” and achieve a minimum grade 70% on the nationalized “Final Exam on Principles of Engineering”.  The requesting student will need to have his/her test score sent to Tech.

Credit by Examinations - A student who has had sufficient training or experience in a subject to merit the establishment of credit by comprehensive examination, but who has not enrolled in the same, comparable, or higher level course at the college level, may request the privilege of taking a special examination prepared by the department involved. A grade will be recorded on the permanent record.

Non-credit Courses and Professional Certification – Academic credit may be awarded on occasion for professional certification or non-credit courses.  Requests for the award of such credit must be submitted to the appropriate department chairpersons.  As the executor of departmental policy, he or she will evaluate the requests and submit a recommendation to accept or reject them to the college dean and Office of Records for final approval.

The ACT code for Tennessee Tech is No. 4012. The SAT code is No. 1804.

Credit obtained through high test scores on ACT, SAT, CLEP and PLTW receive the grade of "S" for satisfactory and do not affect the student's quality point average. Up to 33 semester hours of credit may be obtained through any combination of advanced placement tests, military equivalency credits, correspondence courses, special departmental examinations, and extension courses. For more detailed information, contact the Office of Admissions or your high school counselor.

Students may wish to earn credit by examination because of prior knowledge they have in a content area. One way of obtaining credit based on examination at Tennessee Tech is by taking course examinations in the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). Equivalent college credit earned for acceptable scores as defined by Tennessee Tech is listed below. Any student admitted and enrolled at Tennessee Tech may use the CLEP option to earn credit.

The following guidelines are utilized when earning CLEP credit:

  • A maximum of 33 semester hours of credit may be obtained by any combination of correspondence courses, extension courses, special departmental examinations, advanced placement, or military equivalency credits. This includes the CLEP testing program.
  • Transfer students must meet the same guidelines. CLEP credit earned at another institution may not necessarily be transferred as credit to Tennessee Tech.
  • When the student passes the CLEP test, an "S" is placed on the transcript. No grade is awarded if the score is not passing. This CLEP credit will not count in the quality point average.
  • Tennessee Tech does not guarantee the transferability of CLEP credit to other institutions. Certain professional schools either have no policy with regard to CLEP credit or will not accept such credit, especially for courses normally requiring laboratory work.
  • Students may not take the CLEP exam to replace a grade.
  • Students who have completed a higher level course may not take an exam for a lower level course.

The procedure for registering to take a CLEP exam at TTU is as follows:

  • Call the TTU Counseling Center at (931) 372-3331 to request an application form and information. You may also view the Counseling Center's current testing schedule online at www.tntech.edu/counsel/clep/.
  • The completed CLEP application form and the $15 administration fee should be mailed to the Counseling Center prior to the desired exam date. If registering by mail, the $15 administration fee must be paid by check or money order made payable to TTU. If you come to the Counseling Center to register, you may pay with cash, check or money order made payable to TTU. After your registration form and fee are received, a confirmation will be sent to you via return mail. Every effort is made to grant the requested exam date; however, since testing slots are filled on a "first-come, first-serve" basis, we cannot guarantee your date of choice.
  • An additional $77 CLEP testing fee will be due on the date of your exam. You may pay this fee by credit card or by personal check made payable to CLEP.

For more general information about the CLEP exam, visit the CLEP website at www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html.

Tennessee Tech accepts score results for the CLEP taken at any examination center authorized to administer the CLEP by the College Entrance Examination Board. The Counseling Center at Tennessee Tech is an authorized testing agent for the CLEP.

Acceptable Scaled Scores on CLEP Tests and Equivalent
Tennessee Tech Courses and Credits
Effective July 1, 2010

ExaminationRequired Minimum Scaled ScoreTennessee Tech CourseTennessee Tech Course NameCredit

Financial Accounting

 50

ACCT 2110

Principles of Financial Accounting

3

Biology

 50

BIOL 1010, 1020 or

Introduction to Biology I, II

8

 

 50

BIOL 1110, 1120

General Zoology, Botany

8

Human Growth & Development

 50

HEC 2200

Development of Young Children:  Conception to Age 9

3

Chemistry

 50

CHEM 1010, 1020 or

Introduction to Chemistry I, II

8

 

 50

CHEM 1110, 1120

General Chemistry I, II

8

Information Systems and Computer Applications

 50

Decision Sciences (DS) Elective

 

3

Microeconomics, Principles of

 50

ECON 2010

Principles of Microeconomics

3

Macroeconomics, Principles of

 50

ECON 2020

Principles of Macroeconomics

3

Educational Psychology, Introduction to

 50

EDPY 2200

Educational Psychology

3

College Composition1

 50

ENGL 1010, 1020

Writing I, II

6

American Literature

 50

ENGL 2130

American Literature

3

English Literature

 50

ENGL 2230

British Literature

3

French Language, College-Level (2 and 4 semesters)

 50

FREN 1010, 1020

Elementary French I, II

6

 

 59

FREN 1010, 1020, 2010, 2020

Elementary French I, II, Transition to Intermediate French, Intermediate French

6

German Language, College-Level (2 and 4 semesters)

 50

GERM 1010, 1020

Elementary German I, II

6

 

 60

GERM 1010, 1020, 2010, 2020

Elementary German I, II, Transition to Intermediate German, Intermediate German

12

Western Civilization I:  Ancient Near East to 1648

 50

HIST 1010

Survey of European Civilization I

3

Western Civilization II:  1648 to the Present

 50

HIST 1020

Survey of European Civilization II

3

History of the United States I:  Early Colonization to 1877

 50

HIST 2010

American History I

3

History of the United States II:  1685 to Present

 50

HIST 2020

American History II

3

College Algebra

 50

MATH 1130

College Algebra

3

Precalculus

 50

MATH 1710

Pre-Calculus I

3

Calculus

 50

MATH 1910

Calculus I

4

American Government

 50

POLS 1000

American Government

3

Psychology, Introductory

 50

PSY 2010

General Psychology

3

Sociology, Introductory

 50

SOC 1010

Introduction to Sociology

3

Spanish Language, College-Level (2 and 4 semesters)

 50

SPAN 1010, 1020

Elementary Spanish I, II

6

 

 63

SPAN 1010, 1020, 2010, 2020

Elementary Spanish I, II, Transition to Intermediate Spanish, Intermediate Spanish

12

 

1

The CLEP essay is required.

2

To receive credit for the examination, the exam must be taken prior to enrolling in any basic engineering, decision science or computer science course.

The University recognizes the International Baccalaureate diploma and individual IB courses by awarding credit on IB higher level examinations.  Some standard level examinations may also be considered for credit.

Standard-Level IB Courses

International Baccalaureate Course

Minimum Required Score

TTU Equivalent

Credit
Hours Earned

Art A (SL)

4

Art Studio Elective

3

 

5

ART 1030

3

 

6 or 7

ART 1030, studio elective

3, 3

Art B (SL)

5 – 7

ART 1030

3

Chemistry (SL)

5 - 7

CHEM 1010, 1020

8

Economics (SL)

6 or 7

ECON 2010, 2020

6

French A1 (SL)

6

FREN 1010, 1020

6

 

7

FREN 2010, 2020

6

German A1 (SL)

6

GERM 1010, 1020

6

 

7

GERM 2010, 2020

6

Language A1 (SL)

6

ENGL 1010

3

 

7

ENGL 1010, 1020

6

Further Mathematics

No credit awarded

Mathematical Studies (SL)

No credit awarded

Mathematics (SL)

5

MATH 1710

3

Mathematics (SL)

6

MATH 1710, MATH 1830

3, 3

Music A (SL)

5

No credit

 

 

6 or 7

MUS 1030

3

Philosophy (SL)

No credit awarded

Physics (SL)

No credit awarded

Psychology (SL)

5 - 7

PSY 2010

3

Spanish (SL)

6

SPAN 1010, 1020

6

 

7

SPAN 2010, 2020

6

Theatre Arts (SL)

5 - 7

THEA 1030

3

Higher-Level IB Courses

International Baccalaureate CourseMinimum Required ScoreTTU EquivalentCredit Hours Earned

Art (HL)

5

Studio Elective

3

 

6 or 7

Up to six credit hours studio elective with portfolio review

 

Biology (HL)

5 - 7

BIOL 1010, 1020 or BIOL 1110, 1120

8

Chemistry (HL)

5 - 7

CHEM 1110, 1120

8

Economics (HL)

5 - 7

ECON 2010, 2020

6

French A1 (HL)

5

FREN 1010, 1020

6

 

6 or 7

FREN 2010, 2020

6

German A1 (HL)

5

GERM 1010, 1020

6

 

6 or 7

GERM 2010, 2020

6

History (HL)

5 - 7

Lower-division history elective

3

Language A1 (HL)

5

ENGL 1010

3

 

6 or 7

ENGL 1010, 1020

6

Mathematics (HL)

5 – 7

MATH 1730, MATH 1910

5, 4

Philosophy (HL)

5 – 7

PHIL 1030

3

Physics (HL)

5 – 7

PHYS 2010, 2020

8

Spanish A1 (HL)

5

SPAN 1010, 1020

6

 

6 or 7

SPAN 2010, 2020

6

Theatre Arts (HL)

5 – 7

THEA 1030

3

 

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