CREDIT BY EXAMINATION - ENGLISH 316K

Policies Effective for the Academic Year 2008-2009*

*This is to be used as a guide only. Policies are subject to change.

UT Austin provides you with the opportunity to earn course credit by examination. Such credit will satisfy degree requirements in the same way as credit earned by passing a course, except that it will not count as credit earned in residence. Although you may take tests before you enroll in UT Austin, you must be a currently or previously enrolled student in order to receive credit. Unsuccessful attempts to earn credit by examination will not become part of your official transcript.

Faculty members in the Department of English select the tests, set the levels of performance required for credit, and specify who is eligible to take the tests. DIIA-Student Testing Services assists the department by communicating policies, giving the tests, and reporting the credit.

TESTS USED BY UT AUSTIN

Students who wish to attempt to earn credit by examination in English 316K have the following options:

• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Subject Examination in American or English Literature with UT Austin essay section based on American or English Literature
• College Board Advanced Placement Examination in English Literature and Composition
• International Baccalaureate Higher-Level Examination in English: Language A1 or A2

COLLEGE LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM (CLEP) SUBJECT EXAMINATION
IN AMERICAN OR ENGLISH LITERATURE WITH UT AUSTIN ESSAY

In order to earn credit by examination, you must receive a satisfactory score on both the 90-minute objective portion of the CLEP Subject Examination and the 90-minute UT Austin essay portion, as well as a satisfactory composite score from both sections. The objective and essay portions of the test must be on the same literary tradition-either American or English Literature.

Level of Performance Required for Credit

The CLEP Subject Examinations have a score range of 20-80. Because eligibility for credit is not based on CLEP scores alone, no minimum satisfactory CLEP scores are listed in this handout.

TEST ADMINISTRATION

LIMITED TEST CENTER ADMINISTRATIONS
All administrations of the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) Subject Examinations use the computer-based test (CBT) format. These administrations are limited to prospective, current, and formerly enrolled students of UT Austin. The CLEP Subject Examination in American and English Literature are offered on campus. The UT Austin essay portion of the examination is administered immediately following the CLEP examination.

Official score reports are sent by the College Board. UT Austin students should list UT Austin as a score recipient to have an official report of your scores sent to UT Austin.

Test Periods: This test is offered on the UT Austin campus during scheduled test periods. This test is offered on the UT Austin campus during scheduled test periods several days before each class registration period.

Test Registration: You must register for a test online.

Test Registration for Students with Disabilities: If you require academic accommodations or assistance due to a documented disability, you should contact these two offices at least five business days before the day of the test:

• Services for Students with Disabilities, in the Office of the Dean of Students at ssd@uts.cc.utexas.edu, http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd/, or (512) 471-6259 to seek approval for authorized accommodations;
• DIIA-Student Testing Services at (512) 232-2662 to register and make arrangements to take the test.

Registration Fee and Test Fee Payment: When you confirm your registration for a test you will be immediately billed a non-refundable test registration fee of $15. In addition, there is a test fee of $70. This fee is made payable directly to CLEP. You will pay the test fee when you arrive to take the test. You may pay with credit card, money order, or check (made payable to CLEP).

Repeating the Test: Neither the CLEP Subject Examination nor the essay portion may be repeated within six months.

Admission to the Test Room: When you register online you will be given the location of your test room. You must present, at the test room, a generally accepted form of identification that includes both your signature and photograph. You should take several sharpened No. 2 pencils to the test room; all other test materials will be provided.

Amount of Time Needed at the Test Administration: The maximum working time for the entire test is 3 hours. This includes 90 minutes for the computer-based objective portion and 90 minutes for the essay portion. You may begin the essay portion after you have completed the 90 minutes allowed for the objective portion; however, if you finish the essay before the end of the 90 minutes, you may leave.

Test Description: You can find a test description for the CLEP Subject Examination in American Literature and English Literature at the College Board web site.

ESSAY SECTION: STATEMENT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, UT AUSTIN

The essay portion consists of two questions. You must demonstrate ability to analyze and explain rather than merely paraphrase or summarize. You must also demonstrate familiarity with literary terms and techniques as well as the history of literature. In addition, the essays must be well organized in terms of both style and content. Frequently, the second question deals with a literary work in a specified genre of your choosing. In this case, it is important that you select a work of generally recognized literary merit, that is, a masterpiece frequently taught in English courses. The essays receive multiple readings by professors and instructors in the Department of English at UT Austin.

E 316K is not merely a course in American or English Literature; it is a historical survey of major works by major writers. Accordingly, you must demonstrate in your essays a thorough and sophisticated familiarity with your selected literary tradition. For the essay to be judged passing in this regard, you must show knowledge about a literary tradition equivalent to what would be learned in a semester of study.

Test Results: Results are available about 15 working days after the test date. Once they are available, results may also be found online.

Score Reports: The UT Austin score report will indicate whether your score qualifies you for credit by examination and, if so, the course grade for which you qualify.

OPEN TEST CENTER ADMINISTRATIONS
The College Board has a nationwide network of centers in which CLEP Examinations are offered. The fee for one CLEP Examination is $65 ($70.00 effective July 1st) plus an additional service fee. (Fees are subject to change.) A complete list of test centers and a test description for the CLEP Subject Examination in American or English Literature are available through the College Board Web page. Prospective or current UT Austin students who elect to take examinations in this type of administration must list UT Austin as a score recipient (code 6882) if they wish scores to be reported here. Approximately two weeks after the test date, score reports are mailed from Princeton, NJ, to you and to the institution you designated as score recipient.

UT AUSTIN ESSAY SECTION FOR THE CLEP SUBJECT EXAMINATIONS IN AMERICAN OR ENGLISH LITERATURE
Your CLEP score report will give only your score on the CLEP American or English Literature Examination. Before your eligibility for E316K credit can be determined, you must arrange to take the UT Austin essay portion of the examination, which is offered only on the UT Austin campus. You may make an appointment to take the UT Austin essay portion by contacting DIIA-Student Testing Services by email or call (512) 232-2662. When you make your appointment, you will need to make arrangements to submit a non-refundable test registration fee of $15. An official copy of your CLEP scores for the American or English Literature Examination must be on file with DIIA-Student Testing Services before you may take the UT Austin essay portion of the examination.

COLLEGE BOARD ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION IN ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

UT Austin also awards credit for English 316K on the basis of the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Examination in English Literature and Composition.

Please note that the AP Examination in English Literature and Composition is used to award credit in sophomore level English literature and cannot be substituted for the required SAT Subject Test In Writing Test. Thus, any grade (passing or failing) on the AP Examination in English Literature and Composition is irrelevant with regard to credit and placement in the first Rhetoric and Writing course RHE 306 (formerly E 306).

The College Board Advanced Placement Examinations are offered once a year in May, usually in high schools that offer College Board Advanced Placement courses. These tests are not offered on the UT Austin campus. Although determined by each school giving the test, registration deadlines are no later than March. Test results are available in July. Please visit the College Board's Web site for current test registration fees at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/cal.html. These tests are not offered on the UT Austin campus.

The AP Examinations are based on course descriptions prepared by The College Board. A course description, which includes sample questions, is available for these examinations at the College Board's Web site www.collegeboard.com/apcentral.

 If a high school in your vicinity is not administering AP Examinations, you can request special testing arrangements by contacting AP Services, Box 6671, Princeton, NJ 08541-6671, 1-888- CALL- 4- AP.

Level of Performance Required for Credit

The College Board AP Examinations have a score range of 1-5. Satisfactory scores for credit are as follows:

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE HIGHER-LEVEL EXAMINATION IN ENGLISH: LANGUAGE A1 or A2

UT Austin also awards credit for English 316K on the basis of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher-Level Examination in English: Language A1 or A2.

Level of Performance Required for Credit

IB examinations have a score range of 1-7. Satisfactory scores for credit by examination are as follows:

PETITIONING/CLAIMING CREDIT

UT Austin students must petition (or claim) their credit to have it appear on their official transcript. DIIA-Student Testing Services reports petitioned credit to the Office of the Registrar.

*POLICIES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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