Alternative Methods for Earning University Credit

ACT Credit

Cumberland University recognizes outstanding performance on the ACT examination by awarding credit for certain scores on the English and Math portions of the exam (and the corresponding score on the SAT). The criteria are:

ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages)

The ACTFL is for students who have successfully completed two or more years of Spanish on the high school level. The fee is the responsibility of the student taking the exam and Cumberland University faculty will determine the appropriate hours of Foreign Language Credit based on the students’ test score. Current rates as of 2011-2012 are as follows:

1. Certified ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) costs $134.00. The Certified Oral Proficiency Interview is administered telephonically by an ACTFL certified tester, double rated, and digitally recorded. Ratings are available within two weeks. The oral test lasts 30 minutes.
2. Certified ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) costs $65.00. The certificate WPT test is available via internet or in booklet form and is rated by two ACTFL certified raters. Ratings are available within two weeks. The WPT is a 90 minute test consisting of 4 out of 5 questions designed to elicit paragraph formed responses. It is entirely human rated.

CEEB Advanced Placement (AP)

Cumberland University participates in the Advanced Placement program of the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) and credit is granted by the appropriate semester hours of credit to qualified freshmen students presenting an official record of a grade of three or above on the appropriate Advanced Placement examination. Semester hour credit in the amount carried by the course or courses from which the student is exempted by the examination will be awarded. Credit by examination may not total more than 30 credit hours (or 25% of the total credits) submitted for a degree.

Cumberland does not automatically accept transfer credit for Advanced Placement Exams, CLEP, PEP, or DANTES from another institution. reserves the right to request and review the original scores before granting credit for any type of examination. Scores from any examination must meet ’s standard for credit. ’s minimum scores for credit for examination can be found below:

Credit by Examination

Up to 30 semester hours of CLEP or DANTES subject examinations will be accepted toward a degree at Cumberland University, as long as the total for credit by examination and correspondence credit does not exceed 25% of the total number of credits submitted for a degree and if the student is not enrolled in his or her last 30 semester hours before graduation. Cumberland University accepts the American Council of Education’s recommended score on a scaled score of 50 for granting credit for courses (except for level two of foreign languages, which require the following scores: French 62; German 63; Spanish 66). is a closed . Please visit the Cumberland University website for additional CLEP examination information or contact the Academic Enrichment Center (AEC).

*NOTE: To receive credit for ENG 102 – Freshman Composition II by CLEP Examination, a student must:

1. Pass the CLEP Examination in English Composition
2. Satisfactorily complete two writing assignments to be created and evaluated by the English faculty of Cumberland University.

To be eligible to take a CLEP Examination, a student must not have been enrolled in the class for which the student wants to receive credit for a period of time longer than the drop date to receive a grade of “W” (the student must have dropped the class before he/she would have received a grade of “WP” or “WF”). CLEP tests may be repeated within the guidelines of the College Level Examination Program.

Cumberland grants university credit in select courses to students who pass a comprehensive examination. Students seeking credit by special examination will be tested over all components of the course. All credit by special examination is governed by the following guidelines:

1. A student can earn a maximum of 30 semester hours by a combination of Advanced Placement testing, DANTES testing, CLEP testing and testing by special examination.
2. The student will be charged a fee of $100.00 for each examination.

Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES)

Students who submit official score reports showing they have earned the minimum required score, as determined by Cumberland University, on DANTES exams considered by Cumberland University to be university-level, will be awarded elective or articulated credit toward their degree.

Experiential Learning Credit

Credit may be awarded in some instances for experiential learning, learning acquired through non-college experience prior to entering or returning to the pursuit of a college degree. Experiential learning may result from such activities as work experience, volunteer work, community service, travel abroad or internationally, or military experience. Students interested in prior learning assessment should contact the Vice President for Academic Affairs. In most cases the assessment will entail development of an extensive, detailed portfolio, course(s), and specific examination(s). Some fees may apply to these instruments of evaluation. No conversion credit may be awarded if the student is enrolled in the last 30 semester hours before graduation, and conversion credit will not be placed on a student’s transcript until payment for credit hours awarded is received. Payment will not be accepted until the semester of graduation, at which time the experiential learning credit will be posted on the transcript. Any credit toward a degree earned in this manner will be designated as experiential learning credit. Conversion credit is awarded only for a degree from Cumberland University and not to exceed 30 credit hours.

Military Education Credit

The American Council on Education Guide will be used to determine the number of semester credit hours which may be awarded for military courses. No military credit will be placed on the student’s transcript until payment of conversion credit fee ($65 per hour) is received. Military education credit cannot exceed 30 credit hours of the total credit hours awarded for a degree at Cumberland University.