Undergraduate Admissions

Credit by Exam: CLEP

Credit obtained through high test scores on ACT, SAT, CLEP and PLTW receive a grade of “S” for satisfactory and does not affect the student’s GPA. Up to 60 semester hours of credit may be obtained through any combination of AP tests, military equivalency credits, correspondence courses, special departmental examinations, and extension courses. 

 

CLEP (College Level Examination Program)

Students may wish to earn credit by examination for prior knowledge they have in an area of study. One way to obtain credit based on examination is to take course examinations in the CLEP. Students may receive credit for certain CLEP examinations with an acceptable score. Credit is not given for the general examinations. For information on specific tests and credit awarded, see the table at the bottom of the page.

 

PLTW (Project Lead the Way Credit)

ENGR 1210 (1 credit hour) will be awarded to secondary school students who participate in “Project Lead the Way” and achieved a minimum grade of 70% on the nationalized “Final Exam on Principles of Engineering.”  The requesting student will need to have their scores sent to Tennessee Tech.

 

Credit by Examination

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 their 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, they will evaluate the request and submit a recommendation to the college dean and Office of Records for final approval. 

 

• Guidelines for Earning CLEP Credit

  • A maximum of 60 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, a grade of “S” for satisfactory is placed on the transcript. No grade is awarded if the score is not passing. This CLEP credit does not affect the student’s GPA.
  • 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.

• Registering for the CLEP Exam

  • Examinees must use the CLEP website http://clep.collegeboard.org/started to register for the exam. Follow the online instructions for registration.
  • You will pay $95.00* online to CLEP for each test you choose to take. You can only register for one exam per testing date. Examinees will receive a payment number and voucher that they must present on the day of their scheduled exam. *Effective 7/1/24. Until then, $93.00 for all exams purchased through 6/30/2024.
  • To reserve a test date, click here to schedule.
  • The College of Education administers the CLEP tests for a fee of $25 per test. This payment is due before day the exam is administered. You may pay this application fee by clicking here.

Scaled Scores on CLEP Tests and Equivalent Tech Courses and Credits
Effective September 1, 2019

 

Examination	Required Minimum Score	Tennessee Tech Course	Credit
Financial Accounting	50	ACCT 2110	3
Biology	50	BIOL 1010 & 1020 or BIOL 1113 & 1123	8
Human Growth and Development	50	HEC 2200	3
Chemistry	50	CHEM 1010 & 1020 or CHEM 1110 & 1120	8
Information Systems*	50	DS 2810	3
Microeconomics, Principles of	50	ECON 2010	3
Macroeconomics, Principles of	50	ECON 2020	3
Educational Psychology, Introduction to	50	EDPY 2210	3
College Composition**	50	ENGL 1010 & 1020	6
American Literature	50	ENGL 2130, Sophomore Literature	6
English Literature	50	ENGL 2235, Sophomore Literature	6
French Language, College-Level (2 and 4 semesters)	50	FREN 1010 & 1020	6
	59	FREN 1010, 1020, 2010 & 2020	12
German Language, College-Level (2 and 4 semesters)	50	GERM 1010 & 1020	6
	60	GERM 1010, 1020, 2010 & 2020	12
Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648	50	HIST 2210	3
Western Civilization II: 1648 to Present	50	HIST 2220	3
History of the United States I: Early Colonization to 1877	50	HIST 2010	3
History of the United States II: 1865 to Present	50	HIST 2020	3
College Algebra	50	MATH 1130	3
Precalculus	50	MATH 1710	3
Calculus	50	MATH 1910	4
American Government	50	POLS 1030	3
Psychology, Introductory	50	PSY 1030	3
Sociology, Introductory	50	SOC 1010	3
Spanish Language, College-Level (2 and 4 semesters)	50	SPAN 1010 & 1020	6
	63	SPAN 1010, 1020, 2010 & 2020	12
Spanish with Writing (Level 1)	50	SPAN 1010 and 1020	6
Spanish with Writing (Level 2)	65	SPAN 1010, 1020, 2010 and 2020	12

*To receive credit for the examination, the exam must be taken prior to enrolling in basic engineering, decision science or computer science course.
**The CLEP essay is required.