College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
The university cooperates with the College Board in this program, through which credit may be awarded for the CLEP subject examinations that have been approved by the academic departments as appropriate measures of academic achievement in their courses. Elective credit may be granted for examinations covering material which is not the substantial equivalent of any specific Western Carolina University course. These elective credits may be applied toward graduation requirements if the student fulfills certain liberal studies requirements or complies with other conditions prescribed by the appropriate deans and department heads. The subject examinations also may be used to validate credits earned at unaccredited institutions or courses taken through military service and to earn credit for courses failed at the university or other institutions.
Subject examinations that are repeated within less than one year from the date of previous testing will not be considered for credit. Credits earned through CLEP will be posted on the transcript, but no grades are recorded. The student’s GPA will not be affected. Duplicate credit is not awarded in any case. CLEP credits earned at other institutions will be evaluated in the same manner as the equivalent courses at those institutions. The same policies and procedures used in evaluating the applicability of other advanced-standing and transfer credits toward a degree will be applied.
The following is a list of Subject Examinations of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) for which Western Carolina University may award academic credit. In order to receive credit for a CLEP subject exam, the candidate must achieve a score equivalent to the American Council on Education (ACE) recommended credit granting score of 50 on computer based tests. Non-computer based testing (prior) to July 2001, requires a minimum score equivalent to the 50th percentile or the minimum ACE recommended score.
For more information about CLEP and other exams offered by WCU, please contact Continuing Education at 828-227-7397 or visit http://www.wcu.edu/26401.asp.
| Subject Examination | WCU Equivalent | Sem. Hrs. Credit |
| Accounting, Financial | ACCT 251 | 3 |
| American Literature | Humanities (P4) | 3 |
| American Government | PSC 150 | 3 |
| Analyzing & Interpreting Literature | N/A | |
| Biology, General | BIOL 103 | 3 |
| Calculus | MATH 153 | 4 |
| Chemistry, General | CHEM 132, 140 | 8 |
| College Algebra | MATH 130 | 3 |
| College Mathematics | MATH 101 | 3 |
| College Composition | ENGL 101, 102 | 6 |
| French Coll Level 1 (2 sem) | FREN 101,102 | 6 |
| French Coll Level 2 (4sem) | FREN 231,232 | 6 |
| German Coll Level 1 (2 sem) | GER 101, 102 | 6 |
| German Coll Level 2 (4 sem) | GER 231,232 | 6 |
| Hist. of US I | HIST 231 | 3 |
| Hist. of US II | HIST 232 | 3 |
| Human Growth & Development | BK 363 | 3 |
| Humanities | Humanities (P4) | 3 |
| Information Systems & Computer Applications | CIS 251 | 3 |
| Intro. Business Law | LAW 230 | 3 |
| Macroeconomics, Principle | ECON 232 | 3 |
| Management, Principle | MGT 300 | 3 |
| Marketing, Principle | MKT 301 | 3 |
| Microeconomics, Principle | ECON 231 | 3 |
| Natural Sciences | BIOL 105 + ELECTIVE | 6 |
| Pre-calculus | MATH 146 | 4 |
| Psychology, Introductory | PSY 150 | 3 |
| Social Sciences & History | ELECTIVE | 3 |
| Sociology, Introductory | SOC 103 | 3 |
| Spanish Coll Level 1 (2 sem) | SPAN 101,102 | 6 |
| Spanish Coll Level 2 (4 sem) | SPAN 231,232 | 6 |
| Western Civilization I | HIST 221 | 3 |
| Western Civilization II | HIST 222 | 3 |
| Raw score of 50 required |