Students have the opportunity to gain three to six credits toward their degree for $118.
“How do I do this?” you might wonder. The answer is the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). It is a standardized test meant to assess the knowledge of a student and determine whether or not they can skip the subject to which the test pertains. Any current Colorado Mesa University (CMU) student has the opportunity to register and take any of the available CLEP tests right here on campus. CMU is a registered testing center with the College Board Association.
There are some limitations to what tests a student can take. According to the CMU testing center’s webpage: “A student may not earn CLEP credit in a class in which they have previously been enrolled including a class from which the student withdrew so that the transcript shows a Withdrawn (W), Withdraw Passing (WP) or Withdraw Failing (WF).”
To register for a test a student must create a college board account by going to the CLEP section of the College Board website. After that, you may find the topic you wish to test out of and pay the $93 registration fee. College Board will then give you a registration ticket which you will need to bring with you to the Testing Center on your test date.
Once you have acquired the ticket, visit the testing center’s website and click the URL labeled RegisterBlast. This will take you to a page from which you schedule an appointment with the Testing Center itself. This is very important! A student must register through the College Board and then through the Testing Center.
The Testing Center charges an additional $25 proctoring fee for the test, which will be billed directly to the student’s E-pay account. Students are encouraged and are recommended to study before taking a CLEP test. You can buy a comprehensive study guide for each subject directly from the College Board on their website. On the day of testing the student must bring in their registration ticket. Each test typically lasts anywhere between one and a half to two hours depending on what subject matter they are testing on.
Upon completion of the exam, some students may receive their scores right away while others may have to wait up to four weeks. This ultimately depends on the test that is taken. Tests that involve any form of writing topic will not be graded automatically and the students will have to wait. However, most other test scores will be given upon completion.
After that, there is nothing more the student needs to do. The scores are directly sent over to the Registrar’s office here on campus where they will be reviewed. If a student passed, that will be reflected on their transcripts as credit for the class(es) the exam is replacing.
Just like that, any student can advance their college career just a little further. The CLEP exams are preferable to paying just over $1,000 for in-state students and $2,600 for out-of-state students for three credits. In just a few hours, you can test out of any subject matter in which you already have a good understanding.
