Credit by Examination
Degree- or certificate-seeking students who can demonstrate ability and knowledge in a particular subject may establish credit in certain courses without enrolling in them. They accomplish this by taking a special examination or performing a special assignment, or both, through the appropriate academic unit. If the unit’s faculty have determined the student successfully completed the exam or assignment in place of the course, the student is awarded the full credit hours for the course, but not a grade (the “CR” mark is displayed next to the course on the student’s transcript and is not calculated into the student’s GPA).
Credit by Examination (CBE) is a Kent State program, separate from the national and university-accepted alternative credit programs (e.g., AP, IB, CLEP).
Kent State credit-by-examination options and their Banner codes are listed below:
- Credit by Exam—Available (A): Eligible students may earn credit for the course through a faculty-administered exam.
- Credit by Exam—Department Approval (D): Eligible students may earn credit for the course through a faculty-administered exam. The department reserves the right to approve the students who can take the exam.
- Credit by Exam—Not Approved (N): Students may not earn credit for the course through a faculty-administered exam.
To approve or revise a course for credit by examination, faculty must submit a course revision proposal. Once a course is approved for CBE, faculty in the course’s academic unit are responsible for administrating the exam.
The full Credit-by-Examination policy can be found in the University Catalog. A list of courses currently approved for CBE and the application form to earn CBE can be found on the The Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center website.
