You are in the official 2000-2001 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.

Academic Placement

Classification of Students

Student class levels are determined as follows:

Freshmen. Students who have earned a total of fewer than 30 semester units.
Sophomores. Students who have earned a total of 30 to 59 semester units inclusive.
Juniors. Students who have earned a total of 60 to 89 semester units inclusive.
Seniors. Students who have earned 90 semester units or more.
Postbaccalaureate/Graduates. Students who have at least one bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.

Advanced Placement. The Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board permits able high school students to take college-equivalent courses while in high school and, based upon comprehensive qualifying examinations, receive advanced placement and credit at participating universities and colleges. This university grants credit toward its undergraduate degrees for successful completion of examinations of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board. Students who present scores of three or better are granted from 3 to 6 semester units of college credit for each examination. In order to receive credit for these examinations from California State University, Fresno, students must request an official copy of their test results directly from the College Board.

Credits earned through advanced placement are not included among the maximum of 30 units of credit by examination that may be credited toward a bachelor's degree.

International Baccalaureate. Credit is granted for International Baccalaureate Higher Level examination passed with a score of 4 or higher. Contact the Evaluations Office, Joyal Administration Building, Room 115, for further information.

English Placement Test. Unless exempt according to CSU policy, all students enrolling at California State University, Fresno must take the EPT after admission and prior to enrollment. A passing score on the EPT is defined as earning a minimum total score of 151 or a minimum essay score of 8. Exemptions from the test are given only to those students who present proof of one of the following:

• a score of 550 or above on the verbal section of the College Board SAT I* Reasoning Test taken on or after April 1, 1995
• a score of 470 or above on the verbal section of the College Board SAT I* Reasoning Test taken between March 1994 and March 1995
• a score of 470 or above on the verbal section of the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) taken prior to March 1994.
• a score of 24 or above on the enhanced ACT English Test taken October 1989 or later
• a score of 22 or above on the American College Testing (ACT) English Usage Test taken prior to October 1989
• a score of 680 or above on the re-centered and adjusted College Board SAT II: Writing Test taken May 1998 or after**
• a score of 660 or above on the College Board SAT II* Writing Test taken prior to January 1994
• a score of 3, 4, or 5 on either the language and composition or the composition and literature examination of the College Board Scholastic Advanced Placement program
• a score on the CSU English Equivalency Examination that qualifies the student for "Pass for Credit" or "Exemption"
• completion and transfer of a course that satisfies the General Education - Breadth or Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) written communication requirement, provided such course was completed with a grade of C or better

Students who cannot demonstrate basic competence on the EPT exam are required to enroll in ENGL A or, if they are nonnative speakers of English, in the E S L 20-30 series. ENGL A must be completed with a credit grade by the end of the first year of enrollment.

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* The College Board SAT and Achievement Tests were replaced by SAT I and SAT II, respectively, beginning March 1994. Beginning April 1, 1995, the SAT I and SAT II exams are scored on a new scale.

** Beginning in May 1998, SAT II: Writing Test scores were increased about 10 to 20 points. The adjustment was made to make writing test scores more comparable to scores on other SAT II subject tests. Although scores are higher, their relative rank compared to scores for tests taken before May 1998 remain the same.

Entry-level Mathematics Exam. The ELM examination tests students for entry-level mathematics skills acquired through three years of rigorous college preparatory mathematics coursework (normally Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry).

Unless exempt according to CSU policy, all students enrolling at California State University, Fresno must take the ELM after admission and prior to enrollment.

Students may qualify to take the General Education required quantitative reasoning course by taking and passing the ELM examination with a score of 550 or higher.

Lower-division students entering California State University, Fresno must complete the General Education quantitative reasoning requirement by the end of their fourth semester of enrollment or the completion of 60 units, whichever comes later. Students who are making serious and consistent effort to comply may be given extensions. Students who do not meet this requirement or receive extensions will be ineligible to enroll after the completion of 60 units.

Specific policies regarding retesting and placement will be determined by the campus. Exemptions from the test are given only to those students who can present proof of one of the following:

• a score of 550 or above on the mathematics section of the College Board SAT I Reasoning Test or on the College Board SAT II Mathematics Tests Level I, IC (Calculator), II, or IIC (Calculator)
• a score of 23 or above on the American College Testing Mathematics Test
• a score of 3 or above on the College Board Advanced Placement mathematics examination (AB or BC)
• a score of 3 or above on the College Board Advanced Placement Statistics examination
• completion and transfer of a course that satisfies the General Education - Breadth or Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) quantitative reasoning requirement, provided such course was completed with a grade of C or better

EPT and ELM. These tests must be taken after admission and prior to enrollment.

It is the students' responsibility to confirm exemption from either the EPT or ELM exam by completing the appropriate Request for Exemption form available at the Admissions/Records service windows, North Lobby, Joyal Administration Building. The Learning Resource Center, Reentry Center, and Mathematics Department offer options for preparing for the ELM.

Information bulletins and registration materials for the EPT and ELM may be obtained from the Office of Admissions/Records or Testing Services.

Credit by Examination. California State University, Fresno grants credit to those undergraduate students who pass examinations that have been approved for credit systemwide. These include the Advanced Placement Examinations and some CLEP examinations.

Students may challenge our courses by taking examinations developed at the campus. Credit shall be awarded to those who pass them successfully. Credit by examination is designed to encourage regularly enrolled students to seek college credit in courses in which they have competence but for which credit has not been earned by the usual academic processes. This permits students to accelerate their progress and provides an opportunity for wider selection of coursework. The following procedures should be followed:

1. With the concurrence of the department, students may apply for credit by examination in any course in our current General Catalog for which they appear to be reasonably qualified by training or experience and for which college credit has not been previously allowed. Credit by examination is not awarded if credit has been granted for previous coursework more advanced than the level represented by the examination in question. Credit by examination is not allowed in courses in which students have been permitted to register as auditors during the same semester, in which students have received a failing or no credit grade, or in which they have unsuccessfully sought credit by examination.
2. Students enroll for credit by examination at any time during the first two weeks of classes. Students must be regularly enrolled in other courses before they are granted permission to earn credit by examination. Units of credit by examination are counted as part of the total units registered for a given semester or term. Applications for credit by examination must be completed by students and approved by the respective departments.
3. The examination must be administered by the end of the fourth week of instruction, and the instructor must report the grade prior to the close of the sixth week.
4. The course in which students request credit by examination is so designated on their record. Students will receive a credit (CR) grade if the examination is passed with a C or higher grade. If they are unsuccessful, no grade is reported. Units earned count toward all appropriate requirements but are not used in computing their GPA.
5. The number of units earned by credit by examination in any semester or term may not exceed the number of units completed in regular enrollment. A maximum of 30 units earned by examination may be counted toward a bachelor's degree.

Credit earned by examination does not meet the residence requirement of the university. For further information, consult the department concerned. See also Advanced Placement.

Graduate Students. Credit by examination for coursework may be used to fulfill prerequisites only and may not be applied toward the total units required for a master's degree.

Independent Study. Independent study is offered to give students experience in planning and outlining a course of study on their own initiative under departmental supervision. Independent study should deal with a special interest not covered in a regular course or with the exploration in greater depth of a subject presented in a regular course. Each department has an independent study upper -division course (190). In addition, some departments have a lower-division course (90) and/or a graduate-level course (290).

To be eligible for independent study, students should have an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher. This requirement may be waived in exceptional cases, when approved by the department chair. Maximum credit of 6 units in independent study courses is allowed toward the bachelor's degree, and maximum credit of 6 units in independent study courses may be approved for use toward a 30-unit master's degree. Such credit is limited to a maximum of 3 units per semester. Under extraordinary circumstances more than 3 units per semester may be allowed on petition to the department chair.

Eligible students desiring to register for Independent Study must first obtain the consent of an instructor, who will guide the project, and the chair of the department in which the course is given. Students must register for Independent Study courses during the regular registration period in the same manner as they register for any other course at the time of registration.

An independent study course normally includes an oral examination by a committee set up by the supervising instructor, a formal report that is filed in the department office, and an abstract of the study that is filed with the department chair. Approval forms and copies of the current regulations may be obtained from department, school, or college offices. The entry on the permanent record shows the discipline and course number only; the title does not appear.

Certain special regulations concerning enrollment in Independent Study courses during a summer session can be found in the Summer Session Catalog.



Credit for Noncollegiate Instruction. This university grants undergraduate degree credit for successful completion of noncollegiate instruction, either military or civilian, that has been recommended by the Commission on Educational Credit and Credentials of the American Council on Education. The number of units allowed are those recommended in A Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experience in the Armed Services and the National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs.



Credit for Military Service Course/Work. A lower-division elective credit is given for recruit training for initial entry into the service providing the student was on active duty for at least one year and one day. Credit given varies depending on the branch of service and date of entry. An applicant for credit must submit a copy of Notice of Separation (DD214) to the Evaluations Office.

DANTES (Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support) maintains the educational records of the servicemen and women who have completed SSTs (Subject Standardized Tests), CLEP (College Level Examination Program) examinations and GED tests. DANTES has also maintained USAFI (United States Armed Forces Institute) transcripts since that organization ceased to exist in 1974.

College credit is awarded for acceptable SST scores as recommended by DANTES. Equivalency for SST credit is determined by our departments. Other credits recommended by DANTES (CLEP, etc.) must meet university guidelines for the awarding of credit for those examinations. DANTES/USAFI correspondence credit is combined with other extension or correspondence coursework to a maximum of 24 semester units.

Additional credit is granted for military courses as recommended in A Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services. A maximum of 30 units is allowed for military credit.



College Level Examination Program. The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is designed to be a means through which recognition, academic credit, and placement may be given for less conventional forms of educational experience. Those who may have reached a college level of education through home or correspondence study, on-the-job training, television courses, or by other means may take the CLEP examinations, which are offered by the College Entrance Examination Board.

Within the restrictions of systemwide policy, this university awards credit for successfully completed CLEP examinations. Such credit is applied to the total units required for the baccalaureate degree, but it is not applied to the General Education requirement. Not all CLEP examinations are acceptable under system policy. Subject examinations may require the recommendation of the appropriate department before credit is awarded. Course equivalency is also determined by the department concerned.

Credits earned through CLEP are included among the maximum of 30 units of Credit by Examination that may be credited toward a bachelor's degree. For additional information, call Testing Services, (559) 278-2457.

English 1 Challenge by Examination. Students who want to challenge English 1 CBE may do so only by taking a challenge examination offered by our English Department or the Advanced Placement (AP)-Language and Composition or AP-Literature and Composition tests. AP exams are available only to enrolled high school students, but college students may take the California State University, Fresno examination. For information on our examination call the English Department, (559) 278-2553, or Testing Services, (559) 278-2457.

Students who pass AP-Language and Composition earn 3 units in English 1 and 3 units in English 2. Students who pass AP-Literature and Composition earn 3 units in English 1 and 3 units in English 20. Students passing our examination earn 3 units in English 1.

Upper-Division Writing Examination. The UDWE is administered by the university and may be used to satisfy the upper-division writing skills requirement. One unit of credit may be granted (ENGL 100W) to registered undergraduate students upon request. This unit may be applied toward the 40 upper-division unit degree requirement and total units for the baccalaureate degree but cannot be applied toward the 30 residence unit degree requirement or for postbaccalaureate credit. University registration deadlines must be adhered to. English 1 is a prerequisite to taking the UDWE. For details, call Testing Services, (559) 278-2457.

Academic Regulations

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