Office of the Registrar Credit By Examination

A student may receive up to 32 semester hours of credit for learning demonstrated by taking a comprehensive examination. No student may earn credit in these ways during the final semester before graduation. A student will be given credit for any GE areas as appropriate unless noted below. Common Contexts requirements cannot be fulfilled using coursework completed by taking a comprehensive examination. Westmont grants credit to students for:

  1. Advanced Placement exams from the College Board with scores of 4 or 5 taken before their first semester at Westmont.
  2. International Baccalaureate exams with scores of 5, 6, or 7 on the higher-level subject tests taken before their first semester at Westmont.
  3. GCE A-Level exams with a score of A*, A or B taken before their first semester at Westmont.  
  4. CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) credit for scores of 500 for general tests and 50 for subject matter tests, providing the student has not previously completed an introductory college course in the area tested. CLEP credit may be applied to elective credit only.
  5. DSST (DANTES Subject Standardized Tests). DSST credit will be given for scores of 400 or above for tests taken since 2008, and 50 and above for tests taken prior to 2008 provided students have not completed an introductory college course in the area tested. DSST credit may be applied to elective credit only.
  6. At the discretion of the department, additional units of Credit by Examination may be validated by departmental examination at Westmont. If a student feels that he or she has sufficient knowledge to pass a comprehensive final examination in a particular Westmont course, and has not earned credit in an advanced course in that area, the student should:
    1. Contact the faculty member who teaches the class to determine if their background or preparation is sufficient.
    2. Register for the appropriate number of units of credit. Westmont will charge a fee per unit (see Charges). 
    3. Report for the exam, which may be administered by a faculty member or proctored by the Student Records Office.
    4. Grading for the class is Pass/No Credit. A letter grade (if approved by the department) must be submitted in order to receive credit for any major, minor or general education requirements.
    5. A maximum of 20 units may be validated by Credit by Examination at Westmont.