• College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
• Advanced Standing by Challenge

Under certain circumstances, if students can demonstrate mastery of course work not taken at the University, they may receive advanced standing and University credit for the course. Two mechanisms are available for obtaining advanced standing:

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Montana State University awards credit toward graduation for successful performance in certain Subject Examinations of the College Level Examination Program conducted by the College Entrance Examination Board. Students may arrange to take these examinations on campus or at designated centers throughout the country. Passing grades are determined by Montana State University. These students receive credit and a P grade on the transcript for scores above the passing level; scores below the passing level are not entered on the transcript. CLEP examinations do not apply as a grade waiver for a course previously taken. University Core requirements cannot be satisfyed by the CLEP procedures.

The following list gives the names of the CLEP examinations and the course for which credit is given:

MSU Course		CLEP Exam
ARNR 101	Nat Resource Conservation	Natural Resource Consevation
BIOL 101	Biology of Organisms	Gen Biology
BIOL 102	Molec & Cellular Biology	Gen Biology
ECON 101	Econ Way of Thinking	Intro Microecon
ECON 102	Prin Macro & Int'l Econ	Intro Macroecon
EDCI 208	Ed Psy Hum Dev Sch Age	Educ Psych
ENGL 123	Approaches to Literature	Analysis & Interp of Lit
HIST 105	Western Civ to 1600	West Civ I with essay
HIST 107	Western Civ 1600 to Pres	West Civ II with essay
HIST 155	Am and the World Before 1865	Am Hist I with essay
HIST 156	Am and the World After 1865	Am Hist II with essay
MATH 160	Precalculus	Precalculus
MATH 181	Calculus & Anl Geom I	Calc with Elem Fncts
MLF 101	Elementary French I	Col French I
MLF 102	Elementary French II	Col French I & II
MLF 219	Intermediate French	Col French I & II
MLG 101	Elementary German I	Col German I
MLG 102	Elementary German II	Col German I & II
MLG 219	Intermediate German	Col German I & II
MLS 101	Elementary Spanish I	Col Spanish I
MLS 102	Elementary Spanish II	Col Spanish I & II
MLS 219	Intermediate Spanish	Col Spanish I & II
POLS 206	Govt of the U.S.	Am Govt
PSPP 102	Plant Science, Resource & Environment	Plant Science, Resource & Environment
PSY 100	Introductory Psychology	Intro Psych
SOC 101	Intro to Sociology	Intro Soc

In general, a department will not give a challenge examination if a CLEP examination is available for the same course.

Advanced Standing by Challenge

Challenge provides the opportunity to earn college credits and grade points without formal course enrollment. A student who has completed the work of a college course on his or her own initiatives and time, may, with the approval of the student's academic advisor, the instructor, the department heads, and the college deans, take a comprehensive examination in the subject matter of the course. Performance in the examination will become the basis for a grade in the course, and the results will be recorded on the student's permanent academic record at the end of the term which the challenge exam is taken. Official permission forms should be secured in advance from the Registrar's Office. Students must be registered at MSU when they take the challenge examination, and they must have passed ten credits of regular course work at Montana State University before the challenge grade will be recorded on their permanent records.

The challenge examination for credit in a course which is a prerequisite to a second course must be taken before completion of the second course. Students who have enrolled in a regular or an extension course and received a grade other than W or have taken a regular or an extension course for zero credit may not challenge that course. Challenges are not permitted in any 280, 470, or 480 courses.

A fee of $30 per credit is assessed and must be paid prior to taking the challenged exam.

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