Hang Ten—Making Waves with CLEP
Deborah Anderson M.Ed.
Higher Education Consultant
Top Ten List
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What is CLEP
Does it apply to my students
What is the process at my institution
CLEP and military
Identify road blocks & solutions
How do I identify a CLEP student
What are my responsibilities regarding CLEP
What are student responsibilities regarding CLEP
What resources are available
Become an advocate
Understanding CLEP Facts & Benefits
Core Purposes
CLEP allows students to demonstrate that they have
acquired mastery of college-level course content.
CLEP allows students to translate that knowledge into
college credit that is commonly recognized by passing
any of the program’s exams.
CLEP allows diverse groups, including traditional and nontraditional learners, adult students, and military service
members to save time and money as they pursue a
college degree.
CLEP Offers Colleges…
Rigor and
Relevance
• More than 600 faculty develop and set
standards to ensure CLEP exams are
comparable to those of introductory
college courses.
Access
• CLEP allows capable students to move
ahead, opening seats in introductory
classes.
Success
• 91% of CLEP students report that CLEP
made a difference in their ability to
complete their degree
Graduation Rates
• CLEP students complete their degrees at
a higher rate than students not earning
credit-by-exam.
What age group do you think has
the largest percentage of CPL
students?
A.Under 18
B. 18-22
C. 23-29
D.30-35
E. 36 & older
Age Group Breakdown
Exams Administered to National Candidates, 2009-10
There are no age requirements for CLEP
How Does CLEP Apply to
Students?
 Save time for students
 Save money for students
 Allow students to enroll in higher level
courses sooner
 Earlier graduation
What is Happening Now?
Evaluate Current Methodology
 What is done now?
 If you don’t know—why don’t you know?
 Who knows the processes?
 Who is responsible for updates?
 Where is information stored & posted?
 If there is no formalized process, ask why.
Who Needs to Know Your CLEP Policy?
Faculty &
advisors
Admissions
Office
Test Center
Registrar’s
Office
Students
Adult &/or
Veterans
Office
Military Credit
 How does your institution grant credit for military
training/service?
 Cross walk with 2-year/4-year
 How do we promote?
 Who needs to be involved?
 VA representatives
 Transcript evaluators
 Advisors
Colorado Community College System
 All 13 colleges follow same rules
 Legislation passed in 1990s stating a “Student Bill of
Rights”
 Faculty convene to discuss scores and acceptance of
exams
 CCCS CLEP Handbook maintained and updated
annually:
http://www.cccs.edu/Docs/EdServices/Credit-for-PriorLearning-Handbook.pdf
California CLEP Policies
 California’s four-year institutions set policy
 California community colleges determine how to
implement for their schools
 Great confusion due to lack of coordination between
systems
 CSU system handbook:
http://www.calstate.edu/AcadAff/codedmemos/AA2010-09.pdf
Possible Road Blocks
Consider these questions:
 How are students notified of their
opportunity for CLEP?
 What is on your website?
 Are your policies current?
 Do you know who is responsible for
CLEP policy?
Student Road Blocks
 Lack of communication
 Poor website design
 Lack of training for advisors/staff
 Lack of knowledge support from faculty
 No “champion”
Comments I hear from advisors
 Negates transferability
It’s too complicated.
 I don’t understand the process.
 Who should I advise to take CLEP?
 No one really cares.
Faculty can be a Road Block
 Help educate on test development
 De-mystify
 Encourage them to become part of the process
Faculty Role in CLEP
More than 600 college and university faculty members
are involved in developing and setting the standards
for CLEP exams. Faculty responsibilities include:
• Serving on test development committees
• Responding to curriculum surveys to determine exam
content
• Serving on standard-setting panels
• Serving on ACE review panels
• Determining departmental credit-granting policies
Solutions with Faculty
 Educate
 CLEP Policies
 CLEP Procedures
 Engage
 Share success stories
 Attend faculty meetings
 Encourage
 Get them to volunteer
 Share the data
Who are CPL Students?
Identify CPL Students
 First year students looking to accelerate their
education paths
 Students with high SAT or ACT scores
 Homeschooled students
 Students who are fluent in Spanish, French, or
German
 Juniors or seniors who have not met lower-division
requirements
CPL Students Continued
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Adults returning to college
Military service members
Veterans
Students at risk for stopping out or struggling with
finances
 International students needing to translate their
overseas credit
 Students with expired courses
 Students with high placement scores
Responsibilities
Focus on All Students
 Recent focus has been students placing into
developmental courses
 Why do we ignore students who are college level and
higher?
 Important to serve all students
 What is our role in guiding students?
A New Set of Lenses
 Advising job is information
 Advising job is to provide options/choices
 Advising job is student success
 Advising job is to advocate for student
Educate Departments on CLEP
 Intake process
 Initial student contact
 Front Desk Staff
 Advisors
 Testing Administrators
 Student Orientation/Preview
 Deans
Sample Websites
 http://www.uwgb.edu/oira/cfpl/clep/
 http://frontrange.edu/testing
Identify Decision Makers
 Critical to know who are the decision
makers
 Critical to get faculty input
 Critical to evaluate plan on regular basis
Time for a Decision
 Student may want to discuss with VA
advisor
 Student may need to talk to Testing
Center
 Student may need to talk with
Admissions & Records
 Student may need to talk with
Department/Program chair
Responsibility Check List
Advisor
 Be well versed in policy
 Identify CLEP student
 Educate CLEP student
 Be an advocate
 Stay current
Student
 What exam(s) may I take
 How do I get credit
 What will transfer
 Know deadlines
 Follow through
Identify Leaders for Implementation
Key Leaders
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Testing Directors
Dean of Student Services
Dean of Instruction
Director of Advising
State committees
 Faculty
 Advisors
 Legislators
Implement Change
 Identify change
 Create a plan
 Identify appropriate committee members
 Student input
 Faculty
 Research
Key Questions for Change
 Process
 What departments are impacted?
 What makes sense for students?
 Payment
 Marketing
 Free materials
 Opportunities to tell students
 Evaluate
 Feedback surveys
 Data Reports
Promote/Create/Implement
 State wide systems
 2-year
 4-year
 Guarantee transfer within a state
 Identify key players
 Faculty
 Deans
 System presidents
How to Recruit Committee
 Directors
 Important to have key leaders
 Testing
 Instruction
 Support Staff
 Invaluable resource
 Great ideas
 Students
 Know their needs
Resources for Change
 No need to reinvent the wheel
 Data critical to your cause
 National organizations
 College Board
 ACT
 NCTA
 Webmaster
Share results of FRCC project
Need More Information?
CLEP website for professionals:
professionals.collegeboard.com/clep
CLEP website for students:
www.collegeboard.com/clep
CLEP email address:
CLEP@collegeboard.org
Summary
 Educate your teams
 Evaluate current methodology
 Create a plan for implementation of CLEP
policies
 Eliminate road blocks for students
 Identify key leaders
 Identify recommendations for change
 Identify resources
 Take ACTION!
Are you for
student
success?
Discussion/Questions/Wrap Up
Thank you!
Deborah Anderson M.Ed.
Higher Education Consultant
Deb.anderson1952@gmail.com