Transferring In and Testing Out

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Truman State University is a signatory for the Missouri 42-Credit General Education Block. Students who complete the General Education Block at one Missouri college or university and who later transfer to another Missouri college or university satisfy the general education requirements of the college or university to which they transfer, provided that school is also a signatory.

To complete the General Education Block at Truman, a student must complete the Essential Skills, the Modes of Inquiry, the Intercultural and Truman Week requirements of the Liberal Studies Program, as well as the Missouri Statute requirement and electives to total 42 credits. Likewise, students who transfer to Truman from another Missouri institution with completion of the General Education Block noted on their transcripts have fulfilled the Essential Skills, the Modes of Inquiry, the Intercultural and Truman Week requirements of the Liberal Studies Program, as well as the Missouri Statute requirement.

Students who have completed the requirements of the Missouri 42-Credit General Education Block and who are transferring from Truman to another Missouri college or university may request to have completion of the General Education Block noted on their transcripts. Students must make the request in writing to the Registrar’s Office during their last semester at Truman. If a review finds that the student has met all of the requirements for the General Education Block, the Registrar adds this notation to the student’s transcript after the posting of final grades for the semester.

PRE-APPROVAL OF TRANSFER CREDIT FOR ENROLLED STUDENTS

Currently enrolled undergraduate degree-seeking students who wish to transfer courses to Truman from another accredited institution must complete a “Pre-Approval of Transfer Credit” form. This form must be approved through the Registrar’s Office. The “Pre- Approval of Transfer Credit” form should be submitted for approval prior to enrolling in courses at another institution. The University reserves the right to deny transfer of any coursework that has not been previously approved.

Students may not transfer courses during the last 28 credits prior to graduation without special permission from the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Currently enrolled students are required to have official transcripts sent from all colleges and universities through which credit has been attempted immediately upon completion of the course(s). These transcripts must be sent directly to the Registrar’s Office.

TRANSFER CREDIT EVALUATION

Students who have completed an Associate of Arts (AA) degree, a Truman-approved Associate of Science degree (Applied Science degree not included), or the Missouri 42-Credit General Education Block from an accredited college or university fulfill the Essential Skills, the Modes of Inquiry, and the Intercultural and Truman Week requirements of Truman’s Liberal Studies Program. In addition, students who have completed the Associate’s degree from a public institution in the State of Missouri, or who have completed the Missouri 42-Credit General Education Block, may also fulfill the Missouri Statute requirement.

Coursework for transfer students who have not completed the Associate of Arts degree, a Truman-approved Associate of Science degree, or the Missouri 42-Credit General Education Block is evaluated on a course-by-course basis.

Transfer students are granted class standing appropriate to the number of credits accepted by Truman. Students who have completed the Associate of Arts degree, or a Truman-approved Associate of Science degree, are granted junior status.

All transfer students must complete the same requirements for degree completion as native students, including prerequisites for later coursework.

ADVANCED COLLEGE PLACEMENT/CREDIT PROGRAMS

The University accepts a wide variety of proficiency and placement examinations to award credit and/or to place students into courses. Advanced college credit programs recognized by Truman include: Advanced Placement Program (AP) examinations; College Level Examination Program (CLEP) examinations; Dual Credit and Prior College Credit Programs; International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations; military experience; and Truman State University designed examinations. Information regarding Truman credit awarded for these programs is available on the Registrar’s Office website (http://registrar.truman.edu/transfer) or by contacting the Registrar’s Office. 

All test-out procedures are subject to change. Please see the appropriate department office for updates.

Placement or Test-Out for Essential Skills Public Speaking Requirement
The Communication Competency Examination tests student knowledge of and skill in public speaking. The exam must be taken before completing thirty (30) credits or two semesters of coursework at Truman State University. It consists of an online written component to determine placement or eligibility for test-out and an oral component to complete the test-out. A student who scores at or above 70 percent on both the written/placement and oral exam has met the speech requirement of the Liberal Studies Program.

Requirements for the Online Written/Placement Exam:
Students who took a formal course in speech or forensics in high school and students with extensive public speaking or forensics activity experience are eligible for the written/placement exam. Students entering the University as communication majors are required to take the written/placement examination before enrolling for their first semester.

To take the online written/placement examination, students must have a Truman ID. The test site may be accessed at https://secure.truman.edu/ptest-s/ and the examination is scored immediately after the student submits it. (More detailed information regarding the exam and the procedure is available at http://communication.truman.edu/comm170testoutmainpage.asp.) If the student successfully completes the written/placement examination, the student is placed in one of the six advanced communication courses designated below:

Requirements for the Test-Out Oral Exam:
To be eligible for the oral component of the exam, a student must score at or above 70 percent on the written/placement part of the Communication Competency Examination.

To register for the oral exam, a student must meet with the Basic Speech Course Coordinator. Students must take the oral exam during the academic year in which they passed the written/placement exam. The oral exam consists of the student’s delivery of a prepared 7-9 minute persuasive speech suitable for a college-aged audience, inclusion of eight current source citations, and submission of two copies of a properly formatted sentence outline with bibliography. (More detailed information regarding the exam and the procedure is available at http://communication.truman.edu/comm170testoutmainpage.asp.)

At the conclusion of the student’s presentation, the Basic Speech Course Coordinator may ask questions regarding the content of the speech, clarification of a particular point, or the reasons he or she chose one particular rhetorical device over another. The speaker should also be prepared to give specific information regarding the sources used in researching the topic.

To pass the oral exam, the student must receive a 70 percent or better. There is no re-take option for the oral exam. A student who does NOT score at or above 70 percent on the oral exam needs to take one of the six advanced communication courses listed above to meet the speech requirement (but does not enroll in COMM 170).

Waiver of ENG 190 Writing as Critical Thinking

First-year students with extensive writing experience in a variety of discourses and with the ability to meet the needs of varied audiences may elect to challenge the requirement of ENG 190 Writing as Critical Thinking. Applicants must apply to the English and Linguistics Department Chair, who advises students about procedures to waive ENG 190 and about producing a portfolio of university-level writing for evaluation. This portfolio must be submitted to the English and Linguistics Department Chair before a student has completed thirty credits or the first two semesters of coursework at Truman State University. The portfolio is evaluated by the writing faculty for waiver of ENG 190. Any student who succeeds in challenging Writing as Critical Thinking must then take a designated writing-enhanced course instead of ENG 190 in order to satisfy the first unit of the LSP writing requirement.

Foreign Language Requirements

All students who seek the bachelor’s degree at Truman must satisfy the foreign language requirement of elementary proficiency, as specified in the Liberal Studies Program. Satisfaction of this requirement is defined as successful completion of the second semester of the foreign language or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated on waiver exams in one of the foreign languages offered at Truman. Candidates for the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Bachelor of Science in Linguistics degrees must achieve intermediate proficiency in one of the foreign languages offered through the intermediate level at Truman. Students should check their degree program to determine if there are additional degree requirements in a foreign language. Intermediate proficiency is defined as successful completion of the fourth semester of the foreign language or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated on waiver exams. Ideally, the foreign language requirement should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

International students who are candidates for a degree that requires intermediate proficiency in a foreign language should consult the International Student Admission section found in the Admission  section of this catalog. NOTE: For languages not taught at Truman contact the Dean of Arts & Letters.

Foreign Language Waiver

Students placing into a foreign language at a level higher than that required by their degree program may fulfill their foreign language requirement in any of the following ways: 1) take the course in which they are placed even though it is at a higher level than required, and by successfully completing this course fulfill the foreign language requirement; 2) take the appropriate waiver examination in those languages which offer an on-campus exam, and by passing this examination fulfill the foreign language requirement, but no credit is granted; 3) take the CLEP exam for French, German, or Spanish, and if an appropriate score is earned, the student may waive the foreign language requirement. University credit is granted, depending on the score earned by the student.

Mathematics Requirements

All students who seek the bachelor’s degree at Truman must successfully complete the Essential Skills requirement in Elementary Functions and the Mode of Inquiry requirement in Mathematics, as specified in the Liberal Studies Program.

The Elementary Functions requirement may be satisfied by a) successfully completing Precalculus (MATH 186), b) successfully completing both College Algebra (MATH 156) and Plane Trigonometry (MATH 157), or c) sufficient performance on the Elementary Functions Essential Skills Place-Out Examination (not to be confused with the self-administered placement test sent to incoming students). The Elementary Functions Place-Out Examination is administered by the Mathematics Department in the first week of the fall semester and at other times as need indicates. Please contact the Mathematics Department Office (VH 2100, x4547) to arrange a time to take the Place-Out test. Students who have been placed by the Mathematics Department into a calculus course satisfy the Elementary Functions requirement by successful completion of that course.

The Mode of Inquiry requirement in Mathematics may be satisfied by successfully completing any of Truman’s calculus courses: Essentials of Calculus (MATH 192), Liberal Arts and Sciences Calculus (MATH 194), Calculus and Mathematical Concepts for Life Science (MATH 196), or Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (MATH 198). One of these courses may be specifically required for a certain degree program. For example, MATH 198 is required for majors in mathematics, science, and computer science and for the BS in economics, whereas business majors and the BA in economics students may choose either MATH 198 or MATH 192. The goals and approaches of these courses differ. For example, MATH 194 may be highly conceptual, MATH 198 may be more algebraic, MATH 192 may have a stronger emphasis on modeling. The most appropriate course depends on the individual student. One should not conclude that any single course is “harder” or “easier” for all students.

Note that a calculus course is only available to students who have a) demonstrated sufficient performance in the classes meeting the Essential Skills requirement in Mathematics, b) demonstrated sufficient performance on the Elementary Functions Essential Skills Place-Out Examination, or c) been placed into that course by the Mathematics Department according to the procedure outlined below. Students cannot “waive” the prerequisites to the calculus courses.

Mathematics Placement

The Mathematics Department determines what mathematics courses may or may not be appropriate for incoming students on the basis of a variety of factors, including the courses taken in high school, the level of success in those courses, the two scores on the mathematics placement exam, and the scores and sub scores on the ACT. A student who feels that he or she was under placed can demonstrate achievement using the Elementary Functions Place-Out test.