PLACEMENT AND CREDIT BY EXAMINATION - CHINESE

Policies Effective for the Academic Year 2008-2009*

*This is to be used as a guide only. Policies are subject to change.

UT Austin provides you with the opportunity to earn course credit by examination. Such credit will satisfy degree requirements in the same way as credit earned by passing a course, except that it will not count as credit earned in residence. Although you may take tests before you enroll in UT Austin, you must be a currently or previously enrolled student in order to receive credit. Unsuccessful attempts to earn credit by examination will not become part of your official transcript.

Faculty members in the Department of Asian Studies select the tests, set the levels of performance required for credit, and specify who is eligible to earn credit by examination. DIIA-Student Testing Services assists the department by communicating policies, giving the tests, and reporting the credit.

UT AUSTIN TEST FOR CREDIT IN CHINESE

The test for lower-division placement and credit in Chinese contains multiple-choice questions based on the content of the textbook series Elementary Chinese Readers, Vols. 1-4 (Beijing Foreign Language Press, 1980). The test includes listening comprehension passages, spoken in Modern Standard Chinese (Mandarin). Students have a choice of formats for the grammar and reading comprehension passages, which are written either in simplified characters (Mainland China) or in traditional characters (Taiwan and Hong Kong). Ability to speak or write Chinese is not tested.

Results of the UT Austin Test for Credit in Chinese are used to place students in UT Austin Chinese courses appropriate for their particular levels of proficiency. Test results also serve as a basis for awarding credit in one to four Chinese courses--CHI 506, 507, 412K, and 412L.

Students for Whom the Placement Test Is Required or Appropriate
Students who have prior knowledge of Chinese (regardless of how it was acquired) and who do not have college credit in Chinese must take the UT Austin Test for Credit in Chinese before they can enroll in their first UT Austin Chinese course. The UT Austin Test for Credit in Chinese is offered only on the UT Austin campus, at regularly scheduled times.

Students transferring college credit in Chinese are not required, but are strongly encouraged, to take this placement test and to use the results to help them choose their first course in Chinese at UT Austin. Transfer students may also use the placement test to earn additional credit in Chinese or to earn credit for lower-division courses from which they were exempted without credit at another institution. In no way will Chinese credit already earned be jeopardized by the results of this test.

Students who do not intend to enroll in a Chinese course but who wish to attempt to earn credit by examination may also take the placement test.

Eligibility for Credit by Examination in Chinese
You are eligible for credit only in those courses for which you do not have a passing or failing grade.

Level of Performance Required for Credit:

The UT Austin Test for Credit in Chinese has a score range of 0-70. Satisfactory scores for credit by examination are as follows:

Before petitioning for credit by examination in Chinese 506 or 507 or 412K, you must consult with a Chinese language instructor, located in Will C. Hogg Building (WCH), 5.116 or 5.130.

TEST ADMINISTRATION

Test Periods: The UT Austin Test for Credit in Chinese is offered on the UT Austin campus during scheduled testing periods several days before each class registration period, and near the mid-point of the Fall and Spring semesters.

Test Registration: You must register for a test online.

Test Registration for Students with Disabilities: If you require academic accommodations or assistance due to a documented disability, you should contact these two offices at least five business days before the day of the test:

• Services for Students with Disabilities, in the Office of the Dean of Students at ssd@uts.cc.utexas.edu, http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd/, or (512) 471-6259 to seek approval for authorized accommodations;
• DIIA- Student Testing Services at (512) 232-2662 to register and make arrangements to take the test.

Registration Fee and Test Fee Payment: The total test fee is $65 (subject to change). When you confirm your registration for a test you will be immediately billed a non-refundable test registration fee of $15. The remainder of the test fee will be billed after you take the test. Payment is due within 14 days after the test administration.

Repeating the Test: You may take the UT Austin Test for Credit in Chinese only once.

Admission to the Test Room: When you register online you will be given the location of your test room. You must present, at the test room, a generally accepted form of identification that includes both your signature and photograph. Without such identification, you will be admitted only if you bring and relinquish a photograph of yourself. You should take several sharpened No. 2 pencils to the test room; all other test materials will be provided.

Test Results: Results are available within a few days after the test date, at a time and place announced at the test administration. Once they are available, results may also be found online.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE HIGHER-LEVEL EXAMINATIONS

UT Austin also awards credit for lower-division courses on the basis of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher-Level Examination in Chinese: Language A1, A2, and B.

Level of Performance Required for Credit:
The IB examinations have a score range of 1-7. Satisfactory scores for credit by examination in Chinese are as follows:

FREQUENT QUESTIONS

A. The primary purpose of the UT Austin Test for Credit in Chinese is to place students in the UT Austin Chinese courses that are best suited for them--neither too easy nor too difficult. If you think that you are placed incorrectly, you should consult your instructor or an undergraduate adviser in the Department of Asian Studies.

Q. If I earn credit by examination in Chinese, must I then enroll in a UT Austin Chinese course in order to receive credit earned by examination?

A. No. The credit earned by examination is yours--regardless of whether or not you enroll in subsequent Chinese courses. Many degree programs require a specific level of proficiency in at least one foreign language, so your decision about enrolling in additional courses may be influenced by your degree requirements.

PETITIONING/CLAIMING CREDIT

UT Austin students must petition (or claim) their credit to have it appear on their official transcript. IAE reports petitioned credit to the Office of the Registrar.

*POLICIES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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