CREDIT BY EXAMINATION IN NURSING

Policies Effective for the Academic Year 2009-2010*

*This is to be used as a guide only.

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 School of Nursing select the tests, set the levels of performance required for credit, and specify who is eligible to take the tests. DIIA-Student Testing Services assists the school by communicating policies, giving the tests, and reporting the credit.

NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR NURSING (NLN) Acceleration Challenge Examinations (ACE) (Mobility Profile II)

The National League For Nursing (NLN) Acceleration Challenge Exam (ACE) assessment consists of three tests:

1. Care of the Adult Client
2. Care of the Client during Childbearing
3. Care of the Child
4. Care of the Client with Mental Disorder

You make take one, two, or three of the tests, at a cost of $75 (subject to change) for each test. Sample questions for each of the tests are contained in the ACE Information Bulletin, available from the School of Nursing.

Eligibility for Credit by Examination in Nursing
You are eligible to earn credit by examination for only those nursing courses in which you have neither a passing nor a failing grade.

Level of Performance Required for Credit
Satisfactory scores for credit are as follows:

TEST ADMINISTRATION

Test Registration: UT Austin offers the NLN ACE tests for current students and prospective students once a year, in July.

Registration consists of paying the test fee and submitting a registration form by the registration deadline, approximately four weeks prior to the test date.

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.

Repeating the Tests: Each test may be repeated one time at your expense. If you do not earn credit after two attempts, you must meet with the RN-BSN Program Director. The possibility exists that you may have to enroll in the cluster of courses covered by the exam.

Admission to 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 will be mailed to you and to the School of Nursing approximately four weeks after taking the test. Once they are available, results may also be found online.

AACN CERTIFICATION FOR CRITICAL CARE REGISTERED NURSE (CCRN)

AACN Certification for CCRN is the basis for credit by examination in the following UT Austin Nursing courses:

CERTIFICATIONS THAT CAN MAKE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT BY EXAMINATION

At the discretion of the RN-BSN/MSN Program Director, certain professional nursing certifications may make you eligible for credit by examination in the same way as would successful performance on one or more portions of the National League for Nursing Mobility Profile II exams. In order to determine the credit for which you may be eligible, the School of Nursing will require an official letter from the credentialing agency verifying your certification.

PETITIONING/CLAIMING CREDIT

UT Austin students must petition (or claim) their credit to have it appear on their official transcript.

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