Policies and Procedures

Students may challenge courses designated by departments to receive credit through extensive professional experience or learning acquired outside formal, higher education. Departments choose appropriate methodologies for experiential learning course credit. These may include, but are not limited to, written examinations, portfolios, personal interviews, demonstrations and/or other means of assessment. Currently, CSUN departments facilitate this process through Challenge Examination.

Credit by Challenge Examination Taken at CSUN

Students may challenge courses by taking examinations developed at CSUN. Credit will be awarded to those who pass them successfully.

Currently enrolled undergraduate students not on academic notice who are especially qualified through experience or private instruction may petition to earn credit by challenge examination in selected courses designated by each department. A challenge examination allows the awarding of academic credit through successful completion of an appropriate examination methodology chosen by the department for a specific Catalog-listed course. Each department has the sole responsibility for designating which courses may be challenged. In some cases, as deemed appropriate by the department, supporting documentation may be obtained from a field supervisor or employer. No instructor or department is obliged to offer experiential course credit.

Challenge examinations are given under the following guidelines:

1. Students should consult the department to determine if credit may be granted for prerequisites that are required for the course being challenged prior to requesting Challenge Examination.
2. An approval of an application for Challenge Examination will expire if the examination has not been completed by the end of the semester.
3. Students may attempt the Challenge Examination for a course only once.
4. Challenge Examinations may not be used to meet any provisions of the Repeat Course Policy.
5. Students electing the Credit/No Credit grading option on enrollment for Challenge Examination will be assigned a Credit grade for work equivalent to A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+ or C grades; “No Credit” will be assigned for work equivalent to C-, D+, D, D- or F grades. CR/NC grades are not included in the calculation of the GPA.
6. The determination of eligibility for Challenge Examination rests with the department involved, including exceptions to these guidelines.

Procedures

Before the registration period begins, a student who wants to challenge a course by examination should consult with the chair of the department offering the course. If the chair approves the request, the student will be given a 5-digit class number and a permission number to enroll in the “Credit by Challenge Examination” course. The student can then register online for the Challenge Examination course during regular registration periods. All required tuition and other fees must be paid according to the Payment Due Dates on the Student Finance website. The course that students enroll in for the examination credit does carry billing units. However, if the student is already enrolled full-time, no additional charges will be applied due to the University’s fee structure.

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Restrictions on Examination Credit

No credit for any examinations will be awarded to a student who has: Taken the examination previously within the past term. Earned equivalent credit through regular coursework, credit by another examination or other instructional processes, such as correspondence. Earned credit previously at a level more advanced than that represented by the examination in question. Credit …

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