Assessment Exemptions
Before you go any further, remember the new assessment is not a test anymore, and typically only takes students 10-15 minutes to complete. As such, taking the new assessment may be an easier process than many of the possible exemptions below. However, if you feel you should not have to take part or all of the new assessment, or, feel you should be placed higher than the new assessment placed you, continue reading.
1. If you have already completed college course work at another college in math and/or English:
Eligibility for math and English courses based on your prior coursework from another college or university will require you to have your prior college/university transcripts evaluated, and the courses you took must be equivalent to courses offered at COC. If you are attempting to receive credit at COC for these courses, you will need to submit official transcripts to the Admissions and Records office. You can also bring an official or unofficial transcript with you to a counseling appointment and ask what courses they would allow eligibility for during your visit, though unofficial transcipts will not result in credits being transferred.
2. If you took AP *tests/exams* in math (AP Calculus), or English (AP Language/Literature) and received a 3 or higher.
Submit your official AP scores to the Admissions and Records office as soon as possible. Note, taking the courses alone does not qualify you, typically, you must have a 3 or higher score from the AP exams - check with the current college catalog for most recent AP exam score policies. If you took an AP exam in English or Math but not both, you will still need to assess in the missing subject area. Since it may take time for you get your scores from the College Board and/or for them to be processed, we recommend taking the new assessment in both subject areas while waiting. When the AP results are available, your placements will then be 'bumped up,' if you have an applicable score and upon submission to our Admissions and Records office. This way, your account will show the assessment step complete while you are waiting for your results, so that you can continue on to other new student steps without delay. Please notify your advisor that you are pending AP results if they have not been processed yet so the advisor can make a plan for you with this in mind.
3. If you took an assessment test at another college.
We no longer accept placement or assessment tests from other colleges, please make arrangements to take your COC assessment.
4. If you took the EAP/ERWC/CASSP for English.
Starting Fall, 2019 we will no longer accept stand alone EAP/ERWC/CASSP results in place of our English assessment, however, during your assessment you will be asked if you completed an expository reading and writing course (ERWC) and about the grade you received. Note that starting Fall 2019, the new lowest English placement level will be English 101, the course the EAP/ERWC/CASSP would have potentially qualified students for. Therefore, starting Fall, 2019, the EAP/ERWC/CASSP results will no longer provide higher placement.
5. Concurrent High School Students
If you will still be enrolled in high school while taking COC classes, you are not required to assess UNLESS the course you are trying to take here is a math, or English or ESL course, or, the course has a math, English or ESL prerequisite. Prerequisites are listed in the College Catalog. You are not a concurrent student if you will have graduated high school when taking classes at COC (you would be considered a new college student, rather than a high school student taking college classes).
6. CLEP Exam
While the CLEP exam/s do not exempt you from the assessment process at COC. Students interested in using CLEP exam results should consult the College Catalog to determine how their CLEP exam results may or may not count towards college credits at COC. These official results would go to Admissions and Records for review if applicable.
7. SAT/ACT
The SAT and ACT are admissions test, and COC does not have an admissions test requirement. These tests will not take the place of your assessment step. That being the case, if you have taken SAT and/or ACT exams, we may asked about your results during your assessment process.