Placement into College Courses & Test Credit

Placement in English & Math

Students must meet a minimum qualifying exam score for placement in English and Math courses as established by North Dakota University System (NDUS) policy and procedure. For more information and exam options, see NDUS Procedure 413.1 Course Placement. NDUS reviews placement exams and evaluates the credit, here you can find the Credit by Exam Chart.

English Placement

For enrollment into entry-level, degree-credit English courses (e.g. ENGL 110), students may demonstrate readiness through the following indicators.

• Applicants without a qualifying English placement score will be required to complete a developmental English course with a grade of a "C" or higher before enrolling in a degree credit-bearing course.
• Applicants with an ACT English score of 27 or higher or an equivalent assessment, may choose to wait ENGL 110.

Mayville State University students with an ACT English score of 27 or higher or an equivalent assessment may choose to be placed in ENGL 120 or ENGL 125.

Students who have been awarded institutional test credit for ENGL 110 College Composition I (or its equivalent) from an accredited college or university, and who have successfully completed ENGL 120 College Composition II with a C or better, are required to take ENGL 408 Advanced Composition or other writing intensive course as approved by division chair to fulfill the general education communication/writing requirement at Mayville State University.  

Math Placement

Students with an ACT Mathematics subtest score of a 21 or higher or an equivalent assessment may enroll in MATH 103. Applicants without qualifying mathematics placement scores must successfully complete a developmental mathematics course sequence with a grade of "C" or higher before enrolling in a degree credit-bearing course. .

Mayville State University students with an ACT Mathematics score of 28 or higher or an equivalent assessment may choose to waive MATH 103. 

Test Credit By Exam

Advanced Placement Credit

Students who have completed certain College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) advanced placement courses in high school and who have earned a minimum score of 3 on the Advanced Placement Examinations will be awarded college credit following the guidelines adopted by the Academic Affairs Council. The required minimum credit-granting scores, number of semester hours of credit to be granted and specific course equivalents are listed in the Credit by Exam Chart.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Credit

CLEP is one of the accepted means by which a student may establish college credit. It is a national program that affords the student an opportunity to obtain college recognition for his/her formal or informal preparation prior to attending college. Generally, colleges and universities accept CLEP credit; however, students who plan to transfer to another institution should first check to see what the limitations of the receiving school might be.

A student must be enrolled at MSU to receive CLEP credit. Students may not take CLEP subject exams after enrolling in that course.

The required minimum credit-granting scores, number of semester hours of credit to be granted and specific course equivalents are listed in the following Credit by Exam Chart.

Cambridge Assessment International Education

Students can submit official General Certificates of Education (GCE) from University of Cambridge International Examinations for prior learning credit. GCEs should be received within the first semester of enrollment at Mayville State University.

Students can earn credit for Advanced “A” level and Advanced Subsidiary “AS” level examinations only with grades A-E. Elective credit will be granted using an S/U grading scale. Students may work with academic divisions to apply credits to specific MSU general education core.

Credit will be awarded for each examination passed as indicated below:

• 8 semester credits will be awarded for Advanced “A” level examinations
• 4 semester credits will be awarded for Advanced Subsidiary “AS” level examinations

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

Students who have achieved a significant degree of educational growth in disciplines offered by Mayville State University through professional, cultural, or community activities may seek to be granted credit for prior learning. A student may earn a maximum of 30 semester hours of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). Students who believe they are eligible for PLA must complete an application form available at the Office of Academic Records who will assist in identifying the appropriate academic discipline and a faculty member representing that area. The student and faculty advisor work to develop the validating documentation. This evidence is, in turn, reviewed by the discipline faculty for a decision to award credit to an equivalent course(s). Credit awarded under this program is considered the same as transfer credit and may not be used to satisfy the 30-hour resident requirement. This credit will only be awarded with an “S” satisfactory grade and placed on the transcript when the student has successfully completed one semester of resident work. A student must be currently enrolled at the institution to receive prior learning credit. When credit is granted the transcript will be noted as ‘Prior Learning Credit. To transcribe PLA credit, a non-refundable fee of 50% of the regular per credit tuition is charged.