Transfer Credit, Proficiency Testing
and Other Options in Meeting the Liberal Education Requirements

Certain alternatives to formal Kent State coursework may be recognized in the fulfilling of the 36-hour Liberal Education requirements.

1. Credits earned for specified courses within the Liberal Education course list through external credit conferring testing programs, such as the CEEB Advanced Placement and CLEP subject examinations, will be applied toward the fulfillment of the Liberal Education requirements as appropriate for the specific courses for which credit is received.

2. Courses transferred from accredited postsecondary institutions will be applied toward fulfillment of the Liberal Education requirements as appropriate for the specific courses for which credit is awarded.

3. The university's Credit by Examination (CBE) program may be utilized in fulfillment of Liberal Education requirements within the conditions, guidelines and policies established for that program and for the course(s) for which credit is sought.

4. Proficiency, as established by placement examinations or other recognized procedures and mechanisms for this purpose, can be used to fulfill Category I and II of the Liberal Education requirements. For example, students who are placed into ENG 10002 and complete it with a passing grade will have met the Category I Liberal Education requirement. Similarly, students who are placed at or higher than MATH 11012 or MATH 12002 and complete that course with a passing grade will have successfully completed the mathematics Liberal Education Requirement. It is assumed that students who are placed at and pass the higher level of one of these sequenced courses have also mastered the content of the prerequisite course. While students may meet the requirements of Category I and II through proficiency, minimum hours must be met in Categories III, IV and V. Students meeting Category I and II requirements through proficiency must substitute other courses, which shall be elective, to earn a minimum of 121 hours of appropriate coursework toward a baccalaureate degree.

 

To fulfill the purposes of general education, any of the above alternatives to the fulfillment of the Liberal Education requirements by 36 hours of formal coursework at Kent State University must be exercised by students within the first 60 hours of academic credits earned at and/or transferred to Kent State University.

Students who transfer to the university with more than 45 semester hours of applicable credits (including students with associate’s degrees in technology from the Kent State University Regional Campuses or those who transfer to bachelor-level programs from associate-level technology programs) must exercise such option(s) within the first calendar year of their Kent State University enrollment.

Questions concerning and requests for application of these alternatives to formal Kent State University coursework as a means of fulfilling the Liberal Education requirements shall be addressed to, and will be determined by, the dean of the college or independent school in which the degree program that the students are pursuing is located.