Departmental Review and Recommendations

The Department reviews the records of entering students and makes a recommendation on what course to take if they wish to continue Spanish. The recommendation will be noted in the student's file and the Department will send a notice to the student as well. The recommendation is based on the language training indicated on the sheet summarizing the student's high school record. This information refers only to courses in high school; it does not include prior work in junior high or from off-campus study. Thus, at times, this information can be incomplete or misleading. Students should, therefore, review their language training with their advisors if the departmental recommendation seems too low or too high. If there are any questions the student should contact the Chair of the Spanish Department. In most cases students will not have to take the placement exam to change to a higher or lower level course. Students should understand that this initial recommendation can be changed easily and they will be able to take the Spanish course appropriate to their level of training and competence.

For some entering students the Department might recommend a placement exam (only given during New Students' Days) to determine a course appropriate to their background. Students and advisors will receive a notice indicating that such an exam is recommended. Even if students take the placement exam and enroll in the recommended course, they will still be able to move up or down a level if the course proves to be inappropriate.

Transfer students who enter in the fall semester will receive the same information as new students. Transfer students who enter in the spring semester should discuss their Spanish training with the Chair of the Spanish Department. Students who have taken AP Spanish in high school will receive four credits if they obtained a score of 4 or better. This credit applies to the College's graduation requirement of 124 credits but will not count toward the 32 credits needed for a Spanish major.