Competency Standards

By meeting competency standards as described below, students are excused from taking some courses to satisfy the General Education requirements. The awarding of competency does not carry academic credit. Rather, it gives students more program flexibility by increasing their number of elective courses and allowing them to move to higher levels of study at a faster pace if they wish. If a student elects to take a course for credit after being awarded competency for that course, the competency is removed (except in foreign language where students cannot elect to repeat coursework for which they have earned competency).

Biology  Competency may be attained in Biology 105 by satisfying either of the following requirements: (1) a score of 3 on the Advanced Placement Test, or (2) a score of 630 on the SAT II Test in Biology and no secondary school grade lower than a “B” or its equivalent in a biology course.

Chemistry  Credit for Chemistry 111 will be granted to candidates with a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Test in Chemistry. Competency may be attained in Chemistry 111 by scoring in the 50th percentile or better on the ACS Exam in General Chemistry. For competency in advanced courses, a student must score in the 50th percentile or better on the appropriate ACS Exam.

Foreign Language  Competency for the 101, 102 and 201 courses in a foreign language may be attained by students who earn: (1) a minimum score of 570 on the SAT II Subject Test in a foreign language or (2) a score of 3 on the appropriate language Advanced Placement Test. (Academic credit at the 201 course level of a foreign language will be awarded for a score of four or five on the Advanced Placement Test.) Competency will be determined otherwise on an individual basis by scores on an examination administered by Roanoke College faculty. Students who successfully complete the 102- or 150-level foreign language course will be awarded competency at the 101-level. Students who successfully complete the 201-level foreign language course will be awarded competency at the 101 and 102-level. (Note: Upon completion of INQ/SPAN 277, students who have also completed Spanish 102 or 150 will receive competency in Spanish 201.)

History Competency may be attained in United States History, World or Western Civilization by satisfying either of two requirements: (1) a score of 3 on the Advanced Placement Test, or (2) a score of 590 on the SAT II Test.

Mathematics  Competency may be attained in Mathematics 121 with a score of three on the Calculus AB Advanced Placement Test. Competency may be attained in Mathematics 121 and Mathematics 122 with a score of 3 on the Calculus BC Advanced Placement Test. Credit for Mathematics 121 will be granted to a candidate with a score of four or five on the Calculus AB Advanced Placement Test. Credit for Mathematics 121 and Mathematics 122 will be granted to a candidate with a score of 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC Advanced Placement Test.

Competency may be obtained in Mathematics 111 with a score of 80 percent on the competency test developed and administered by the Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics department. The test will be administered during the orientation period preceding the beginning of classes for the Fall term. Requests to take the test must be made in writing to the chair of the MCSP department.

Competency for all other mathematics courses will be determined on an individual basis by considering secondary school grades, standardized test scores, and scores on examinations administered by Roanoke College.

Music  Competency may be attained in Music 150 with a minimum of two years of high school theory.

Physics  Competency may be attained by satisfying either of these two requirements: (1) a score of 3 on the Advanced Placement Test, or (2) a score of 650 on the SAT II Test in Physics. Competency in advanced physics courses may be determined on an individual basis upon completion of an examination administered by the department.

Physical Education  Competency will be granted in one team sport or one individual sport through a full season of varsity intercollegiate participation.

Political Science  Competency may be attained in Political Science 101 by satisfying either of these two requirements: (1) a score of 3 on the Advanced Placement Test, or (2) a grade of “A” in a secondary school advanced placement American Government and/or Comparative Government course. Credit for Introduction to Political Science (Political Science 101) may be granted if the candidate scores 4 or better on the appropriate Advanced Placement Exam.