Graduating senior credits ‘credit by exam’ for college comeback

Hayden Cole Smith Hayden Cole Smith

Mere days from receiving his diploma, senior Hayden Cole Smith reflected on how close he came to walking away from Purdue without a degree.

Smith, who majors in English with a minor in Critical Disability Studies, experienced an assault off campus about two years ago and developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result.

“I kept withdrawing from classes and getting more and more behind. I kept telling myself, ‘This will be the semester I’ll get my act together,’ and then I’d become overwhelmed with stress and anxiety and would withdraw again,” Smith said. “I did that for three semesters. I was at the end of my grace period of being eligible for financial aid. I remember feeling like maybe I should walk away for good and just go get a job somewhere.”

Then, Smith’s plot changed. He heard about the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), which allows students to earn credit based on knowledge acquired through experience or independent study. And study he did, day and night, for weeks on end.

Smith registered for seven CLEP exams, administered by the Purdue Testing Center in Schleman Hall, Room B42. He earned CLEP credit for psychology, sociology, biology, English literature, history, and more – on top of taking three summer courses. In one fell but strenuous swoop of a summer, Smith made up nearly all of the credit he had missed.

Perhaps this was the true plot shift, because this was the point when Smith took on a minor in Critical Disability Studies. This was the point when he found community in Purdue’s LGBTQ Center.

“If I had not been able to knock out all those miscellaneous requirements needed to stick around at Purdue, I wouldn’t have been able to get involved in disability studies,” Smith said. “It totally changed my life, the career I’m anticipating for myself, potential grad school programs, and how I see myself as a queer and a deaf person.”

As Smith prepares to graduate this May, he hopes his experience will highlight the Purdue Testing Center as an affordable means for earning course credit.

Purdue charges a $35 administrative fee for credit by exam courses, on top of the $87 exam fee charged by the College Board. Even after taking seven CLEP exams, however, Smith said the cost was minimal compared to money he might have otherwise invested in retaking courses. For him, it was a hack to help keep college within budget, similar to renting textbooks from Amazon or borrowing course materials from Purdue Libraries.

Beyond the affordability issue, Smith says the Purdue Testing Center might be a good option for students who have a chronic illness or other disability that interferes with regular class attendance.   

“I think about access and accessibility a lot because I am deaf. For example, a big concern for me was having classes in large lecture halls because it was too difficult for me to hear the professor through all the background noise,” Smith said. “If a classroom environment is disabling for a student, or if a student has a chronic illness that interferes with regular class attendance, they should know that the Purdue Testing Center provides alternative and potentially more accessible ways of working toward their degree.”

Purdue Testing Center Manager Cindy Fields says the center, which is part of Student Success Programs, offers a variety of other exams that may be of interest to students, as well as members of the campus community and beyond. The center administers National Paper/Pencil Exams, such as Graduate Record Subject Exams and Law School Admission Test (LSAT). It also offers Career Assessment, including Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Strengths Quest (SQ), and the following Pearson Exams:

  • Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT)
  • Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT)
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE)
  • GMAC – Executive Assessment
  • Microsoft Certifications
  • Fundamentals of Engineering (FE).

Visit the Purdue Testing Center website for more information.

Writer: Andrea Mattingly, 765-496-3754, andrea@purdue.edu

Last updated: May 3, 2018

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