By passing certain examinations you may get credit for NSCC courses.
Advanced Placement (AP)
The College Board Advanced Placement Program (AP) provides participating high schools
the opportunity to offer college-level coursework to students in a variety of subject
areas. Upon completion of an AP course, the high school student may take an AP examination.
AP scores range from 1 to 5 points. AP scores of 3, 4, and 5 are commonly acceptable
as the equivalent of college- level course work.
North Shore Community College awards academic credit as indicated in the AP Policy & Procedures. Students with eligible AP scores must have an official AP score report sent from
The College Board. To order an AP score report, visit the College Board AP website. Scores typically take 2 - 3 weeks to process. If you have any questions
please contact Jane Saunders.
CPS100 Challenge Exam
The Information Technology and it's Applications Challenge Exam allows NSCC students the opportunity to demonstrate competencies in computer concepts and applications. Successful completion of this exam satisfies CPS100 pre-requisites, however no credit is given. For more information, please see the CPS100 Challenge Exam Policy
Contact Kristel Bucco for information or to register for an examination.
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a series of examinations that allow individuals to earn college credit for what
they already know, regardless of where they learned it. CLEP is the most widely accepted
credit-by-examination program in the United States. North Shore Community College
awards academic credit as indicated in the CLEP Policy & Procedures. To arrange a CLEP test, first, purchase your test via the CLEP website. After you have purchased your exam you may make an appointment to take your test
at North Shore.
Exams are 90 minutes long and are administered on computer. Students receive instant
score reports following completion of the exam. With the exception of the English
Composition 1 and 2 exams, which require supplemental writing samples, the exams are
composed of multiple-choice questions. For more information on the content and format
of any of the CLEP exams, please visit the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) website.
DSST/DANTES
DSST/DANTES is a national credit-by-examination program designed to measure a student's proficiency
in the college level areas of Humanities, Social Science, Mathematics, Business, Physical
Science and Applied Technology. Examinations are timed and administered via computer.
Cost per exam is $100 to DSST/DANTES and $30 to NSCC. For more information on the
content and format of any of the DSST/DANTES exams, please visit: http://www.getcollegecredit.com.
North Shore Community College accepts and also administers DSST/DANTES examinations.
Departmental Exams
Departmental Examinations are faculty-prepared examinations for catalogued NSCC courses other than those covered by national exam programs. Departmental Exam Policy and Procedures require that students request an exam (pdf 178k ) through CAS and then work with an instructor to learn about and arrange for testing. Contact us at testing@northshore.edu for information.
Language Proficiency Testing
Students who have knowledge of a foreign language may earn up to 12 credits for their foreign language skills. NSCC administers Brigham Young University Foreign Language Achievement Tests (BYU FLATS) and New York University Language Proficiency Tests. Exams are available in over 50 languages. Students register for testing through either BYU or NYU and the test is administered at NSCC. Academic credit is awarded to NSCC students who pass examinations at a performance level of C or better. For more information and to learn which exam is best for you, consult the BYU website, the NYU website or contact Kerry Breeze at kbreeze@northshore.edu.