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Placement Policy
All incoming Freshmen and Transfer students who have had French, German, or Spanish, including native speakers, are required to take the Placement Exam, even those who do not plan on continuing the language at this university. The Placement tests in French, German, and Spanish are available on the Web and may be taken at any time convenient to the student. It only takes a few minutes to take the exam on-line. The score will be sent automatically to the student and to Murray State. On the basis of the score earned, the student can be placed at the appropriate language level. If you score, for example, into the 3rd semester of the language (201), enroll in the course and complete it with a final grade of "A" or "B," the student may receive credit for the two prior courses (101 and 102), thus saving time and college tuition money. The student may earn up to a maximum of 12 credit hours. It is important that the student enroll in the designated course as soon as possible upon entering Murray State in order to capitalize on language skills. Placement Exam scores are good for one year from the date the student takes the exam. After one year, the student will need to retake the exam before enrolling in a language class. For answers to frequently asked questions regarding placement exams, please see the WebCAPE FAQ. You may also contact the Department of Modern Languages at modern.languages@murraystate.edu. |
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Accessing Web-based Computerized Adaptive Placement
Exams 
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To access the online exams:
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| How to Interpret Your Placement Score | |||
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Your score will automatically be sent to MSU within a few minutes of completing the exam. If you wish, you may save, print, or email the report page displayed at the end of the exam. You can interpret your score by looking at the following score equivalences. For example, if your score on the French test was 278, you should enroll in FRE 102. |
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| French | |||
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0-249 (French 101) 250-310 (French 102) 311-364 (French 201) 365-399 (French 202) 400 and above (French 301 or 331) |
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| German | |||
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0-249 (German 101) 250-310 (German 102) 311-364 (German 201) 365-399 (German 202) 400 and above (German 301 or 331) |
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| Spanish | |||
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0-249 (Spanish 101) 250-345 (Spanish 102) 346-390 (Spanish 201) 391-429 (Spanish 202) 430 and above (Spanish 301 or 302) |
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| WebCAPE FAQ | |||
| Click on the questions to view answers. | |||
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+ Do ALL incoming MSU students need to
take this exam?
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Yes, all incoming students need to take the placement exam. |
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+ I know I'm going to get a Bachelor of Science
instead of a Bachelor of Arts - do I still need to take the test?
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Yes, all incoming MSU Students are tested. |
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+ I'm a B.S. student; after the exam, do I need
to enroll for a language course at MSU?
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No, not unless you want to. |
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+ I don't know my major yet; do I need to take a
foreign language at MSU?
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Some majors require two years (12 credit hours) of a foreign language. All B.A. students earn two years of credit in a foreign language. Check with the advisor in your major and consult the Undergraduate Catalogue if you are unsure. In any case, languages count as electives for Undergraduate Studies, valuable for all majors. |
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+ What if I studied Latin in high school (or
another language for which there is no WebCAPE placement test)?
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You do not need to take the WebCAPE test. Consider enrolling in any first year, first semester (101) course of your choice to begin earning language credits toward the B.A. if that is the degree you are seeking. |
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+ What if I place into SPA 201, for example?
What course do I take at MSU and can I earn back credit for first-year Spanish?
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You should enroll in SPA 201 (third semester) as soon as possible. Our policy is that if you earn an A or a B in your 201 course, then after completion, you can apply through the Department of Modern Languages for the six hours of back credit up to 201. |
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+ How many hours of credit can I receive from
getting a high score on the WebCAPE exam?
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If you place into the 301 or 302 level, you can receive up to 12 hours of credit (four courses: 101,102,201,202). HOWEVER, taking the placement test alone does not give you the credit. Our policy is that a student needs to enroll in the appropriate level course, complete it with a grade of an A or a B, then complete the application process to receive the back credit for the previous courses. For a high score, 12 credits is the maximum credit that can be earned in this way plus, of course, the three credits earned in actually taking the upper-level course. |
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+ Do transfer students need to take the language
placement exam?
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Yes, all incoming students need to take the WebCAPE. We want to be sure that you enroll for our Murray State language courses at the appropriate level, no matter where you were before. |
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+ I encountered a problem while taking the
placement exam. Do I have to start over?
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If your placement exam was interrupted for some reason, you may resume the exam by returning to the exam site and entering your registration information exactly as before. |
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| If you have a question that is not covered here, please contact the Department of Modern Languages. | |||
| The requirements listed above are an example of what is applicable to most students entering Murray State University at the present time. Criteria as they relate to an individual student may vary. The primary guide is the Undergraduate Bulletin applicable at the time of the student's enrollment. | |||
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Murray State University
Murray, Kentucky 42071
Phone: 270.809.2501
Fax: 270.809.3161