Test Administration Policies

General Information

Ferris State University offers CLEP examinations to those students interested in earning college credit for what they know. We are a military-friendly testing center.

CLEP examinations are available by appointment on most weekdays (Monday through Friday) in the Office of Institutional Research and Testing in the CSS Building, Suite 313.

Individuals desiring to take CLEP examinations at Ferris State University must schedule a testing appointment. CLEP testing appointments are scheduled either for 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. based on room and staff availability. Appointment requests may be made by one of the following methods.

  1. online
  2. Telephone at 800 4-FERRIS, extension 3628 (toll free), 231 591-3628 (off campus),
      or extension 3628 (on campus)

Test Fee and Picture Identification

  • Test Fee: Upon arrival for a CLEP testing appointment, the student must present a credit card (MasterCard, VISA, Discover, or American Express), a check, or a money order to cover CLEP's portion of the testing fee ($80 subject to change). If the examinee is enrolled at Ferris, the remaining $25 administration fee will be billed to the student's Ferris account. If the examinee is not enrolled at Ferris, he or she must pay the $25 fee at the Student Service Center in the 1st floor lobby of the CSS Building.
  • Picture ID:  Before testing begins, the student will be asked to show personal identification that includes your photograph and signature.

Please note electronic devices, books, papers, and notes are not allowed in the testing room.  Examinees will be provided with scratch paper which will be collected at the end of the testing period. An online calculator is provided for those tests which allow students to use a calculator.

CLEP Scoring

CLEP exams are scored without a penalty for incorrect guessing. The raw score -- the number of correct responses -- is translated into a scaled score. The scaled scores for CLEP exams are reported in a range from 20 to 80. At Ferris, candidates taking CLEP exams must score a 50 or higher to earn credit.

Retest Policy

Students who do not obtain a passing score on a CLEP exam are eligible to retake that exam after a six-month waiting period has expired.

Credit Policy

Ferris State University administers 33 of the national CLEP examinations to provide incoming students with the possibility of earning credit in academic areas commonly studied by college freshmen. Credit is awarded to those students who obtain a scaled score of 50 or higher as published by the College Board. Credit granted on the basis of CLEP examinations is entered on a student's record without a grade and is not included in the computation of the Ferris grade point average or graduation honors.

If a student has been previously enrolled in a course or its equivalent at an accredited college or university (including Ferris) for which credit was earned, the student may not take a CLEP exam for that course. Once CLEP credit for a given course has been awarded, a student may not subsequently enroll in that course and receive a grade. A student may not be currently enrolled in a class for which s/he wishes to take a CLEP test.