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Challenge Credit

West Coast University allows students to challenge a course in some programs of study for which they have earned prior credit, but for which credit was not transferred upon matriculation due to the amount of time that elapsed since that credit was originally earned.  Challenge credit is not an available option for all WCU academic programs, and the student is encouraged to confirm availability of this option directly with the program.  

If the challenge credit option is available, the student must submit a Challenge Exam Application Form to the Director of Student Services at the campus they are attending, and comply with the following requirements:

  1. Students will only be allowed to take a challenge examination if they meet the general and program-specific criteria. If the request to challenge a course is approved, and the student passes the appropriate examination, credits earned for classes challenged will be valid for 12 months from the time the exam is taken. Once a student matriculates, the course requirement is removed from the student’s program of study and posted to the transcript, becoming a permanent part of the student’s academic record. If the challenge examination is not successfully passed, the course requirement will remain in the student’s program of study.
  2. The student must declare which courses he/she would like to challenge and must gain approval from the program’s academic administration. Each program has its own unique requirements and deadlines for submitting a challenge examination application.
  3. Students may not apply for a challenge exam for courses in which they are currently enrolled or have previously taken at West Coast University. A course may be challenged only one time. Each program has established its own passing grade requirements for challenge exams, and no more than twelve (12) semester credits may be earned through challenge examinations.
  4. Credits earned through challenge examinations do not count towards the in-residence requirements or towards a student’s cumulative grade point average (CGPA). In addition, a student’s financial aid may be affected if challenge credit is received; therefore, students considering challenging a course should consult with their campus Financial Aid Officer on the impact of doing so.
  5. A non-refundable fee of $100 will be charged per exam.  All nursing clinical course challenge exams require a non-refundable fee of $500 per exam. The fee must be paid prior to the exam and is not included as part of the student’s financial aid package.
  6. The University’s decision on a student’s eligibility to take a specific challenge exam is final and may not be appealed. If a student achieves credit by successfully challenging a course and passing the challenge exam, no guarantee is made that the student will advance his or her degree completion date. Degree acceleration will be based on space availability.

Nursing Challenge Exam Additional Requirements

Additional Nursing program-specific requirements include:

  1. Students must be accepted into the nursing program in order to challenge a nursing course.
  2. Students may not challenge a nursing course where there is evidence that a similar nursing course has been taken in the past for which the grade received was below a C.
  3. Students who want to attempt a challenge examination for a clinical course must first: 1) transfer in credit for the related theory course or 2) pass the theory course challenge exam prior to attempting the clinical challenge examination.
  4. Students must satisfactorily meet all prerequisites of any courses prior to taking the challenge examination.
  5. Students who attempt and did not pass a lower level nursing course with a clinical component may not challenge a higher level nursing course with a clinical component.
  6. Challenge examinations for pre-licensure courses include HESI, ATI or other similar standardized computer examinations. The grade necessary to pass is outlined in the associated course syllabus.
    1. Students should acquaint themselves with the syllabus requirements for any course they wish to challenge.
    2. Nursing students must complete any NURS designated challenge examinations within the first two terms of entering the first nursing (core) course.
    3. Students must first successfully pass the challenged course prior to being allowed to enroll in a course that has this course as a pre/co-requisite.
    4. Students, who are unable to successfully challenge the requested course by the start date of that course, must enroll in the course.
    5. Students who wish to challenge a course must submit their application at least 4 weeks prior to the time when they would like to take the exam.
  7. Additional information may be required prior to scheduling a challenge examination for clinical courses, such as immunization status, health records, background check, drug screening, fire and BLS cards (i.e.-clinical packet information).