Policies

In general, placement depends on the overall proficiency of the student and on what was accomplished in previous French courses.  A student entering KU with no previous French should enroll in FREN 110.

Placement exams help to determine the course in which you should enroll if you are continuing your study of a language with which you have had previous experience.  These exams focus on your abilities and knowledge of the language rather than the amount of prior coursework that you have had.  

Proficiency exams allow undergraduate students to gain exemption from the Non-English Language Proficiency requirement in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences by establishing that their ability in a second language is equivalent to that of someone who has studied that language for four semesters at the college level.

For more information on placement and proficiency exams, please visit the OLRC page. Students needing proficiency examinations for study abroad programs, the Dean's Certificate in International Business, or graduate school requirements should also contact the French Language Coordinator, to arrange for the necessary testing.

In general, placement depends on the overall proficiency of the student and on what was accomplished in previous Italian courses.  A student entering KU with no previous Italian should enroll in ITAL 110. 

Students with past course work/experience in Italian should contact the Italian Language Coordinator in the Department of French and Italian to determine which Italian course is appropriate for his or her level.

Placement exams help to determine the course in which you should enroll if you are continuing your study of a language with which you have had previous experience.  These exams focus on your abilities and knowledge of the language rather than the amount of prior coursework that you have had.  

Proficiency exams allow undergraduate students to gain exemption from the Non-English Language Proficiency requirement in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences by establishing that their ability in a second language is equivalent to that of someone who has studied that language for four semesters at the college level.

For more information on placement and proficiency exams, please visit the OLRC page. Students needing proficiency examinations for study abroad programs, the Dean's Certificate in International Business, or graduate school requirements should also contact the Italian language Coordinator, to arrange for the necessary testing.

Students with no prior college or university French or Italian course credit are eligible for retroactive credit according to this formula:

• 3 hours of retroactive credit are awarded to a student with 2 or 3 years of high school French or Italian who enrolls initially at KU in a third-semester French or Italian course (FREN 230 or FREN 231 or ITAL 230) and receives a grade of C or higher.
• 6 hours of retroactive credit are awarded to a student with 3 or 4 years of high school French or Italian who enrolls initially at KU in a fourth-semester French or Italian course (FREN 240 or FREN 241 or ITAL 240) and receives a grade of C or higher.
• 9 hours of retroactive credit are awarded to a student with 4 years of high school French or Italian who enrolls initially at KU in a French or Italian course with a fourth-semester course as a prerequisite and receives a grade of C or higher.

These credit hours do not affect your GPA, but do count towards the overall number of credits you need for graduation.

Retroactive credit is not automatically posted on your KU transcript. Students can apply for it after they complete their initial FREN class at KU and receive a grade.

To start, students should email the following two items to Carley Harris-Newman, academic advisor for French, Francophone & Italian Studies:

1. PDF copy of High School transcript (available from Admissions at the KU Visitors Center)
2. PDF of your Advising Report (available from MyKU)

Please feel free to reach out to Carley Harris-Newman by email at (chn@ku.edu) to start the process and to ask any questions you might have.

The University charges a fee of $50 for retroactive credit, regardless of how many credit hours you receive. This will be charged through your student account on Enroll & Pay.