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.

Students with past course work/experience in French should take a placement test before enrolling. Information on the online placement exam for French can be found on the OLRC website. After completing the placement test, students should email their scores to the French Language Coordinator in the Department of French and Italian to determine which French course is appropriate.

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.

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 Mikhayla Sheeley, 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 Mikhayla Sheeley by email at (msheeley@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.