Credit by Exam / Challenge Exam

This section applies only to students in the Health Information Technology, Cancer Information Management and Medical Coding programs. Please contact the Academic Counseling Center to inquire about credit-by-exam opportunities in other departments.

If you have training or work experience that you think has sufficiently covered the material in one of our classes, you should consider taking a challenge exam to get credit for that class. This might apply to someone who attended a non-accredited school or training program or someone who has long-time, direct experience in the field.

ANNOUNCEMENT: As of 6/28/2022, there is no longer any charge for challenge exams!! Credits earned through challenge exams are now free of charge.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You are not eligible for challenge exams as a new student. You must have completed at least one course through SBCC with a grade of C or better in order to be eligible.

Challenge exams are available for most HIT classes, except for the practicum classes – HIT 275 and HIT 280. If you are interested in challenge exams for CIM classes, please send an email to Gwyer Schuyler, Academic Counselor, at gschuyler@pipeline.sbcc.edu.

You should review the course outline before making your decision to take a challenge exam. The course outline lists what concepts the exam may cover. You can email Gwyer to request the course outline.

Here are the rules for challenge exams:

1. Credit by examination may be granted to students who are registered and in good standing (2.0 GPA) at SBCC for proficiency in subject matter essentially equivalent to a course for which credit is being requested. Credit may not be granted for any course for which high school or college credit has been awarded.
   
   
2. Students must achieve 80% or better to receive credit for the class.
   
   
3. A maximum of 12 semester units of coursework may be received through credit by exam.
   
   
4. Credit by exam is not posted on the transcript until 15 units of coursework are earned through regular course completion.
   
   
5. Students can only take a challenge exam one time.
   
   
6. Students must NOT be enrolled in the course that they are challenging.
   
   
7. If a student has previously taken the course and received a D or F, he/she is not eligible for the challenge exam.
   
   
8. Students must have proper equipment to take challenge exams online through Respondus,  the college's official online proctoring provider.  Students will need a webcam with microphone (internal or USB), their ID (student ID or government issued), the Respondus software, and a quiet, private location with a reliable internet connection.  You will receive instructions on the use of Respondus prior to taking the challenge exam, and will have the opportunity to take practice quizzes in Respondus before taking the exam.  There are no student fees associated with the use of Respondus. The college pays for this service.
   
   
9. Challenge exams are offered at the beginning of each Fall and Spring semester. Students who would like to take a challenge exam must alert the department no later than the end of the third week of the semester. According to SBCC policy, "Credit by examination shall be reported to Admissions and Records by the department chairperson no later than the end of the eighth week of the semester in which credit is granted." To meet this deadline, students will need to complete the exam process no later than the end of the seventh week of the semester.
   
   

If you have reviewed the course outlines and have determined that you're prepared to take a challenge exam, please email Counselor Gwyer Schuyler at gschuyler@pipeline.sbcc.edu with your full name, student ID number (K00...) and the course(s) you would like to challenge.