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USC Aiken Foreign Language Placement Exam

PLACEMENT EXAM GUIDELINES
USC Aiken uses the WebCAPE Exam to help determine your skill/knowledge level in a second language so you can enroll in an appropriate-level course. Because the score is used for advisement purposes, you may take the placement exam as many times as you like.

IT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE TO DO AS WELL AS YOU CAN on the exam because you can reduce the number of credit hours needed to fulfill the General Education requirement (those “freed up” credits can then be used for electives).STARTING A NEW LANGUAGE

If you want to start a new language of study, you should enroll in 101. You do NOT need to take the placement exam.

PLACEMENT IN FRENCH, GERMAN, or SPANISH
If you plan to continue coursework in a language you have previously studied (whether in high school or in college), YOU NEED TO TAKE the placement exam

  • You must take the placement exam BEFORE MEETING WITH YOUR ADVISOR to register for your first foreign language courses at USC Aiken.
  • You can take the Placement Exam (there is NO CHARGE) at http://webcape.byu.edu/usca-entry/menu.usca and follow the links for the particular language.
    Your Username is : usca user
    Your Password is: pacers1
    You can take the exam from any computer at USC Aiken. (***Internet Explorer and Netscape are recommended browsers for off campus usage. Aol is currently not campatible with WebCape Exams.)
  • You should allow 15-30 minutes to take the exam.

PLACEMENT IN LATIN
If you want to continue coursework in Latin and had two years of high school Latin with an average grade of “C” or better, you should register for 102. Please discuss this and any registration questions with your advisor first.

WAIVER OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT FOR BILINGUAL SPEAKERS
Students whose native language is other than English, and who have scored either 500 on the paper-based or 173 on the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), are exempt, without credit, from USC Aiken’s language requirement.

English-speaking students who document or certify native or near-native proficiency in a language other than English are also exempt, without credit, from this requirement.

All exemptions must be approved by the Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and the department/school head of the student’s degree program.

The department encourages exempt students to use electives to pursue other language and cultural studies.