Advanced Standing Assessment

What is the Advanced Standing Assessment (ASA)?

The ASA is an assessment given to students to evaluate their academic writing skills for possible bypass credit of the ENGL 1157 and/or ENGL 1158 required courses.

Who is eligible for the Advanced Standing Assessment (ASA)?

Students with official ACT English scores 28 or above that are less than five years old.
Students with official SAT ERW scores 640 or above that are less than five years old.
Students with an official Accuplacer NG score of 270 or higher.
Students with a CLEP score of 50 or above.
Some Scholastic Amnesty students.
Some transfer students (transcript evaluation required.)

What should I do to find out if I am eligible for bypass credit or the Advanced Standing Assessment (ASA)?

Do not wait—contact your advisor! Students must consult with their advisors before requesting credit or assessment. Your advisor can help determine if you are eligible for evaluation by the First-Year Writing Program.

What are the options for the ENGL 1157 Advanced Standing Assessment (ASA) exam?

There are two options for the ENGL1157 ASA. In both options, students must demonstrate that they are able to produce organized essays that logically communicate a central idea through narrative description and include an introduction, thesis statement, several paragraphs of supporting evidence, and a conclusion.

Option One: Students take a 60-minute proctored essay exam given in the Language and Literature office. Upon arrival to the scheduled exam, students will be asked to type a response to a random prompt using personal examples to illustrate their central point. We see the most success with this option.

Option Two: Students may submit a portfolio of two to three essays of up to 3000 total words, that they have previously written. Additionally, the student will have to schedule a 40-minute proctored cover letter essay that is given in the Language and Literature office, in which the student introduces the contents of their portfolios. Portfolios should demonstrate the student’s ability to compose detailed, organized essays that focus on a central point.

Both options are assessed by the First-Year Writing Committee to see if they exhibit mastery of the Student Learning Outcomes of ENGL1157.

What are the options for the ENGL 1158 Advanced Standing Assessment (ASA) exam?

To be eligible to take the ENGL 1158 ASA, students should already have an ENGL 1157 credit. The Advanced Standing Assessment is the only way to earn ENGL 1158 bypass credit.

There are two options for the ENGL 1158 ASA. For both options, students must demonstrate that they are able to produce logically organized, academic essays that incorporate library and non-library research in MLA format with a Works Cited page, and include an introduction, thesis statement, several paragraphs of supporting evidence, and a conclusion.

Option One: The exam. Once a date has been scheduled for the proctored exam, the First-Year Writing Program will provide the student with reading materials in advance of the exam. After receiving the materials, the student has up to two weeks to read and prepare to take the exam. If the exam is not taken within two weeks, the student loses the opportunity to try for bypass credit via exam. On the day of the exam, the student is given a writing prompt based on the previously received reading materials, the student then has two (2) hours to complete a thesis-driven typed essay of up to 3000 words. This essay should be organized, logical, have a clear central point, and integrate the provided secondary research materials.

Option Two: A student may submit a portfolio of up to three essays they have previously written that demonstrate thesis-driven writing that incorporates outside sources, both in-text and an MLA style Works Cited page. Additionally, the student will have to schedule a 40-minute session in the Language and Literature office to complete a proctored cover letter essay, in which the student introduces the contents of their portfolios. Portfolios should demonstrate the student’s ability to compose sustained, logical research essays that demonstrate argumentative or persuasive writing.

Both options are assessed by the First-Year Writing Committee to see if they exhibit mastery of the Student Learning Outcomes of 1158.

What are the other guidelines for the Advanced Standing Assessment (ASA)?

Students may not earn bypass credit by Advanced Standing Assessment for courses they have already attempted.
No bypass credit for ENGL 1157 can be awarded after a student has earned 30 credit hours at UNO.
No bypass credit for ENGL 1158 can be awarded after a student has earned 60 credit hours at UNO.
The First-Year Writing Program does not charge any fees for this credit. However, the Bursar's Office may charge students who earn credit by departmental exam or bypass credit requested after the first day of class in a student’s second semester at UNO a posting fee of $100 per credit hour ($300 per class). If you have any questions regarding the fee, students should contact the Bursar at bursarinfo@uno.edu or 504-280-6489.

Please note:

Results for portfolios and exams should be available within two weeks of submission. If the attempt is recommended for bypass credit, a request will be sent to the Registrar. It may take a few business days for the credit to post to the student's unofficial transcript.