Placement Testing and Transfer Credit
Below you will find Frequently Asked Questions regarding placement testing and transfer credits in ASL at Ohio State.
For further questions regarding transfer credit, contact the transfer credit coordinator, Tia Jones, at 614 292-5392.
Placement Testing
A placement test is a tool that evaluates a student's ASL communication skills and knowledge of ASL linguistics. The placement test is only necessary if you have ASL experience that has not earned you credit on your transcript and you wish to have your skills evaluated for appropriate placement into our course series.
- Students who have taken two or more years of American Sign Language in high school and did not earn college credit, within the last 5 years. If you have received transfer credit (including CCP credit) for ASL from another higher education institution, you do not need to take the placement test. Please check the transfer credit FAQ for more information.
- Students who have ASL experience not identified on their transcript for ASL credit and who feel their skills may be appropriate for ASL 1102 or higher, have been admitted to the university unconditionally, and hope to begin the series higher than level 1101.
Note: No EM placement is awarded to native signers
If you meet the criteria above, then you must take the placement test prior to enrolling in the ASL course series. Your test scores determine the most appropriate level of placement for you to start within the series.
Note: If you have no experience with ASL and want to enroll in our course series, you do not need to take the placement test. You are eligible to enroll in ASL 1101.
The test evaluates the student's expressive and receptive signing skills – receptive (watching) and expressive (signing) – with vocabulary and grammar in context. Students will receive access to an ASL Placement Test Carmen page. On the Carmen page, there are 9 recorded questions (each its own video) and students will record themselves responding to the questions. The students responses will be a recording for each question.
Students have 60 minutes to complete the test. At the end of 60 minutes the test will test will stop and only what has been recorded and uploaded will be evaluated.
Yes, this is an option if you feel your skills may be appropriate for ASL 1102 or higher. However, SPH&HRNG 5714 is not a GE language course and is not designed as an equivalent to ASL 1101. Taking the placement exam does not guarantee that you will earn a placement.
No, there is no cost.
Please contact the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures for access to placement test here.
The test is not a computer graded test, your results will be emailed to you within 5 business days. If you have not received your results within 5 business days, please contact Tia Jones at jones.2246@osu.edu.
Up to 2 weeks. Once the results are posted on your transcript, you may register for the ASL course for which you are eligible. It is important to plan your schedule accordingly.
It may take up to 2 weeks for your results to be processed and posted to your transcript. You can register for class only after your results appear on your transcript.
- If you do not test into level 1102 or higher and still wish to take ASL, you must register for 1101.
- Students who test into level 1102 or higher will be able to enroll in that level as soon as the placement is posted to their account.
- If you feel it would be in your best interest to take a class lower than the level you were placed, contact the test coordinator.
No. In accordance with University policy, no Credit by Examination test can be taken more than once.
In the case of students who may have a learning disability, need special arrangements and/or petitions, contact the Student Life Disability Services office (https://slds.osu.edu/). We will provide accommodations to the best of our ability for students who are registered with ODS.
Transfer Credit
You will need to send your transcript from the other college or university to the OSU University Registrar. The Registrar Office will determine what and how courses are approved for transfer credit equivalency to OSU. And, of course, you will need to enroll at Ohio State before you can register for classes.
This depends on where you have taken your coursework. Evaluation is based on course credit hours, course content and learning objectives, and the grade earned (C- or better is required for an evaluation and award of university transfer credit). Many ASL courses at colleges throughout Ohio have already been approved for automatic transfer to Ohio State ASL courses.
This depends on where you have taken the course work and if the courses are approved as equivalent courses. If that is the case, then as soon as your course transfers to OSU the credit wil hit your degree audit and you will be eligible to take the next course.
If the ASL course you took is not an automatic equivalent, then the course will receive elective credit from the transcript and the course will have to go through the department for evaluation. This does take longer to process. It is up to the studnet to reach out to the ASL program to get the evaluation process started. See the FAQ for the steps on how to have a course evaluated.
The course titles used on OSU transcripts for American Sign Language courses are:
- ASL 1101
- ASL 1102
- ASL 1103.
You will see the course title(s) for which you have earned transfer credit on your transcript once they have been approved and processed.
No. If the ASL course(s) at the other college/university automatically transfers to OSU for equivalent credit, then it (with a passing grade) will be recognized in the system after the Registrar has received and processed your official transcript. At that time, you may register for the appropriate OSU ASL course. This means that a student will be registering after the OSU registration period has opened and may have decreased chances of being able to enroll in a class.
No. You can only register for an ASL class once your course work from another college or university has been approved and processed by the Transfer Credit and Registrar's Offices.
If the ASL course at the other college/university does not automatically transfer to OSU for equivalent credit, then you will have to follow the steps below. Check the website first.
You will need to prepare the following information to submit to the ASL program transfer credit coordinator for ASL course evaluation.
- Your full name, osu.#, and student ID #
- College/university name and campus
- Previous school on semester or quarter system
- Department in which course(s) is offered
- Course title, number, credit hours, and meeting dates/times
- Course syllabus - including texts, assignments, and weekly schedule
Send all transfer credit materials for evaluation to:
Tia Jones
jones.2246@osu.edu
100E Hagerty Hall
1775 College Road
Columbus, OH 43210
Note: Evaluation may take up to three weeks after receiving all necessary materials.
We are using a unique curriculum that was specially designed for our ASL course series by our program team. Required course materials will be available on the Carmen course pages.
Classes are capped at 24 students to ensure quality interaction with your classmates and your instructor, and are taught primarily in the target language and require that all students adhere to the "voices off" policy. Our classes provide a safe and positive learning environment for our students. Your attendance and participation in every class meeting is expected and highly encouraged for your success.