ELPT: Exemptions

All students should plan to register for the ELPT and receive their exemptions at the test site, based on the presentation of official score reports for one or more of the tests listed below. Exemptions can be made only through the authority of the director of the ESL program. The director will enter all exemptions within 24 hours of confirmation of appropriate scores. Exemption requests based on #4 below should be presented to the appropriate admissions authority depending on student status (undergraduate or graduate).

The university allows exemptions from part or all of the ELPT as well as some or all ESL courses based on the following standards. These standards are subject to change. For example, the release of the internet-based TOEFL (iBT) necessitated re-setting of the TOEFL score ranges.

Registration

Format

Results

1. TOEFL score

   1. Paper-based format: 600+ waives you from the standard section of the ELPT. You will take the Essay and Interview sections unless you have the appropriate TWE and/or TSE scores (listed below).

   2. Computer-based format: 250+ waives you from the standard section of the ELPT. You will take the Essay and Interview sections unless you have the appropriate TWE and/or TSE scores (listed below).

   3. Internet-based format: There are subscore minimums required for exemption from specific sections of the ELPT and/or ESL classes.

      • Listening: 25 (waiver from the listening section of the ELPT)

      • Speaking: 24 (waiver from the interview section of the ELPT)

      In combination, these listening/speaking scores will waive you from the ESL listening/speaking courses (ESL 101 and 102). You must have the indicated scores in both listening and speaking for this exemption.

      • Reading: 26 (waiver from the structure section of the ELPT)

      • Writing: 22 (waiver from the writing section of the ELPT)

      In combination, these reading/writing scores will waive you from the ESL reading/writing courses (ESL 103 and 104). You must have the indicated scores in both reading and writing for this exemption.

2. TWE score of 5.0+: exemption from the essay portion of the ELPT and from the courses in written academic discourse (ESL 103 and 104)

3. TSE score of 50+: exemption from the interview portion of the ELPT and from the courses in spoken academic discourse (ESL 101 and 102)

4. Possession of a degree from an accredited 4-year institution in the U.S.*: exemption from the TOEFL, ELPT and ESL courses.

   *Degrees from institutions in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada may be considered. Such cases should be presented to Office of Undergraduate Admissions (if you are enrolling as an undergraduate) or the Graduate School (if you are enrolling as a graduate student).

5. If you transfer in both EH 101 and EH 102 (the freshman comp sequence), from an accredited U.S. university, you can be waived from ESL 103 and ESL 104. Please contact the director of ESL to confirm a waiver on the basis of transfer of these courses.

Further Information

If you need additional information regarding waivers on the basis of TOEFL, TWE or TSE scores, email the director of ESL at esl@uah.edu. Please put your family name and "Query, Exemptions" in the subject line of your message.

Example:

Subject: Arnaud - Query, Exemptions