David Koelle is hoping to cut in half the time it will take him to earn his Penn State degree. Barbara Peragine already has shaved more than a year off of her college career. Both Penn State adult learners are speeding up the time it takes to earn a degree by completing College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams from The College Board. Penn State offers CLEP exams at six test centers.
Koelle, a part-time student from Boalsburg, Pa., already has passed five CLEP exams and plans to take more.
“I’ve calculated that with CLEP exams, I can get my degree in four years, instead of eight,” Koelle said. Peragine has passed four exams to earn her last 12 credits.
CLEP exams are open to anyone. Individuals can earn credit for the college-level learning and knowledge they have acquired through independent study, prior course work, on-the-job training, professional development, cultural pursuits or internships by passing exams that are available in five subject areas: business, composition and literature, foreign languages, history and social sciences, and science and mathematics.
Peragine was the first person to take a CLEP exam at the new Outreach Testing Center, located in Outreach Building in Innovation Park. CLEP exams are held at 8:30 a.m. on Fridays, according to Michael Steese, testing center coordinator. Other CLEP test centers are at Penn State's New Kensington, Greater Allegheny, DuBois and York campuses and Pennsylvania College of Technology.
“CLEP is a valuable resource for adult learners,” Steese said. “These exams can save students time and money. They can open the door for learners to come back to Penn State.”
Koelle started college 10 years after high school and is eager to progress swiftly through his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, so he can enroll in law school by 2013. A staff assistant in Penn State’s Justice and Safety Institute (JASI), he learned about CLEP exams by attending adult learner events. “Once I enrolled, my academic adviser, Karen Lesch, and I discussed my options.”
When Peragine enrolled at Penn State in 2002, her academic adviser Dana Pumehana Aina also encouraged her to take CLEP exams. “Barb has been one of the most persistent students, in terms of making academic progress toward her bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, with whom I’ve worked,” Aina said.
Peragine noted, “It was always a dream of mine to complete my degree. It’s been such a long journey, but now I’m done.” Peragine will graduate in May.
She began her college career in the 1970s at New York University, becoming a licensed medical lab technician, but without completing a degree. When she moved to State College, she joined the Penn State staff and began taking courses. Later, as a local bank employee, Peragine continued her studies. She was laid off in February, but recently started a new job in the Penn State Paterno Library’s Serials and Acquisitions Unit.
“CLEP exams are a great asset,” Peragine said. “They save time and money.”
Information about the CLEP exams is at http://ceup.psu.edu/clep online. To schedule an exam at University Park, call Adult Learner Enrollment Services at 800-252-3592 and select option 1.
Penn State Outreach, at http://www.outreach.psu.edu/ online, is the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education, serving more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 114 countries worldwide.