2023-2024 Catalog

Admissions/Enrollment Services

Admission Policy

Cumberland University admits those applicants whose ability, training, motivation, and interests indicate that they will succeed in college coursework. The course of study and quality of work done in high school or college are both taken into consideration when a student applies for admission. The student’s scores on the ACT or the SAT are used as indicators of academic ability and are considered for admission, and if required, a student’s personal statement.

High School juniors and seniors seeking admission to the University’s Early College program or wishing to take any courses as a Dual Enrollment student must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (unweighted) and must have taken the ACT or SAT a minimum of one (1) time. Subscores in Math and English will be used to determine placement in University Mathematics and English courses. Additionally, applicants to the Early College program must receive a recommendation endorsement from their high school counselor and applicants to the Dual Enrollment program must obtain it when completing the class registration form.

First-time freshmen who do not meet the University’s minimum high school grade point average of 2.75 (unweighted) will be required to complete a personal statement. Written by the student, the personal statement should address what measures the student will take to be successful academically at the University. The statement will also be accompanied by a supplemental survey designed to determine persistence and grit. Additionally, a letter of recommendation may be requested. These components will be added to the student’s admission file and reviewed by the University Admissions Committee.
  

Standardized Test Score Requirement - Optional Through 2023-2024 Admission Period
 
TEST OPTIONAL Policy for First-Time Freshmen Entering Fall 2023
For the 2023-2024 academic period, Cumberland University will remain test-optional for First-Time Freshmen. This means that students may be considered for admission to the university without a standardized test score. However, submitting test scores is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED for scholarship consideration and class placement.First-year students granted admission without a standardized test score and/or without dual enrollment credit may be initially placed into entry-level Math and English courses, but given the opportunity to test out of their initial placement.

Please note: The Test-optional policy does not apply to or lessen the requirements for institutional, state, or federal funding, does not apply to or lessen the requirements for athletic eligibility, and does not apply to applicants seeking admission into the University's Early College Program. All benchmarks for grants and scholarships, as well as benchmarks for athletic eligibility, must be met in their entirety. Early College applicants must submit a score or take the On Campus ACT with Cumberland to be reviewed for admission to the Early College Program. Home schooled students from Tennessee must score a 21 or higher on the ACT to be eligible for the TN HOPE scholarship program.

Cumberland University notifies the applicant of his or her admission status once all necessary documentation/credentials have been received. Questions concerning the admissions status of a prospective student should be addressed either by telephone, email or in writing to the Office of Admissions. Cumberland University is an equal opportunity educational institution and, as such, does not discriminate in the admissions policy on the basis of race, sex, creed, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, genetic information, ethnic or national origin, age, disability or veteran status or any other classification protected by Federal, or State constitutional or statutory law.

Campus Visit

Cumberland University encourages all interested students to visit the campus. Private campus visits are offered Monday-Friday at various times. Please contact the Office of Admissions by phone at 1-800-467-0562 ext. 1221 or by email at cue@cumberland.edu schedule a visit. Additionally, reservations may also be made by visiting www.cumberland.edu/admissions/visit. Cumberland University also hosts seasonal preview day events where all interested students are invited on campus to learn more about Cumberland and its offerings. More information and to sign up for available on preview days may be found on the Cumberland University website located at http://www.cumberland.edu/admissions/preview.

Transfer Credit

Undergraduate Transfer Credit

Normally, Cumberland University accepts transfer credits from all institutions of higher learning that are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges, or a similar body of a recognized regional accrediting agency. International students must submit their official transcripts to an evaluation agency that is a member of NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) for translation, evaluation, and to provide a cumulative grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale. Examples of agencies offering these evaluation services include, but are not limited to World Educational Services (WES), Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. (JS&A) or Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE). For transfer credits to be accepted, they must appear on an official sealed transcript of the institution granting the credits, and must be transferred upon admission to Cumberland University. The following policies apply to acceptance of transfer credit for undergraduate students:

  1. No more than 90 total semester hours of transfer credit from all institutions will be accepted toward completion of a baccalaureate degree at Cumberland University.
  2. A maximum of 70 semester hours may be accepted for transfer credit from a junior and/or community college.
  3. At least 25% of the upper division (300-400 numbered courses) degree requirements must be earned at Cumberland University.
  4. A student transferring into Cumberland University must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 on a 4.00 scale.
  5. Only courses in which a “C” or higher has been earned may be accepted for transfer credit.
  6. Developmental and remedial classes taken at institutions other than Cumberland University will not be accepted.
  7. Cumberland University reserves the right to determine course equivalency regarding acceptance of transfer academic credits.
  8. Cumberland University does not automatically accept transfer credit for Advanced Placement Exams, ACTFL, CLEP, PEP, or DANTES from another institution. Cumberland University reserves the right to request and review original scores before granting credit for any type of examination. Scores from any examination must meet Cumberland University’s standards for credit. Cumberland University’s minimum scores for credit for examination can be found in other sections of the Cumberland University Catalog.

Graduate Transfer Credit

No more than six (6) semester hours of graduate coursework may be transferred to Cumberland University to be applied as credit toward the Master’s Degree. These hours may have been completed at a regionally accredited institution, be appropriate substitutions for course work required in the Cumberland Degree Program, the student must have earned the grade of “B” or better for any course to be considered for transfer purposes, and courses must be transferred at the time of enrollment at Cumberland University. The program director will determine the application of the transfer credit. Any transferable coursework must be at the graduate level and must have been completed within the last 5 years prior to entering the graduate program at Cumberland. A minimum of 30 semester hours of courses must be successfully completed at Cumberland University.

International Transcript Evaluation for Graduate Admissions

International students who have been admitted to or graduated from a prior U.S. graduate program that is regionally accredited and who are applicants for admission to Cumberland University may be granted a waiver of the direct review of any transcript reflecting academic work undertaken at an institution abroad, where such transcripts were evaluated through an acceptable process (as defined below) by the prior institution. In lieu of the direct review of such transcripts, Cumberland University will rely upon the transcript evaluation made by the prior U.S. graduate program at the time of the student's admission. Acceptable processes for the evaluation of foreign transcripts may include internal evaluation by an individual or staff member certified to undertake such evaluation or through recognized companies that offer transcript evaluation services, such as WEP, EP, ECE or others deemed acceptable by Cumberland University. Official transcripts should be received within 21 days following the commencement of the term.

Alternative Methods for Earning University Credit

Upon matriculation at Cumberland University, students may be awarded credit toward their university degree through methods other than university course work. Alternative credit must be completed before the student's last thirty (30) hours. Examples include Advanced Placement credit, Experiential Learning credit, credit by examination, credit for outstanding ACT scores, and/or military credit. Any one example or combination previously noted may not total more than 25% of the total number of credits submitted for a degree (except for students in the RN to BSN program, whose students may be awarded up to 40 hours of validation credit based on licensure) and if the student is not enrolled in his or her last 30 semester hours before graduation. This credit is not calculated for purposes of admission to and is apart from any transferred credit awarded during the admission process for courses completed at other institutions.

Students currently enrolled at Cumberland University must file an Academic Appeal for Transient Permission to receive credit for transfer coursework earned after enrollment. This coursework is evaluated according to Cumberland University’s transfer credit policy.

Credit will not be awarded for any exam or course content for which a student has previously received credit or if a student has previously completed advanced study beyond the level to be covered by the exam. If an exam or its articulated content is repeated, the credit will only be awarded for the second taking. Evaluation of credit earned by alternative methods is based on articulated equivalencies in effect at the time the credit is requested. General guidelines for alternative credit types accepted by the University are described below.

ACT Credit

Cumberland University recognizes outstanding performance on the ACT examination by awarding credit for certain scores on the English and Math portions of the exam (and the corresponding score on the SAT). The criteria are:

ACT Score

Equivalent SAT Score

Cumberland Credit Awarded

English 28+

Critical Reading 630

ENG 101 – 3 credit hours

English and Reading 28+

Critical Reading 630

ENG 101 & ENG 215 - 6 credit hours

Math 28+

Mathematics 630

MATH 111 - 3 credit hours

ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages)

The ACTFL is for students who have successfully completed two or more years of a foreign language on the high school level. The fee is the responsibility of the student taking the exam and Cumberland University faculty will determine the appropriate hours of Foreign Language Credit based on the student's test score. Current rates are as follows:

  1. Certified ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) costs $139.00. The Certified Oral Proficiency Interview is administered telephonically by an ACTFL certified tester, double rated, and digitally recorded. Ratings are available within two weeks. The oral test lasts 30 minutes.
  2. Certified ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) costs $70.00. The certificate WPT test is available via internet or in booklet form and is rated by two ACTFL certified raters. Ratings are available within two weeks. The WPT is a 90-minute test consisting of 4 out of 5 questions designed to elicit paragraph formed responses. It is entirely human rated.

Both forms of ACTFL evaluation are administered as follows:

  1. Contact the Academic Enrichment Center (AEC) (615-547-1295) for an application. The fee, which is set by the ACTFL, is to be paid with the application prior to scheduling the interview and the test. Current fees are available on the ACTFL website or by contacting the AEC.
  2. ACTFL evaluations are available for most any language.
  3. The OPI and WPT results combined determine the number of non-traditional credit hours awarded.

CEEB Advanced Placement (AP)

Cumberland University participates in the Advanced Placement program of the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) and credit is granted by the appropriate semester hours of credit to qualified freshmen students presenting an official record of a grade of three (3) or above on the appropriate Advanced Placement examination (unless a higher score is otherwise noted). Semester hour credit in the amount carried by the course or courses from which the student is exempted by the examination will be awarded. Credit by examination may not total more than 30 credit hours (or 25% of the total credits) submitted for a degree.

Cumberland does not automatically accept transfer credit for Advanced Placement Exams, CLEP, PEP, or DANTES from another institution. Cumberland University reserves the right to request and review the original scores before granting credit for any type of examination. Scores from any examination must meet Cumberland University’s standard for credit.

 CEEB AP Examination

 Hours Awarded

In Lieu of Courses
at Cumberland University

American History

6

HIS 201, HIS 202 (score of 4 or higher)

Art History

3

ART 191

Biology

4

BIO 111

Chemistry

4

CHEM 111 (score of 4 or higher)

College Composition Modular 3 ENG 102
Economics (Macroeconomics) 3 ECON 241
Economics (Microeconomics) 3 ECON 242

English Literature & Composition

3

ENG 101

English Language & Composition

3

ENG 101

English Literature & Composition AND English Language & Composition 6 ENG 101 and ENG 215

European History

3

HIS 112

Government 3 POLSC 223
Human Geography
3
GEOG 201

Math Calculus AB

4

MATH 121 (score of 4 or higher)

Math Calculus BC

4

MATH 122 (score of 4 or higher)

Music Listening

3

MU 129

Psychology 3
PSY 201

Statistics

3

PSY 205

Challenge Exams

Challenge Exams have been developed for a limited number of 100 and 200 level undergraduate courses. These exams allow students to "test out" of a course and receive college credit on their Cumberland University transcript. Exams are linked to the course learning outcomes and objectives. The school with academic responsibility for the course maintains a file of study materials for these exams. Study materials may be requested on the application to take a Challenge Exam.

Challenge Exams are restricted as follows:

  1. Challenge exams will not be accepted for students within the last thirty (30) hours required for graduation for Bachelor's degrees or within the last fifteen (15) hours required for graduation for Associate's degrees.
  2. A challenge exam application form can be picked up at the Registrar's Office or emailed to the student upon request. Completed and signed applications should be submitted to the Registrar's Office.
  3. Upon approval of an application for a Challenge Exam, the Registrar's Office will post a bill for the exam to the student's account. The student must then pay the $75 fee in full at the Business Office (615-547-1218) prior to setting up an exam appointment.
  4. Upon payment, the school with academic responsibility for the course will contact the student to set up an appointment to take the Challenge Exam.
  5. To be awarded non-traditional course credit for a Challenge Exam, the student must score no less than 70% on the exam.

CLEP - Credit by Examination

Cumberland grants university credit in select courses to students who pass a comprehensive examination. Students seeking credit by special examination will be tested over all components of the course. To be eligible to take a CLEP Examination, a student must not have been enrolled in the class for which the student wants to receive credit for a period of time longer than the drop date to receive a grade of "W" (the student must have droppe dthe class before he/she would have received a grade of "WP" or "WF"). CLEP tests may be repeated within the guidelines of the College Level Examination Program. Cumberland University accepts the American Council of Education’s recommended score on a scaled score of 50 for granting credit for courses. Please visit the Cumberland University website for additional CLEP examination information or contact the Academic Success Center.

CLEP

Credit

In Lieu of Courses at Cumberland University

Composition and Literature

 

 

American Literature

3

ENG 216

Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

3

ENG 215

College Composition Modular

3

ENG 101

College Composition
3
 ENG 102 (score of 4 on both essays required)
English Literature

3

ENG 216

Social Sciences and History

 

 

American Government

3

POLSC 223

Introduction to Educational Psychology

3

ED 322

History of the United States I
3  HIS 201
History of the United States II

3

HIS 202

Human Growth and Development

3

PSY 211

Principles of Macroeconomics

3

ECON 241

Principles of Microeconomics

3

ECON 242

Introductory Psychology

3

PSY 201

Introductory Sociology

3

SOC 221

Social Sciences and History
3  GEC Social Science credit
Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648
3  HIS 111
Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present
3  HIS 112
Science and Mathematics

 

 

College Mathematics
3
 MATH 110
College Algebra

3

MATH 111

Biology

3

BIO 111

Calculus

4

MATH 121

Precalculus
3 MATH 119
Chemistry

8

CHEM 111, 112

Natural Sciences

4

SCI 105

Business

 

 

Financial Accounting

3

ACC 211

Introduction to Business Law

3

BUA 340

Information Systems

3

CIS 300

Principles of Management

3

MGT 363

Principles of Marketing

3

MKT 362

To be eligible to take a CLEP Examination, a student must not have been enrolled in the class for which the student wants to receive credit for a period of time longer than the drop date to receive a grade of “W” (the student must have dropped the class before he/she would have received a grade of “WP” or “WF”). CLEP tests may be repeated within the guidelines of the College Level Examination Program.

Cumberland grants university credit in select courses to students who pass a comprehensive examination. Students seeking credit by special examination will be tested over all components of the course

Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES)

Students with military experience may have taken one or more DANTES exams. DANTES exam official scores may be submitted for consideration by the Registrar's Office.

Experiential Learning Credit

Students wishing to receive course credit for their past work experience may apply for Experiential Credit in lieu of one or more Cumberland University courses. Experiential Credit requires the student to document in detail his/her work experience relative to each course learning outcome and objective. Documentation must provide sufficient evidence of the achievement of the learning outcomes and objectives for credit to be awarded. The student’s documentation is referred to as a portfolio. Portfolios include documentation that the student has mastered the required learning outcomes and objectives as identified on the Course Syllabus and in the Course Assessment Documentation Sheet (CADS). A lead faculty member for the course evaluates the portfolio of the student.

The school with academic responsibility for the course maintains a file of Course Syllabi and CADS. Both documents can be requested on the Experiential Credit Application form. 

  1. An Experiential Credit Application form can be picked up at the Registrar’s Office or emailed to the student upon request. Completed and signed applications should be submitted to the Registrar’s Office.
  2. Upon approval of an application for Experiential Credit, the Registrar’s Office will post a bill for processing the student’s portfolio to the student’s account. The student must then pay the $75 processing fee in full at the Business Office prior to the student’s portfolio being accepted for evaluation.
  3. Upon payment, the school with academic responsibility for the course(s) will contact the student to set up an appointment to discuss the contents and requirements for the student’s portfolio and, if requested, provide the Course Syllabi and the CADS for the course(s).
  4. A second fee of $75 per credit hour is assessed only if the portfolio evaluation results in the award of college credit. However, if college credit is awarded, the student must then pay the associated credit hour fee before the awarded credit is posted to the student’s transcript. For example, if a student is awarded three credit hours of non-traditional course credit via portfolio review, the processing fee is $75 and the credit hour fee is $225 ($75 times 3 credit hours) for a total of $300.
  5. Those students who believe they were unfairly evaluated may petition the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Local Dual Credit

Local dual credit is awarded to high school students who pass the Cumberland University Challenge Exam which is used to assess mastery of the post secondary-level learning objectives. The following chart indicates the courses accepted and the minimum score required to earn credit at Cumberland University.

 Challenge Exam 

 Score Required 
 CU Course Credit 
 Computer Applications 
 70  CIS 170
 Lifetime Wellness
 70  EXSS 150
 Personal Finance
 70  BUA 200

Military Education Credit

Students with military experience may have earned military education credit(s) which may qualify for non-traditional course credit at Cumberland University. The American Council on Education's (ACE) Military Guide will be used by the Registrar's Office to determine the number of semester credit hours which may be awarded for military education credit. Military education credit cannot exceed 30 credit hours of the total credit hours awarded for a degree at Cumberland University.

POST - Police Officer Standards Training

Students with successful completion of a state certified law enforcement training academy and the acquisition of a POST (Police Officer Standards and Training) certificate may be eligible for up to 15 hours of academic credit.

CRJ 210    Investigation
CRJ 211    Introduction to Law Enforcement
CRJ 329    Criminal Evidence
CRJ 410    Criminal Law
CRJ 433    Terrorism and Homeland Security

Statewide Dual Credit

Statewide dual credit classes are college-level courses taught at the high-school level by trained high-school teachers. All students enrolled in a statewide dual credit course take the online challenge exam, which is used to assess mastery of the post secondary-level learning objectives. The following chart indicates the courses accepted and the minimum score required to earn credit at Cumberland University.

Course Score
 Cumberland Course Credit
Introduction to Business
70%
 BUA 101
Personal Finance
70%
 BUA 200
Criminal Justice II
70%
 CRJ 111
Introduction to Education 80%
 ED 201
World History 70%
 HIS 192
American History 75%
 HIS 202
Pre-Calculus 70%
 MATH 119
Principles of Marketing 70%  MKT 362
Psychology 70%  PSY 201
Introductory Statistics
70%
 PSY 205
Introduction to Sociology 70%  SOC 221
Speech and Communication 75%  SPEE 220