Skill Levels
Skill Level, Composition
COMP 101 Introduction to Expository Writing (4) and COMP 102 Topics in Expository Writing (4) or COMP 111 Expository Writing I for Non-Native Speakers (4) and COMP 112 Expository Writing II for Non-Native Speakers (4) or CORE 111 Writing Class I (4) and CORE 112 Writing Class II (4). All USC students must demonstrate their ability to write acceptable college-level expository prose. The course requirement may be waived for exceptional students. Such waivers are based on outstanding examination scores. (See the Expository Writing Program section for details.) However, most students fulfill the requirement by completing Expository Writing 101 and 102 or Expository Writing 111 and 112 or CORE 111 and 112. To meet the composition skill level requirement, students must complete two of the courses listed above and must receive a final grade of C- or higher in Expository Writing 102 or 112 or in CORE 112 and receive a passing grade on the final examination or project in Expository Writing 102 or 112 or in CORE 112. Students who receive lower than a C- in Expository Writing 102 or 112 may meet the skill level requirement by retaking Expository Writing 102, 112 or the equivalent transfer course and receiving a C- or by taking Expository Writing 105 and receiving a passing grade. Students must complete the Composition Skill Level requirement prior to registering for their sixty-fifth unit.
Transfer Students
Transfer students, like incoming freshmen, must satisfy the Composition Skill Level requirement of the USC General Education Program. Composition courses transferred in from other institutions will often wholly or partially satisfy the course work requirement. All transfer students should check their transfer credit evaluations very carefully to determine the extent to which a course or courses they have taken at another college or university satisfy the USC expository writing requirement.
Transfer students must work toward completing the Composition Skill Level requirement on the following schedule:
Transfer students who have not completed any transferable composition courses must enroll in Expository Writing 101/111 prior to or concurrently with registering for their 19th unit (second semester) and must then enroll in Expository Writing 102/112 prior to or concurrently with enrollment in their 33rd unit (third semester).
Transfer students who have completed one semester of composition at another institution must enroll in Expository Writing 102/112 prior to or concurrently with registering for their 19th unit (second semester).
Unit Equivalencies, Transfer Credit
For students who entered college as freshmen in fall 1982, or later, the following unit equivalencies have been approved: (a) Students who transfer three semester or four quarter units of expository writing receive subject credit for 101 and enroll in 102. Upper division transfer students (those who have completed more than 64 units) may take English 400 rather than 102. Other transfer students for whom English 400 may be a more appropriate course than 102 should contact the Expository Writing Program for advisement regarding substitution of English 400 for 102. Students who substitute English 400 for Expository Writing 102 must receive a grade of C- or higher in English 400 and a passing grade on the English 400 final examination or project to meet the skill level requirement. (b) Students who transfer six semester or eight quarter units of composition receive subject credit for 101 and 102.
Skill Level, Foreign Language
Students in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and other schools requiring the foreign language skill level must take a placement examination to determine their level of language proficiency. The foreign language skill level requirement may be satisfied only by (1) earning a passing grade in Course III of a foreign language sequence at USC or its equivalent elsewhere; (2) scoring on the placement examination at a level considered by the department as equivalent to the completion of Course III; or (3) scoring on a national or statewide examination at a level set by the department and approved by the Foreign Language Instruction Committee. Students who can supply proof of at least two years of full-time secondary schooling beyond the age of 14 taught in a foreign language may request exemption from the foreign language requirement.
If a student has completed some college-level work in a foreign language but fails through placement testing to qualify for the next level of instruction, the student may be required by the department to repeat for no additional credit the elementary or intermediate course needed to develop sufficient skills to continue the I, II, III sequence. For units requiring fourth semester competence in a foreign language, the foreign language departments will determine which courses satisfy the requirement.
International students whose native language is not English are exempt from the foreign language requirement. Students with advanced skills in languages other than those taught at USC may request exemption from the foreign language requirement if (1) they can supply proof of at least two years of full-time secondary schooling taught in a foreign language beyond the age of 14, or (2) if they can pass a competency exam testing for advanced language skills and administered at USC subject to the availability of suitable academic examiners; the competency exam will test proficiency in speaking, reading and writing skills. Students with documented learning disabilities or physical impairments inhibiting language acquisition may petition for substitution. Students who entered USC or another institution of higher learning prior to fall 1988 and have made reasonable progress toward their degrees may elect to follow this requirement or the one in force in their entering year.
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Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995
univpub@stuaff.usc.edu