THE CUNY PROFICIENCY EXAM

As of September 1, 2003 all students pursuing an associate degree or bachelor’s degree at CUNY must take and pass the CUNY PROFICIENCY EXAM. The CUNY PROFICIENCY EXAM (CPE) is a graduation requirement. Failure to take a required exam would result in a forfeiture of one of the three available test opportunities.

The CPE requires students to demonstrate their competence in aspect of academic literacy that the CUNY faculty considers important for later success.  Specifically, the CPE test some of the skills that have been developed through course work including reading and interpreting textbooks and material of general interest; organizing and presenting ideas about what was read and connecting those ideas to other information or concepts; writing clearly and effectively for an audience; and interpreting and evaluating materials presented in graphs and charts.

PLAGIARISM

In accordance with The University Policy on Academic Integrity, you must avoid plagiarism by making a clear distinction between your own words and the language of the readings or any other texts you refer to. Identify and document language or ideas that you take from readings or from any other research material, whether gathered from the internet or from books or articles you may have consulted. For example, you should identify the words of other writers by enclosing them in quotation marks and citing authors and sources.

If you include any language or ideas from another text in your response, you must identify such references with appropriate documentation.  If you do not document the source of any research material you include in your response, your examination paper will be scored as a “0” for Task 1 and a “0” for Task 2, and this failure on the test will count as one of your three opportunities to take the CPE.  In addition your test will be referred to your College for appropriate judicial action.

If you would like more information on these issues, please consult The University Policy on Academic Integrity which is available on the CUNY website www.cuny.edu under “Policies” for current students.

EXEMPTIONS

Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution are exempt from CPE requirements.

TEST DATES

October 15th and October 20th to October 25th 2008.

REGISTRATION

September 15th to October 2nd 2008. All registration for the CPE will be done online.

To register for the CPE click here

For more information you can visit the Testing Center in room B-2037 or email us at asktesting@mec.cuny.edu or call 718-270-4835.

WORKSHOPS

There are FREE workshops available for all students.
The extended intensive mandatory workshops are designed for those students who have already exhausted more than two opportunities of the CPE.
The Task 1 and Task 2 workshops are designed for all students.
The Peer Study Sessions allow students to work in small groups so they can apply strategies they learnt in the workshops.

Click here to print a copy of the workshop schedule.

CRITERIA FOR TAKING THE CPE

  • ¨You must be in good academic standing – students whose GPA is below 2.0 are not required to take the CPE.

  • ¨You must have met the CUNY basic skills requirements in reading and writing in order to qualify to take the CPE.

  • ¨You must take the CPE after you have completed 45 credits. If you are a new transfer student with 45 or more credits, you will take the CPE in your first semester.

PETITIONS

Students seeking a deferral, requesting a fourth test or seeking a removal of an absence must file a petition in writing with supporting documents. Petition forms are available online, in the SASS Center in room B-2032 or in the Testing Center in room B-2037. Completed forms must be returned to the SASS Center or the Testing Center for review by the CPE committee.

Click here to print the CPE petition form.

APPEALS

Since the CPE score cannot be appealed by a student, the University will grant an automatic appeal to any student who receives a score of 32 or 33. The exam will be reviewed and rescored making this the final score.

RESULTS

CPE results are available at the end of the semester in which the exam is taken. Students who test in June will receive their results at the end of August and for those who test in January results will be available early March. Prior to receiving an official score report in the mail students can access their results via eCPE at www.cuny.edu/ecpeinfo

For more information please contact the Testing Center.  We are located in room B-2037 or contact us by phone at 718-270-4835 or email asktesting@mec.cuny.edu