must be a current student to get CLEP credit

[clep3705]

The University of Houston requires that a person be currently enrolled if AP, IB, CLEP, or DSST credit is awarded. They don't publish that, but they do enforce it.

This policy makes a certain degree of sense. It takes time and resources to post exam credits. If a person isn't a student, the school can make a case for not exerting the effort.

However, I find this reasoning flawed. For example, if a person wants to enroll in a course for which a CLEP credit is a prerequisite, it's not possible to register for the course until the credit is posted to the transcript. It's a catch-22. You need the credit to become an enrolled student, but you can't get the credit until you are an enrolled student.

There are probably other schools with similar policies. Another unpublished University of Houston policy is that the student must fill out a form requesting that the CLEP exam credit be posted to the official transcript. It just doesn't happen automatically.

The University of Texas at Arlington requires that students fill out a specific form in person. It's a duplicate form (used to be called carbon paper), not a downloadable document. I don't live in the area and had to get special permission granted for them to (1) mail me the form and (2) have them process a form that was mailed to them.

The lesson here is do not assume that you'll get credit when your passing scores are transmitted to a school.