ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR TAKING THE REGENTS' TEST

Special Categories of Students

1. A student holding a baccalaureate or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education will not be required to pass RGTR 0198 or RGTE 0199 in order to receive a degree from a University System institution.
   
2. Each institution may develop special procedures for examining students whose native language is not English. These procedures shall require a formal examination of competence in English. The use of culturally neutral topics, the granting of extended time, and the use of translation dictionaries are permissible accommodations for the essay examination.
   
3. Each institution shall develop special procedures, in accordance with the description of procedures and requirements (see appended 'Special Administration of the Regents' Test') for examining students with disabilities.
   
4. Students who failed the Regents' Reading Test before Fall Quarter, 1980, shall not be held to a higher passing standard at a subsequent retaking of the test than was in effect at the time of their original attempt. All students, regardless of when they entered the system, must pass or exempt the Regents' Skills courses as a requirement for graduation.
   
5. Students who live out of state may be permitted to have the Regents' Tests administered out of state if they have fulfilled course requirements and follow the procedures outlined in the Regents' Testing Program Administration Manual. (For information, consult the Regents' Test administrator in the Division of Student Affairs.)

Essay Review

Students may request a formal review of failure on the essay component of the Regents' Test if that essay received at least one passing score among the three scores awarded. The review procedure shall be as follows:

1. A student must initiate the review procedure by mid-term of his/her first semester of enrollment after the semester in which the essay was failed. The review must be initiated, however, within one calendar year from the semester in which the failure occurred.
   
2. Students whose essays are under review and who have earned 45 credit hours must enroll in the Regents' Writing Skillscourse.
   
3. The review will be initiated at the campus level, with procedural matters to be determined by the institution. The on-campus review, however, will be conducted by the three faculty members designated by the institution as a review panel. The on-campus review panel may (1) sustain, by majority opinion, the essay's failing score, thus terminating the review process, or (2) recommend, by majority opinion, the re-scoring of the essay by the Regents' Testing Program Office. The student will be notified concerning the results of the on-campus review. A decision by the on-campus review panel to terminate the review process is final.
   
4. If the on-campus panel recommends re-scoring of the essay, that recommendation will be transmitted in writing, along with the essay, to the office of the System Director of the Regents' Testing Program. The Director will utilize the services of three experienced Regents' essay scorers other than those involved in the original scoring of the essay to review the essay, following normal scoring procedures for the Regents' Essay Test. The decision of the panel on the merits of the essay will be final, thus terminating the review process. The student will be notified through the institution concerning the results of the review.

Health Professions Program Requirement

Before students in health professions programs may enter their last semester, they must have passed the Regents' Test.

Regents' Test Compliance Policy

The Automatic Test Registration System will indicate to students the appropriate time to take the Regents' Test. Students must attend the test session for which they are scheduled. Compliance will be monitored as a collaborative effort of the Registrar's office and the Regents' Test preparation coordinators. Two forms of enforcement will be instituted:

• Based on the attendance roster, the first time a student fails to attend his or her scheduled test session this student will be dropped from any pre-registered courses and prevented from re-registering by a hold automatically removed during registration.
  
• If a student fails to attend the scheduled test session a second time OR has more than 45 hours and has not satisfied the Regents' Test requirement, this student will be required to register for the RGTE 0199 and/or RGTR 0198 the subsequent term and will be prevented from pre-registering.

RGTE 0199 and RGTR 0198 attendance will be enforced in the following ways:

1. Any student who does not attend the assigned course will receive a U for the course and will not be allowed to attempt the test.
   
2. This student will be required to register again for the remediation course(s) the following term.
   
3. This student will be prevented from pre-registering for other courses.