UMA recognizes that students can master languages in non-traditional ways. The following are various pathways for earning language credit at UMA.
The Advanced Placement Program (AP) sponsored by the College Board offers secondary school students the opportunity to participate in challenging college-level course work while still in high school. UMA recognizes specific AP grades enabling students to receive credit for their achievement. Note that AP credits cannot be used to meet UMA residency requirements.
UMA accepts the following language AP Scores:
| AP Exam | UMA Required Score | Amount of Credit Granted | UMA Equivalent Course(s) |
| French Language | 3 | 4 | FRE 101 |
| French Language | 4 or 5 | 8 | FRE 101 & FRE 102 |
| German Language | 3 | 3 | GER 101 |
| German Language | 4 or 5 | 6 | GER 101 & GER 102 |
| Spanish Language | 3 | 4 | SPA 101 |
| Spanish Language | 4 or 5 | 8 | SPA 101 & SPA 102 |
Courses and examinations from non-accredited training organizations may be granted transfer credit if they are recognized by the American Council on Education (ACE). The courses must carry a credit recommendation from ACE and be categorized as lower division, upper division, or graduate level. Credit will not be granted for courses at the vocational level.
ACTFL Language Connects: ACTFL assessments have been evaluated and carry ACE recommendations for college credit. To learn more, visit the ACTFL ACE Credit Recommendations.
- An official ACE transcript must be submitted for courses to be considered for transfer credit.
- Credit will be awarded at the ACE recommended level (1xx or 3xx).
- Credit will be designated as general elective credit for subjects with no comparable discipline at UMA, program elective credit, or for a specific course if the ACE recommendation aligns with an existing course.
For details on requesting ACE transcripts, click here. You can also find the ACE National Guide here.
UMA does accept credit for the BYU FLATS exams, however we do not administer the exams.
Brigham Young University (BYU) Foreign Language Achievement Testing Service (FLATS) exams offer opportunities to test in over fifty languages. BYU FLATS exams test for listening, reading, and writing, and do not require knowledge of technical terms or specialized vocabulary. BYU FLATS exams are online tests that have a limit of 2.5 hours.
UMA Equivalencies for BYU Language Exam Passing Scores
BYU FLATS exams are available in the following languages:
Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Bulgarian, Cambodian, Cantonese-Simplified, Cantonese- Traditional, Cebuano, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Fijian, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Hmong, Hungarian, Icelandic, Ilonggo Hilgaynon, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malagasy, Malay, Mandarin-Simplified, Mandarin-Traditional, Mongolian, Norwegian, Persian-Farsi, Polish, Portuguese-Brazilian, Portuguese-Continental, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Tahitian, Thai, Tongan, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
UMA Credits are awarded using the following equivalencies:
| Course# | Grade | Credits Awarded |
| 101 and/or 102 | F | No Credit |
| 101 & 102 | P, P | LAN 1xx (4 credits)* |
| 101, 102 & 201 | P, P, P | LAN 2xx (8 credits)* |
* If a student passes the exam in a language UMA offers, then the three-letter prefix for the language will be used instead of LAN. (For example, passing the BYU French exam at the 101 + 102 level will result in 4 credits of FRE 1XX.)
UMA participates in CLEP for college credit. Students in UMA degree programs may earn a maximum of 45 credits through CLEP. CLEP credits cannot be used to meet UMA residency requirements.
UMA is also an open test center. This means that anyone who wishes to take CLEP exams at UMA may do so and the results can be sent to any CLEP participating institution.
UMA accepts the following language CLEP Scores:
| CLEP Exam | UMA Required Score | Amount of Credit Granted | UMA Equivalent Course(s) |
| French Language, level 1 | 50 | 8 | FRE 101 & FRE 102 |
| French Language, level 2 | 62 | 8 | FRE 203 & FRE 204 |
| German Language, level 1 | 50 | 6 | Foreign Language elective |
| German Language, level 2 | 63 | 6 | Foreign Language elective |
| Spanish Language, level 1 | 50 | 8 | SPA 101 & SPA 102 |
| Spanish Language, level 2 | 66 | 8 | SPA 203 & SPA 204 |
The Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a proficiency-based exam that assesses the ability to use language effectively and appropriately in real-life situations. It assesses spontaneous unrehearsed language. It is faciilitated by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
Language proficiency is an invaluable skill for individuals worldwide. With ACTFL assessments, you can test and demonstrate your speaking, writing, reading, and listening proficiency in a language in the interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of communication.
Differing from an achievement test, which measures knowledge of specific information (what a person knows), a proficiency test targets what an individual can do with what they know.
- Student schedules test at this website.
The “Schedule a Test” button is about half-way down the webpage. - Resources to help students prepare for the test:
- Student completes the test.
- Test results will be emailed to the student from ACTFL, often within 48 hours.
- An example can be found here.
- Students who take a common language exam receive an email from Language Testing International via Credly indicating they have earned a digital badge. Email includes a link to “Accept the Badge”. “Common” languages include Arabic and French.
- Students who take a less common language (e.g. Somali) need to email customercare@languagetesting.com with their full name, the email address associated with their test, the test type, and the language. The Support team will send an email with information about accepting the badge.
- An example can be found here.
- Student creates an account at Credly and “accepts the badge.”.
- Student shares their Credly transcript with Eric Allain, eric.allain@maine.edu (please include your Student ID number in your e-mail) for posting in MaineStreet).
- Credly Help Video – How to Send a Transcript
- Credly Help Video – How to Send a Transcript
- Student shares their Credly transcript with Eric Allain, eric.allain@maine.edu (please include your Student ID number in your e-mail) for posting in MaineStreet).
- Details on the ACE credit recommendation can be found here.
- In general:
- 3 credits recommended = 3 lower level credits
- 6 credits recommended = 6 lower level credits
- 9 credits recommended = 6 lower level credits and 3 upper-level credits
- 12 credits recommended = 6 lower level credits and 6 upper-level credits
- In general:
Students who are admitted to UMA with a Seal of Biliteracy on their high school transcript shall receive eight credits under the following system of coursework. Each may also fulfill a humanities and cultural diversity general education requirement.
ARA 101: Beginning Arabic I
ARA 102: Beginning Arabic II
ASL 101: Beginning American Sign Language I
ASL 102: Beginning American Sign Language II
CHI 101: Beginning Chinese I
CHI 102: Beginning Chinese II
FRE 101: Beginning French I
FRE 102: Beginning French II
GER 101: Beginning German I
GER 102: Beginning German II
ITA 101: Beginning Italian I
ITA 102: Beginning Italian II
LAT 101: Beginning Latin I
LAT 102: Beginning Latin II
SPA 101: Beginning Spanish I
SPA 102: Beginning Spanish II
LAN 101 Beginning [Language] I (for languages not listed above)
LAN 102: Beginning [Language] II (for languages not listed above)
Contact Information
Credit by Examination:
Augusta: Eric Allain, Toll-free: 1.877.UMA.1234 ext. 3392 or 207.621.3392; eric.allain@maine.edu.
External Training:
Augusta/Bangor: Haley Brown, Toll-free: 1.877.UMA.1234 ext. 3130 or 207.621.3130, hbrown120@maine.edu.
ACE & Transfer:
Beth Vigue, Toll-free: 1.877.UMA.1234 ext. 3291 or 207.621.3291; bvigue@maine.edu.