Language Requirement and Class Placement
To fulfill the Language Requirement at Skidmore College, all students must complete one course in a foreign language-designated course in the Department of World Languages and Literatures or the Department of Classics. In order to provide the best academic experience, the Department of WLL works toward finding the most accurate placement for each one of its students. Therefore the placement of students in a language course will be determined as follows:
For students interested in French, German, Italian and Spanish:
No experience
- Students can enroll in a 101 class if and only if they have had no previous experience with that language.
Some experience
- Students who have previously had any experience with these languages must take the on-line placement test (WebCAPE).
- Students who have taken the appropriate SAT II Foreign Language Test do not need to take the placement test (WebCAPE). They will be placed according to the chart below.
- Students with a score of 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement language exam (AP) should enroll in courses above the 203-level.
Placement
- In addition to the above placement scores, the professor may also take into consideration a student’s previous experience with the language (e.g. high school transcripts, informal contact with the language, etc.) and/or the student’s demonstrated ability with the language (e.g. class performance, one-on-one interview, etc.).
- In all cases, it is ultimately the professor who determines a student’s appropriate language level.
For students interested in Chinese:
No experience
- Only students with no experience in the language can enroll in WLC-101.
Some experience
- Students with previous experience with Chinese are placed based on their written Chinese level and oral proficiency. In order to do so, students must submit their latest writing samples in Chinese, along with information about their Chinese curriculum in the last year of high school.
- There is an oral assessment to confirm placement at the beginning of the semester.
- If a student has taken the SAT II Chinese or AP Chinese, the student will be placed according to the chart below.
For students interested in Japanese:
No experience
- Only students with no experience with the language can enroll in WLJ-101.
Some experience
- Students with previous experience with Japanese must take a placement test. The test is not given on-line, so students need to contact Prof. Masako Inamoto.
- If a student has taken the SAT II Japanese or AP Japanese, the student will be placed according to the chart below.
For students interested in Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese or Russian: Please contact the instructor.
WebCAPE Instructions
- In your Internet browser, go to: http://webcape.org
- Look up school: Skidmore College
- Enter password: tbreds1 ("tbreds" followed by the digit "1")
- Select the language: French, German, Italian, or Spanish
- Enter your Skidmore I.D. number. This is a nine-digit number that you should have received from the Registrar's Office.
- Click on "Continue." The first screen is a practice item. After that, you will begin the exam.
- Your placement score will be displayed at the end of the exam. Be sure to click on "Finished" to send a copy of this information to Skidmore.
- Please Note: There is a 24-hour delay for this score to show up in the Skidmore Student System. Therefore we recommend taking the exam at least one day prior to your registration timeslot, or you can print the final page and bring it into the Registrar's Office for a manual override.
WebCAPE Placement Exams for French, German, Italian and Spanish
| SCORE | PLACEMENT |
| 0–339 | French 102, German or Italian 102, Spanish 103 |
| 340–390 | French, German, Italian, Spanish 203 |
| 391 and above | French, German, Italian, Spanish courses above the 203 level |
SAT II Foreign Language Exams
| SCORE | PLACEMENT |
| 0–490 | French 102, German 102, Italian 102, Spanish 103 |
| 500–560 | Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish 203 |
| 570 and above | Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish courses above the 203 level |
ATTENTION - Please read
Any student who deliberately does poorly on the Skidmore language placement exam or who knowingly and willfully enrolls in a class below his/her/their language proficiency level is in violation of the Skidmore College Honor Code and may be referred to the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Advising and/or the Integrity Board for further action. Students should be aware that the penalties attached to an academic integrity violation may jeopardize a student's standing at the college. Students should also be aware that those who have committed academic integrity violations are ineligible for college honors, including but not limited to Dean's List, graduation honors and inclusion in certain honor societies. Students who have questions about their placement should speak to their class instructor.
For placement into languages other than French, German, Italian, and Spanish, contact the appropriate faculty in the department of World Languages and Literatures or Classics.