CLAS Requirement
Important Notice to Students Regarding the College Level Academic Skills RequirementThe CLAS Requirement is anticipated to be eliminated by the Board of Governors at State of Florida Universities in September 2011. Effective July 1, 2011, the College Level Academic Skills Requirement (CLASR) was eliminated by the Florida legislature and is no longer needed to earn an associate's or bachelor's degree at Florida State and Community Colleges; however, the CLAS Requirement remains in effect for State of Florida Universities.Click here for more important information. |
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Effective July 1, 2009, the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) exam was no longer administered. However, the CLAS requirement does remain in effect. All scores earned prior to July 1, 2009 will still be valid. Read about important changes with the CLAS requirement.
The College Level Academic Skills (CLAS) requirement is part of Florida’s system of educational accountability measures a student’s attainment of the college-level communication and mathematics skills commensurate with successful completion of lower division course work identified by the faculties of community colleges and state universities through the College Level Academic Skills Project (CLASP).
Since August 1, 1984, students in public postsecondary institutions in Florida have been required to meet CLAS requirements for the award of an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree, for admission to upper-division status and the award of a baccalaureate degree in a state university in Florida. Prior to July 1, 2009 students could meet the CLAS requirement by taking the CLAST (College Level Academic Skills Test) exam, or the alternative methods of ACT, SAT, or coursework.
Effective July 1, 2009, the CLAST exam was no longer administered. Recent Florida legislation, Senate Bill 1676, repealed the use of the CLAST exam to measure the CLAS requirement. However, the CLAS requirement does remain in effect. All scores earned prior to July 1, 2009 will still be valid. Current options for students who still need to satisfy the CLAS requirement must do so by achieving a score that meets or exceeds a minimum score on a nationally standardized exam or coursework (subject to Florida legislative changes).
There are three (3) exceptions to this:
- Students who were awarded an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree from a state of Florida public institution.
- Students seeking an undergraduate degree from a state of Florida institution that have already earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. institution.
- Students who were awarded an Associate of Arts degree before September 1, 1982, and were admitted to upper division status in a Florida public university before August 1, 1984.
The CLAS requirement should be completed by the time a student has earned 60 credit hours. An incomplete CLAS requirement may result in delayed course registration. Students who do not meet the CLAS requirement by the time they have reached 36 hours or more of upper division credit including earned, in progress, or registered for in future terms will be prohibited from registering until the requirement is met.
NOTE: If you are seeking a degree in Education and/or if you ever plan to pursue a state teaching certificate, please contact an advisor in the College of Education in order to determine what requirements you need to meet.
