Foreign Language Substitution

Foreign Language

Foreign Language Substitution

Foreign Language Requirement

UCCS Students are expected to have completed appropriate high school coursework and this will be verified during the admission process. Coursework not completed in high school must be completed through college level coursework. For further information, please visit the UCCS catalog.

Students should complete 2 years of high school foreign language coursework in one language prior to beginning at UCCS. UCCS students deficient in foreign language must complete the equivalent of the second semester language course (XXXX 1020) or higher.

 

Options to meet the foreign language requirement

  1. Option 1

    Make up deficiency by taking a course that is normally counted as degree credit and have that course count as part of their undergraduate total hours, assuming that all prerequisites are fulfilled.
  2. Option 2

    Take a proficiency test (if one is available): A score of 280-286 on the foreign language proficiency test eliminates one unit of deficiency and permits students to enroll in the second semester of that language. A score of 336-341 (or above) on the test eliminates all units of MAPS deficiencies for foreign language.
  3. Option 3

    Take appropriate courses at community colleges or other colleges to eliminate a unit of deficiency. Students are responsible to know which courses will and will not transfer to the University of Colorado.
  4. Option 4

    For students with disabilities who have experienced challenges with foreign language courses, Disability Service recommends the American Sign Language courses to meet the foreign language requirement. American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual language.
  5. Option 5

    Students with disabilities may also be eligible to request and receive a Foreign Language Substitution course through Disability Services.

Procedure for Foreign Language Substitution

Some students may have a disability that prevents them from meeting the foreign language requirement. Disability Services has an agreement with the UCCS Counsel on Undergraduate Education (CUE) to grant a substitution course for the foreign language requirement for students with qualifying disabilities.

Students are encouraged to begin the process of requesting substitution courses for the Foreign Language requirement early in their academic career. It may take time to obtain the necessary documentation for this accommodation and to make the arrangements to complete the substitution courses with the help of an academic advisor.

Steps to request a Foreign Language Substitution:

  1. Step 1
  2. Step 2

    Student provides required documentation related to the request (as described below).
  3. Step 3

    Student meets with a Disability Accommodation Coordinator.
  4. Step 4

    Disability Services determines whether or not it is a reasonable accommodation for a qualifying disability to grant a foreign language course substitution.
  5. Step 5

    If Disability Services deems a foreign language course substitution as a reasonable accommodation, Disability Services will inform the student’s Academic Advisor that a course substitution is appropriate.
  6. Step 6

    Student meets with Academic Advisor to identify an appropriate substitute course.

Documentation Required for Substitution

The documentation must specifically indicate why learning a foreign language is more difficult than other academic tasks that are less impacted by the disability. Typically, this documentation includes a complete Psychoeducational or Neuropsychological testing battery.  Anxiety about taking a foreign language class or speaking a foreign language in class is not considered a disability in this regard, nor is lack of preparation or recent exposure to a language.

Disability Services will not accept blanket recommendations, such as “waived for foreign language” or “He/She can’t learn a foreign language.”  We require clarification for those recommendations and specific documentation of how the disability impacts the student’s ability to learn a foreign language. Requests for a Foreign Language Substitution are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  Please refer to the UCCS Disability Services Documentation Guidelines.