Student Placement | College Writing Program | SUNY Buffalo State University

"[Writing is] a strategy that can be used for learning, a way of negotiating identities within and around specific contexts, a representation of ideas, a way of participating in ideologies, a strategy of movement."

Linda Adler-Kassner

SUNY & BSU Basic Communication Requirement

General Education completion of CWP 101 and CWP 102:

Students must earn a grade of "C" or better in both CWP 101 and CWP 102 in order to fulfill the SUNY General Education Communication Requirement at Buffalo State University

Placement Policies

computer on desk with screen that reads "Exemption from CWP 101"

Students who earn a 3 on the AP Language and Composition will receive credit for CWP 101 and be placed in CWP 102. (The AP Literature and Composition is NOT accepted as an exemption in the College Writing Program.)
Students who complete the CLEP Freshman College Composition/ ENG 101 course with a minimum grade of 50 will receive credit for CWP 101 and be placed in CWP 102.
Students who score 5 on the International Baccalaureate English A1 Higher Level exam will receive credit for CWP 101 and be placed in CWP 102.

Students who are exempt from CWP 101 based upon AP, IB, or CLEP scores are still required to take CWP 102 and achieve a grade of “C” or higher in order to fulfill Buffalo State University’s General Education Communication Requirement.

computer on desk with screen that reads "Exemption from CWP 101 & CWP 102"

Students who score 4 or 5 on the AP Language and Composition exam will receive credit for both CWP 101 and CWP 102. (The AP Literature and Composition is NOT accepted as an exemption in the College Writing Program.)
Students who earn an International Baccalaureate diploma or a score of 5 on the International Baccalaureate English A2 Higher Level Exam will receive credit for CWP 101 and CWP 102.

Transfer Credit Policies

Students can use Buffalo State’s transfer database to see previously approved course equivalencies for CWP 101 and CWP 102.
Students may also apply for transfer credit to satisfy Buffalo State University’s General Education Communication Requirement by filing a Transfer Credit Appeal Form available from the Registrar’s Office. The Director of the College Writing Program determines final course equivalency.
SUNY mandates that remedial or ESL courses are NOT acceptable for the General Education Communication requirement; nor shall students place out of this SUNY GE requirement with high scores on Regents and/or SAT (or similar) exams.