Exemption Criteria for PVCE Basic Skills Requirement
Santa Fe College students who enroll in Postsecondary Vocational Certificate Education programs must satisfy the entry or exit basic skills examination requirement for their programs by achieving certain minimum scores on the Computerized Placement Test (CPT) and/or Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). However, self-identifying students with disabilities can seek an exemption if they do not achieve necessary scores even after remediation. The following is the Florida rule governing such exemptions.
6A-10.040 Basic Skills Requirements for Postsecondary Vocational Certificate Education
(1) Students who are enrolled in a postsecondary vocational certificate program shall complete a basic skills examination within the first [6] weeks after admission into the program.
(2) Scale scores corresponding to the minimum basic skills grade levels in each vocational program description adopted under Rule 6A-6.0571, FAC, and published annually by the Commissioner in the document entitled, "Vocational Education Program Courses Standards" shall be used to determine basic skills levels required for completion of the vocational program.
(3) Students deemed to lack the required minimal level of basic skills as measured by one of the designated examinations shall be provided with instruction specifically designed to correct the deficiencies.
(4) After a student completes the remediation prescribed for basic skills deficiencies, the student shall be retested using an alternative form (if possible) of the same examination that was used for initial testing. No student shall be awarded a vocational certificate until the student achieves the minimum level of basic skills required for that program by the Department of Education. However, students with disabilities, as defined in Section 239.105, Florida Statutes, may be exempted from meeting the vocational basic skills required in subsection (2) of this rule.
Actions for Students with Disabilities Seeking Exemptions
- Prospective students should obtain specific program requirements from appropriate program advisors.
- Students seeking exemptions to the vocational basic skills requirement on the basis of disabilities must self-identify by registering with the Disabilities Resource Center.
- Self-identifying students must submit disability verifying documentation to the Disabilities Resource Center.
- Students with disabilities must meet with a DRC Access Specialist for an intake interview to address the matter of an exemption.
