Online Challenge Exams

1. Gain approval. 

• Seventh-day Adventist teachers who have a background in Adventist education may prove their competency and earn credit toward denominational certification through successful completion of exams. Request your union certification registrar to email approval, including your full name and the specific exams approved in the body of the email. 
• Andrews University undergraduate degree students request their academic advisor email approval, including their full name and the specific exam approved. Note that credit by exam is not transferable, must be completed prior to the last registered semester, and challenge exams cannot be taken if the course has been or is currently being taken.

2. Request and take the exam. 

Complete the challenge exam request form online at this link. Follow instructions for approval. Be ready to pay the $200 exam administration fee, following directions after completing the form. Email if you have questions.

• Challenge exams assume mastery of course outcomes. The registration confirmation email includes steps to pay online, how to activate your username, and where to access full review information.
• Schedule the exam right away.  Wait to register until you can take the exam within 30 days. Exams are completed under the supervision of a proctor in a video conference with our Testing Center.  Schecule an exam proctoring appointment at this link. 
• Take the exam online. There is one challenge exam per course, completed in one 2.5 hour session on a computer with internet access, audio and video. You will meet with a proctor through a zoom video conference. Read the email confirming your appointment to prepare for this session.

3. Pay the $180 recording fee for each passed exam.

• If you pass, your grade report will include information on how to pay the recording fee, using the credit-by-exam form.
• If you fail, plan to take the full course. Challenge exams cannot be repeated, and cannot be taken when you previously completed the course through any institution.

4. Request your transcript.  

• Transcripts can be requested at getmytranscript.com, selecting Andrews University, then entering the person or organization to whom the official transcript is to be sent.
• Current Andrews students will see the grade on their university academic record by the end of the semester in which they request credit recorded. A transcript request is only needed if moving to another institution or for employment elsewhere.

Please note: this exam does not test all required for SDA history & heritage certification; it is not equivalent to RELH 400 required for current religion and theology majors.
 

Challenge exam content:

• An investigation of Seventh-day Adventist church history with a preliminary review of
  backgrounds and foundations of the Advent message from apostolic times
• Concentration on the church’s beginnings in America, the 1844 experience, history, organization, and development of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination in America and in the world
• Special attention is given to the writings of the prophets, particularly Ellen G. White.

Outcomes assessed: 

• Become familiar with the basic outline of Seventh-day Adventist history, including
  important individuals, events, and beliefs.
• Understand the major trends and developments in Seventh-day Adventist history,
  particularly doctrinal and organizational development, worldwide expansion, and
  relationships with both the “outside” religious and secular world.
• Identify the role that Ellen G. White played in shaping the institutional church and Adventist doctrine, including the relationship of Adventists to her writings since her death in 1915.

Textbook(s) to review:

Schwarz, Richard W., and Floyd Greenleaf. Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church. Nampa: Pacific Press, 2000. ISBN: 9780816317950.

Follow emailed instructions once you pay for a challenge exam to access a more comprehensive review. You will have 30 days to view this and take the exam.

Challenge exam content:

• Defines and clarifies the Biblical doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist faith
• Distinguishes the doctrines within the background of the Judeo-Christian tradition

Outcomes assessed: 

• Know, understand and be able to analyse the way in which Christian churches develop
  and express their doctrinal beliefs
• Be acquainted with and able to describe the biblical and theological foundation for the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Understand and be able to position the doctrinal views of the Adventist Church in
  relation to core Christianity and to the various Christian churches and denominations

Textbook(s) to review:

Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 2nd ed.
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5
White, Ellen G. Acts of the Apostles
White, Ellen G. Counsels for the Church
White, Ellen G. The Desire of Ages
White, Ellen G. The Great Controversy
White, Ellen G. Patriarchs and Prophets
White, Ellen G. Selected Messages, Books 1 and 2
White, Ellen G. Steps to Christ

Follow emailed instructions once you pay for a challenge exam to access a more comprehensive review. You will have 30 days to view this and take the exam.

Challenge exam content:

• A comprehensive study of the life and teachings of Jesus as unfolded in the four gospels
• Analysis of the gospel writers and their writing in an attempt to reveal the impact of
  His Self-revelation on that age and ours

Outcomes assessed:

• Introduce the life and teachings of Jesus at a level of sophistication appropriate to this point in your academic career.
• Introduce college-level study of the Gospels, including several of the different ways this study might be approached.
• Enhance understanding of the Gospels by increasing your knowledge of their
  geographical, historical, and social background.
• Consider theological issues raised by the witness of the four Gospels to the founder and focus of the Christian religion.

Textbook(s) to review:

Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: an Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007. ISBN: 978-0310226970

Bible (NRSV, ASV, NIV, NKJV) A literal translation is preferred over against a paraphrased translation (NLT, GNB, CEV) for the purpose of this exam.

Follow emailed instructions once you pay for a challenge exam to access a more comprehensive review. You will have 30 days to view this and take the exam.