Students who do not intend to further their knowledge through coursework of a language taught at VCU must be evaluated for language proficiency through the Avant STAMP 4S Assessment Test.

The Avant STAMP 4S Assessment Test is a comprehensive evaluation of all five language skills (oral and aural comprehension, written and verbal articulation and cultural competence) and is processed through the School of World Studies several times a year. The Avant STAMP 4S is not taken for credit; it is solely used for assessment purposes. View the AVANT Test Score Rubric for more information on how the assessment scores coincide with VCU skill levels in each language.

Important: The following is necessary to complete the online Avant STAMP 4s assessment from the comfort of your own home:

• desktop or laptop computer (PC or Mac)
• webcam
• headset and microphone
• Google Chrome browser

There is an administrative fee of $100 to take this three-hour assessment which must be paid prior to registering for an exam date.

The payment instructions are as follows:

1. Log into VCU eServices; click on the "Student" tab; select "Student Account; then select "Make a Payment." You will click “Make a Payment” three times to take you to a screen where you can enter the required payment amount.
2. To pay the Avant fee, you will enter $100. You must manually enter this amount in the box on the right-hand of your screen. If paying by electronic check, there is no additional charge. If paying by credit card, there is an additional nonrefundable service fee of 2.85%.
3. Once payment is submitted, you must immediately email Student Accounting at stuacctg@vcu.edu to let them know that the payment for the test was made. Since taking the Avant test, you must enter "Avant Fee Paid" in the subject line of the email.
4. Student Accounting will provide you a receipt of the payment and notify the School of World Studies that your payment was made. You will need to upload this receipt in order to schedule a test date with our office!
5. To schedule, please use the Avant STAMP 4S Assessment Registration Form, registering at least one week in advance of the available assessment window. The SWS Advising Office will contact you to verify registration and then provide you a personalized link to complete the assessment online.

The online Avant STAMP 4s Assessment for Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish are open for registration as follows:

Students who do not intend to further their knowledge through coursework at VCU must be evaluated for language proficiency through an ACTFL oral proficiency interview to meet graduation requirements. The oral proficiency interview is available online. The OPI is not taken for credit. These examinations are conducted by phone (OPI) or internet (OPIc), depending on the language being assessed, and can be taken at your convenience.

Please use the Language Testing International (LTI) website to sign up for and schedule the appropriate test for your language (OPI or OPIc).

Once you are on the LTI homepage, select the language in which you want to be assessed, and click "Get Certified." On the right-hand side of the next page under Student/Teachers, search for your institution or school program, select "Programs with ACTFL requirements.' Fill in "Virginia Commonwealth University" to ensure that your score can be verified and processed through our department. Choose the available test option (OPI) or options (OPI or OPIc, depending on language) to schedule.

There is a School of World Studies administrative processing fee of $26 for the OPI or OPIc which must be paid in order for the results to be verified, processed and added to your official transcript. Payment instructions are as follows:

1. Log into VCU eServices; click on the "Student" tab; select "Student Account; then select "Make a Payment." You will click “Make a Payment” three times to take you to a screen where you can enter the required payment amount.
2. To pay the OPI or OPIc processing fee, you will enter $26. You must manually enter this amount in the box on the right-hand of your screen. If paying by electronic check, there is no additional charge. If paying by credit card, there is an additional nonrefundable service fee of $3.
3. Once payment is submitted, you must immediately email Student Accounting at stuacctg@vcu.edu to let them know that the payment for the test was made. Since you are taking the OPI or OPIc test, you must enter "OPI Fee Paid" in the subject line of the email.
4. Student Accounting will provide you a receipt of the payment.
5. You will need to upload this receipt to the OPI/OPIc Processing Request Form to initiate processing.

The School of World Studies Advising Office verifies and processes OPI and OPIc test results bimonthly during the first and third week of the month. Results are then submitted to Records and Registration to be included in DegreeWorks. This process can take several weeks.