Frequently Asked Questions

CAPE stands for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination. It is considered a Post-Secondary Education qualification as it is normally written when students are in the sixth form years of secondary schools.

There is no qualification requirement to pursure CAPE examinations but some subject areas strongly recommend that the CSEC level studies in the subject area be convered before pursuing CAPE studies.

There is no requirement to attempt Unit 1 before Unit 2. Both Units can be attempted simultaneously or Unit 2 can be attempted before Unit 1. Only the Mathemathics and the Chemistry syllabuses recommend the Pure Mathematics Unit 1 and Chemistry Unit 1 respectively be attempted before the corresponding Unit 2.

Students can sit for as many Units as they wish at a single sitting. CXC encourages candidates who intend to pursue university studies or wish to compete for National Scholarships to do at least eight Units; three 2-Unit subjects in their area of focus and Communication Studies and Caribbean Studies.

Grades I - V are considered acceptable Grades for further study.

An Associate Degree is a post-secondary Level 4 qualification which comprises core, general and elective courses. While the associate degrees may serve as exit qualifications, they are really designed to articulate with Bachelor's Degrees in several fields. Each CXC Associate Degree is valued at 80 credits.

In order to qualify for the Associate Degree, a candidate must have obtained acceptable grades (I - V) in at least seven CAPE Units withing a five year period.

Certainly. Students can do as many Units as they wish, the seven Units is the minimum requirement for the Associate Degree. CXC encourages candidates who inted to pursue university studies or wish to compete for National Scholarships to do at least eight Units; three 2-Units and Communication Studies and Caribbean Studies.

Typically, persons in a full-time study will complete the Associate Degree in two years, however, the degrees are flexible and allow up to five years for completion.

Caribbean Studies and Communication Studies are compulsory in all nine Associate Degree since educators int he region felt that these were necessary for all Caribbean students at this level. In addition, each Degree has one or more compulsory Unit/s.

The CXC Associate Degree offers numerous possibilities. Candidates will be able to obtain credits and/or exemptions at some universities, gain employment and be able to gain promotion in their work place. Ultimately, CXC would like to see candidate entering university benefiting from a two-plus-two arrangement. This is still to be negotiated with universities.

Yes. You normally register for the Associate Degree once you are registering for the seventh CAPE Unit. If a request is made afterwards for the Associate Degree, the cost would be BDS $150.