Each student must satisfy basic skills course requirements for mathematics, reading and writing. Placement into or exemption from the required courses in mathematics, reading and writing will be determined by results of the ACT, Transfer Evaluation Report (TER), and/or course placement tests.
Students who feel they have received an inappropriate placement may request additional assessment from Academic Advisement Center and/or the appropriate department chairperson. For transfer students, placement into or exemption from these required courses also may be determined by the results of the Transfer Evaluation Report (TER).
Transfer students will be exempt from taking courses for the basic skills reading requirements if they meet either of the following:
1) Students whose overall high school GPA is 3.00 or higher and whose ACT Composite Score is 22 or higher are exempt from reading courses and will not have to take the Reading Test.
2) Transfer Credit/GPA Reading Waiver (source will appear as ‘TER'). A waiver is determined by the number of credits completed and corresponding GPA:
| Credits Completed* | GPA |
|---|---|
| 30-44 | 3.25 |
| 45-59 | 3.00 |
| 60 or more | 2.75 |
The Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) consists of 80 vocabulary questions and 38 reading and comprehension questions, for a total of 156 points. Students are allowed 35 minutes to complete the test.
| NDRT Reading Test Percentile | Course Placement |
|---|---|
| 58 and above | Waived |
| 40-57 | Strategies for Academic Success (English 104) |
| 18-39 | College Reading & Learning (English 103) |
| 17 and below | Fundamentals of College Reading & Learning (English 082)*** |
Transfer students must complete a writing sample. Students pick one of two topics and write an essay, and are allowed 40 minutes.
* Scrap paper is included for constructing a rough draft.
* Students' writing is critiqued on style, grammar, punctuation, spelling, paragraph structure, sentence structure, etc.
Placement: Members of the English Department read and evaluate transfer student essays. Based on their consensus, the student is placed into the appropriate course, English 080 (Writing Skills)*** and English 111 (Elements of Composition I).
Beginning Fall 2010, the new placement policy will be as outlined below.
Initial math placement for freshmen will be based on ACT math sub-score, according to the table below.
| ACT Score | Course Placement |
|---|---|
| 28 & above | Calculus I (MATH 161) |
| 26-27 | Introduction to Mathematical Analysis (MATH 140) |
| 23-25 | Courses requiring MATH 103 as a prerequisite |
| 21-22 | Courses requiring MATH 082 as a prerequisite |
| 17-20 | Beginning Algebra (MATH 082)*** |
| 16 & below | Basic Mathematical Skills (MATH 081)*** |
Students may try to improve their initial placement by taking a mathematics placement test. Students may take this placement test no more than 2 times.
Students without ACT Math sub-scores must take the mathematics placement test. These students may take the placement test no more than 2 times. Transfer students who do not transfer appropriate coursework to SVSU, but do submit ACT math sub-scores, will follow the usual procedure for students with ACT scores.
Those students who do not have an ACT Math sub-score, or who wish to exercise the re-test option, will take the math placement test. For the next few years, the math placement test will be a COMPASS (Computer-adaptive Placement Assessment and Support System) test developed by ACT (American College Testing Program). The test is multiple-choice, computer-based, and designed to evaluate students’ ability levels in Pre-algebra, Algebra, College Algebra, and Trigonometry. For more information on the COMPASS Mathematics Placement Test visit www.act.org/compass.
***Credits earned in courses numbered below the 100 level will not apply toward graduation and grades for these courses are not included in a student's overall grade point average. However, these credits may be applied when determining a "full load" for financial aid and/or freshmen athletic eligibility. Students admitted under a provisional or probationary status may be required to enroll in these courses during their first semester as a condition of their admission.
