Class placement prerequisites

Tuesday, April 8
3 p.m., Renfrew Hall, room 125

The placement exam is generally given four times per year. They are usually given in the first week of the fall semester, the first week of the spring semester and in November and April to prepare for registration. 

Chemistry 111 placement by one of the following ways: 

• Minimum ACT math score of 25
• Minimum SAT math score of 560 (taken before March 2016)
• Minimum SAT math score of 580 (taken after March 2016)
• Minimum ALEKS math score of 46
• Minimum grade of C in MATH 143, 160 or 170
• Minimum grade of C in CHEM 101
• Pass Chemistry Placement Exam (see testing dates)

The chemistry placement exam is administered by the Department of Chemistry and is designed to test your knowledge of basic chemistry.

Exam Procedures and Requirements

1. You may take this exam more than one time under the following conditions:
   • You must wait a minimum of two months to take this exam again.
   • The exam may be repeated only during the scheduled times.
2. A minimum of 15 correct answers out of 25 questions are required for a passing score.
3. You are not allowed to remove the exam or any related materials from the test site.
4. The exam will be changed each time it is given.
5. In order to take the exam, you need to bring a photo ID, non-text entry scientific calculator and a #2 pencil.

Chemistry Placement Practice Exam

In order to pass this exam you must answer 15 of the 25 questions correct.

Download the chemistry placement practice exam (PDF).

Exam Topics

Topics covered on the exam are:

• significant figures
• the metric system
• dimensional analysis (unit conversion)
• density
• nomenclature of simple inorganic compounds and common acids
• percent mass calculations
• scientific notation
• balancing equations
• molar mass (molecular weight)
• the mole
• stoichiometry
• molarity
• dilutions
• basic algebra
• graphing

You should have had most of these topics in your high school chemistry course. 

Undergraduate students are required to be enrolled in English 101, 101P or 102 during the first semester in residence and in subsequent semesters, until completing English 102.

English composition placement is based upon the following exam scores:

Completing English 102 automatically grants credit and a grade of Pass for English 101. If you are exempt from both courses, you will receive the same credit and grade for each course after completing your first semester of coursework. Your GPA is not affected by classes with Pass grades. CEEB AP exam scores earn transfer credit, while ACT and SAT scores earn institutional credit.

What to do if you are not satisfied with the test score placement:

Students are initially placed into first-year writing courses based on their standardized test scores. Knowing these scores can be limiting, we offer an alternative placement tool called The Write Class. An online tool, The Write Class will ask you to respond to a series of questions to determine the best first-year writing course for you.

To use The Write Class, you will need to have the following information:

• Vandal ID number;
• Current overall high school GPA; and
• ACT English or SAT Scores.

You will also be asked to provide the following information if you have it:

• AP Language and Composition Scores, and
• Information related to English 101 and/or English 102 taken as Dual Enrollment or completed at another institution.

Based on your responses, you will be placed into one of three options:

• English 101P: Writing and Rhetoric I Plus
• English 101: Writing and Rhetoric I; or
• English 102: Writing and Rhetoric II.

You can access The Write Class at uidaho.thewriteclass.org.

If you have questions, please email Tyler Easterbrook, Director of First-Year Composition.

Challenging English 102

If you’ve completed college-level coursework with writing assignments similar to those required in English 102, but your credits didn’t transfer, you may be eligible to challenge the course through a Petition for Advanced Credit Exam (Challenge Exam).

Before pursuing this option, first explore U of I Registrar’s Transfer Credit process to see if your course already meets English 102 requirements. Use the Course Transfer Guides or submit your course syllabus to the Registrar for review.

English 102 Challenge Process

• Apply to take the challenge exam.
  • Download and fill the application for challenge form.
  • Schedule a meeting with Tyler Easterbrook, Director of Composition, to discuss the English 102 challenge process.
  • Get the signature of the English department chair, Tara MacDonald.
  • Get the approval and signature of your academic program’s dean or their designee.
  • Pay the $35 fee at the Bursar’s office. They will stamp your petition. Return your completed form to the Registrar's Office.
• Once your application to take the English 102 Challenge Exam is approved, complete part one of the challenge exam: Writing portfolio
  • You must select and submit three or four college-level, extended argumentative papers that use multiple outside sources and follow the conventions for scholarly writing of a recognized professional body (i.e., MLA or the APA).
    • These papers should demonstrate proficiency of the learning outcomes for English 102. It’s best to submit work that contains the comments and/or grades from the original instructors.
  • Write a formal letter explaining how your writing samples demonstrate proficiency in the English 102 learning outcomes, citing specific examples from your coursework.
    • Submit your completed writing portfolio application as a single Microsoft Word or PDF document to Tyler Easterbrook, Director of First-Year Composition. The English Department faculty will review your portfolio and notify you via email of their decision.
• Once your writing portfolio has been approved, complete part two of the challenge exam: Timed essay writing.
  • You will be scheduled to write an essay in a controlled setting. You will be given short passages to read on a specific topic, and you will be asked to read the arguments and write a response analyzing the selections. To pass the Challenge Exam, you must write this timed essay at the level of a C or higher. If the English Department faculty judge this essay to be at a level of C or higher, you will receive credit for English 102.
    • Note: the U of I Registrar does not allow the Challenge Exam to be scheduled during no-exam week — the week before final exams.
  • If your exam passes, you must pay for the English 102 credits. The grade will appear on your transcript as a P (it has no effect on your GPA).

Be aware that you may not:

• Be enrolled in English 102 at the time you challenge the course.
• Use papers you have written or are writing for English 102 to challenge this class.
• Apply to take the Challenge Exam if you have taken an upper-division course that listed English 102 as a prerequisite.
• Submit papers written for high school for the English 102 writing portfolio application.

You should speak with your academic advisor regarding the most appropriate Math class for you.

Math placement is based on the following exam scores:

Transfer credit awarded for College Board AP Calculus and International Baccalaureate Mathematics exam scores. Institution credit is not granted for by-passed classes.

ALEKS placement testing accommodations

Students approved for disability accommodations may be given extra time and other appropriate services.

1. You must complete an application for disability related accommodations at Center for Disability Access and Resources (CDAR).
2. Accommodation requests need to be submitted at least two weeks prior to taking the ALEKS placement assessment.
3. Schedule an appointment to meet with an access consultant at CDAR to review your testing accommodation request.
4. Once approved for testing accommodations, you will need to create an account or sign into an existing ALEKS PPL account at the Testing Center.
5. Once you have created and paid for your ALEKS account, you will need to schedule an appointment with the Testing Center to take the proctored assessment to determine your math placement.
6. Email the Testing Center a copy of your Eligibility Letter with approved testing accommodations. You will get this letter from CDAR.