English & Math Placement Guidelines/What you Should know about Developmental Courses
The State Board of Higher Education has implemented a new policy under Academic Affairs regarding Admission Policies – Student Placement into College Courses (policy 401.1.2). Two sections of this policy impact Mathematics and English requirements for new students entering Fall 2012. Every new and returning student taking ENGL 110 and MATH 103/104/240/201H must meet the prerequisite for each course. CURRENT STUDENTS DO NOT NEED TO MEET THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS AND SHOULD FOLLOW PREVIOUS PLACEMENT GUIDELINES.
English Placement Guidelines [pdf]
- English Requirements/Placement – Placement into English courses is based on ACT English or SAT Writing subtest scores. Students with an ACT English of 13 or less are required to enroll in Academic Skills (ASC) 87, College Writing Prep, which is a 3 credit course offered through Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) before enrolling in ENGL 110. Students with an ACT English of 14-17 can enroll in ENGL 110, College Composition I, through MSU; however, they must co-enroll in ASC 88, Composition Lab, which is a 1 credit course offered through DCB. Students with an ACT English of 18+ or SAT Writing of 430+ are eligible to enroll in ENGL 110 through MSU. The following chart shows the required courses for each of the ACT English and SAT Writing subtest scores.
ACT English |
SAT Writing |
Required Course(s) |
13 or less |
Less than 430 |
ASC 87 (taken through DCB) |
14-17 |
NA |
ASC 88 and ENGL 110 (ASC taken through DCB) |
18+ |
430 or higher |
ENGL 110 |
Math Placement Guidelines [pdf]
- Mathematics Requirements/Placement – Placement into Mathematics courses is based on ACT or SAT Math subtest scores. Students with an ACT Math of 17 or less or SAT Math of less than 400 are required to enroll in ASC 92, Beginning Algebra, which is a 3 credit course offered through Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB). Students with an ACT Math of 18-21 or SAT Math of 400-510 are required to enroll in MATH 102, Intermediate Algebra, which is a 4 credit course offered through MSU. Please refer to the attached Math Placement Guidelines Chart for additional placement requirements for all other Mathematics courses. The following chart shows the required developmental courses for each of the ACT and SAT Math subtest scores.
ACT Math |
SAT Math |
Required Course(s) |
17 or less |
Less than 400 |
ASC 92 (taken through DCB) |
18-21 |
400 - 510 |
MATH 102 |
22+ |
520 or higher |
Refer to Math Placement Guidelines Chart |
What you should know about developmental courses – ASC 87, 88, 92 & MATH 102:
- ASC courses are offered on the Minot State University campus through Dakota College at Bottineau
- Must complete necessary paperwork/requirements to enroll through DCB as a collaborative student (http://www.minotstateu.edu/online/collaborative.shtml)
- MATH 102 is currently offered through Minot State University
- Required prerequisites for ENGL 110 & MATH 103/104/240/201H
- Grade of “C” or higher is required
- Do not count as credit toward graduation
- Do not impact college GPA
- Qualify for Financial Aid
The COMPASS exam will be used to place students who have not taken the ACT or SAT into the appropriate Mathematics and English courses. The COMPASS exam will also be used for students who have taken the ACT or SAT and wish to improve their placement scores to enroll in a higher level than their test scores permit. Students should contact the MSU Testing Center at 858-3990 or visit http://www.minotstateu.edu/cel/ to find more information regarding the COMPASS exam.