Placement into your first English or mathematics course at SC4
If you have questions about English or mathematics placement or course prerequisites, contact an academic advisor.
English composition courses
Placement by exam
Students who have not previously taken an English (ENG) course at SC4 must:
- Submit scores from the Reading and Writing portion of the SAT or ACT admissions exams; or
- Take the WritePlacer exam in the SC4 Testing Center; or
- Provide scores from a WritePlacer exam taken elsewhere.
Note: This includes students who could have used the online self-assessment procedure for English during the 2020-2021 academic year but chose not to enroll in an English course at SC4.
Incoming transfer students
Transfer students with English credits and high school students with Advanced Placement results that count for ENG credit are not required to take WritePlacer but may continue with the next ENG course in their sequence.
If you took the course at a Michigan college or university, you can check how your previous English courses would transfer to SC4 by visiting MITransfer.org. If you took the course outside of the state of Michigan or have questions, please contact an SC4 Academic Advisor.
Mathematics courses
Placement by exam
Students who have not previously taken an mathematics course at SC4 may:
- For the 2021-22 academic year only, submit scores from the Math portion of the SAT or ACT admissions exams; or
- Take the Accuplacer mathematics exam in the SC4 Testing Center; or
- Provide scores from a Accuplacer mathematics exam taken elsewhere.
NOTE: This includes students who could have used the online self-assessment procedure for mathematics during the 2020-2021 academic year but chose not to enroll in a math course at SC4.
Placement by high school transcript
To use this method, the student must have an overall high school GPA of 3.0 or greater.
Students may bring their high school transcript and meet with an SC4 academic advisor, admissions representative, or Testing Center staff member, who will assist the student in determining their MTH course placement using the following rubric:
- Using the student’s grade in their final high school math class:
- If the grade is a “B” (3.0) or better, the student may take the next SC4 MTH course in the sequence.
- Otherwise, the student should start by retaking the same course at SC4 or consider using an exam for placement.
HE 101 placement
Health sciences students wishing to place into HE 101 must also use one of the placement methods shown above.
Incoming transfer students
Transfer students with MTH credits, high school students with Advanced Placement results that count for MTH credit, and students who are successful in taking the CLEP College Algebra (MTH 110), Precalculus (MTH 113), or Calculus (MTH 114) exams are not required to take the Next Generation Accuplacer Math exam sequence but may continue with the next MTH course in the sequence.
If you took the course at a Michigan college or university, you can check how your previous math courses would transfer to SC4 by visiting MITransfer.org. If you took the course outside of the state of Michigan or have questions, please contact an SC4 Academic Advisor.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need to take English and math placement tests?
You will need to provide SAT or ACT scores or take WritePlacer and/or Accuplacer as a prerequisite for your first English or math course at SC4. Some other SC4 courses also require that you have placed into or have completed a specific level of English and/or math before being able to register for that course.
New students who have graduated from high school are not required to take placement tests to register for courses that don’t have ENG or MTH placement testing prerequisites.
Can high school guest students use their transcript for placement in math?
No. All high school guests, including middle college students and dual-enrolled students, are required to take the Next Generation Accuplacer Math exams in order to enroll in a MTH course at SC4. Incoming students must have graduated from high school, obtained their GED, or be about to graduate at the end of their current high school semester to use the transcript option.
Can I use my high school transcript to determine my placement in English?
No. There is no transcript review option for English placement.
Can I use exam scores that I’ve previously submitted or that I’ve taken at SC4?
SAT, ACT, Accuplacer, Compass, and WritePlacer scores that have been previously entered onto a student’s SC4 record may continue to be used.
Is the Accuplacer Reading exam still required?
The Accuplacer Reading exam is not currently being administered at SC4.
Placement charts for ENG and MTH courses
SC4 uses the score ranges shown below on various admissions and placement exams to determine what course you should take to get started in English and mathematics.
If you don’t have your SAT or ACT exam scores handy, you should be able to view them on either the College Board or ACT, Inc. websites if you previously created an account there. If you took Accuplacer, WritePlacer, or COMPASS at SC4, those scores will already have been added to your student account and you can see what course is recommended in your online Student Planner.
English
| ENG 050 | ENG 075 | ENG 101 | |
| SAT Writing and Language (test dates 2017 or later) | 10-21 | 22-24 | 25-40 |
| ACT English (multiple choice) | 0-14 | 15-17 | 18-36 |
| WritePlacer (essay) | 0-3 | 4 | 5-8 |
| Next-Generation Accuplacer (multiple choice) | 200-236 | 237-249 | 250-300 |
| Original Accuplacer (prior to 2019, multiple choice) | 20-49 | 50-84 | 85-120 |
| COMPASS (prior to 2016, multiple choice) | 0-37 | 38-72 | 73-100 |
Mathematics
| MTH 075 | MTH 081 MTH 082 HE 101 | MTH 104 MTH 110/111 MTH 112 | MTH 113 MTH 120 | MTH 114 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAT Math (test dates 2017 or later) | 200-420 | 421-500 | 501-570 | 571-640 | 641-800 |
| ACT Math | 14-17 | 18-20 | 21-23 | 24-26 | 27-36 |
| Next-Generation Accuplacer | Arithmetic 200-257; Quantitative Reasoning 200-236 | Arithmetic 258-300; Quantitative Reasoning 237-245 | Quantitative Reasoning 246-256 | Quantitative Reasoning 257-300; Advanced Algebra 200-259 | Advanced Algebra 260-300 |
| Original Accuplacer (prior to 2019, multiple choice) | Arithmetic 20-40; Elementary Algebra 20-40 | Arithmetic 41-60; Elementary Algebra 41-60 | Elementary Algebra 61-80 | Elementary Algebra 81-120; College Level Math 20-49 | College Level Math 50-120 |
| COMPASS (prior to 2016, multiple choice) | Pre-Algebra 0-48 | Pre-Algebra 49-100; Algebra 0-45 | Algebra 46-100; Trig 0-49 | Trig 50-100; College Algebra 0-30 | College Algebra 31-100 |
What do each of these courses cover?
English
The course descriptions for each of the three starting English courses are listed here for your convenience:
ENG 050 – Basic Skills for College Writing
This course is designed to help students become competent writers at the college level. In addition to reviewing grammar and editing rules, students will learn about the writing process and how to write various types of sentences, paragraphs and multi-paragraph assignments for a college reader.
ENG 075 – Basic Writing Skills II
This is a basic writing course that can either be a continuation of ENG 050 for those students who are still not adequately prepared for the rigors of ENG 101, or a basic writing course for those students whose writing skills are too advanced for ENG 050, yet not strong enough for satisfactory completion of ENG 101. Emphasis will focus on the writing process used to produce 300-500 word paragraphs and 500-1,000 word essays work on sentence combining to address grammatical errors and to develop the stylistic maturity needed for the writing required in ENG 101.
ENG 101 – English Composition I
This course includes various types of current prose, a study of English usage, and intensive practice in composition, all of which is designed to improve a student’s ability to express ideas in a clear, logical and forceful manner. Prerequisite is either successful completion of writing assessment or ENG 050 or ENG 075 or placement by exam into ENG 101.
Mathematics
The course descriptions for each of the common starting mathematics courses are listed here for your convenience. Permission to take math courses higher than MTH 114 and MTH 120 must be obtained from an instructor of that course; contact an academic advisor for information.
MTH 075 – Pre-Algebra
This is a review of the basic operations of arithmetic on whole numbers, fractions and decimals. Algebraic concepts are integrated within the topics, enhancing the transition from arithmetic to algebra. The basic concepts of algebra are introduced, such as signed numbers, expressions and equations. Topics from geometry include formulas for area and perimeter, and applications of problems involving geometry. Students will be introduced to statistics by pictographs, bar, line, pie charts and tables, mean, median and mode.
MTH 081 – Math Literacy
This course will provide skills necessary to be successful in the Non-STEM math course, MTH 104. Topics include pattern recognition, numeracy, mathematical thinking and investigation, proportional reasoning, basic algebra concepts, data analysis, linear and exponential functions and basic statistical concepts. Real life applications, calculator use, spreadsheets and internet resources are integrated throughout the course. This course is recommended for students who are not planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career.
MTH 082 – Elementary Algebra
This course includes various types of current prose, a study of English usage, and intensive This course is an introduction to algebra. Topics include: literal numbers, algebraic expressions, operations with polynomials, special products and factoring, exponents, linear equations, inequalities, quadratic equations and rational expressions and rational equations. This course is recommended for students who are planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career. This course was formerly MTH 102.
MTH 104 – Foundations of Math
This course allows students to discover some of the mathematics that they use on a daily basis. Students will be actively involved in investigations of mathematics to help them attain a better understanding of mathematical ideas, build sharper skills for analyzing life issues that stem from mathematics and develop a new perspective and outlook at the way they view the world involving mathematics. This course is recommended for students who are not planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career. This course meets the requirements of the Michigan Transfer Agreement.
MTH 110 – Intermediate Algebra
This course is a continuation of the Algebra sequence. Topics include systems of equations, functions and graphs, radical expressions, rational exponents, complex numbers and logarithms. Students may receive credit for MTH 110 and MTH 111, or MTH 112. This course is recommended for students who are planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career.
MTH 111 – Plane Trigonometry
The content of this course will be a review of selected topics from plane geometry, radian and degree measures, definitions and properties of trigonometric functions, identities, trigonometric functions, identities, trigonometric equations, graphs, identities involving composite angles, laws of sines and cosines, and the solution of triangles. For those students who intend to take pre-calculus (MTH 113) and who are currently enrolled in or have already completed MTH 110, this course is a required prerequisite.
MTH 112 – Intermediate Algebra and Plane Trigonometry
This is an integrated algebra/trigonometry course covering the topics of MTH 110 and MTH 111. It is intended for those students who want to satisfy the prerequisites for MTH 113 in one semester. Students may receive credit for MTH 110 and MTH 111, or MTH 112. This course is recommended for students who are planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career.
MTH 113 – Pre-Calculus
Topics include: limits, equations, identities, and functions. The functions studied include polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric and their inverses. Calculators are used throughout this course. This course is recommended for students who are planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career. This course meets the requirements of the Michigan Transfer Agreement.
MTH 114 – Calculus I
Topics include: limits, continuity, differentiation and integration of algebraic, transcendental and trigonometric functions, and applications of the derivative.This course is recommended for students who are planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career. This course meets the requirements of the Michigan Transfer Agreement.
MTH 120 – Statistics
Topics covered include the uses and abuses of data, presentation and analysis of data using technology, measures of central tendency and dispersion, probability, types of distributions (Binomial, Poisson, normal, Students), sampling and sampling distributions, testing hypotheses, estimation, regression and correlation. This is a beginning course in statistics that will be beneficial to students majoring in any field in which measurements and predictions are made. This course is recommended for students who are planning to go into a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program, field, or career. This course meets the requirements of the Michigan Transfer Agreement.
