Course Placement and the Minnesota State Assessment Policy

Normandale Community College follows the guidelines of assessment for course placement set forth by the Minnesota State system. Course placement is intended to provide students and the college with information about their current level of academic readiness and to inform their reading, writing and mathematics course placements.

All new degree-seeking students at Normandale should complete course placement in all three academic subject areas.

Course placement measures a student’s reading, writing and mathematical skills. Normandale’s courses in reading, English and mathematics require evidence of course readiness before students can register for courses in those disciplines. Certain other courses at Normandale may also require course placement before a student can register for the course. Details on course requirements and prerequisites are available in the individual course descriptions.

Course placements can be determined using one or a combination of the following information:

• Scores from ACT, SAT MN Comprehensive (MCA) – valid with the last 5 calendar years

• High School GPA – valid within the last 10 calendar years

• Standardized score reports from Advance Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and International Baccalaureate (IB)

• Completion of college-level coursework from an accredited U.S. college or university

• Self-Guided placement, if an individual does not have a valid high school GPA or other scores mentioned above

If course placement results indicate that a student is not ready for college-level coursework in reading, writing or mathematics, developmental coursework must be completed before the student will be allowed to register for courses in related academic subjects.

An appeals option is available for students who are dissatisfied with any of their course placement results.