PLACEMENT SCORES

All students registering for courses must meet placement requirements prior to being allowed to register for an English or mathematics college level course. Dakota College at Bottineau uses ACT, SAT, Compass, and Accuplacer scores to determine the placement of students into English, reading and mathematics courses as outlined in NDUS Procedure 402.1.2.

The purpose of placement testing at Dakota College at Bottineau is to match the academic readiness of the incoming student with the academic requirements of the curriculum and enhance the probability of academic success. If test results do not meet the standards of college-level courses, students are required to register in courses which help them to improve their learning and increase their opportunity to succeed in college.

Although the tests scores do not affect admission to the college, students will be required to meet established criteria for enrollment in English and mathematics courses prior to registration.

ACT OR SAT EXAM

Dakota College at Bottineau does not require students to have completed an ACT or SAT exam. However, any student wishing to transfer to a 4-year college after their graduation from DCB should do so. For placement purposes, ACT and SAT scores have an expiration date of five years.

ACCUPLACER EXAM

Students who are 25 and older, students who do not have ACT or SAT scores, or students who haven't met the exemption requirements must complete the Accuplacer Placement Exam. All students who plan to take an English or math course must submit appropriate and current assessment scores prior to enrollment.

Accuplacer is a computerized adaptive placement testing system that measures skills in math, reading, and English. Because the exam is adaptive, there is no fixed set of testing questions. Each test is made up of a unique collection of items pulled from a database pool. With no time limit, typically students will spend about an hour to complete the exam. Even though the placement exam is computerized, computer skills are not necessary. Accuplacer is user friendly and is designed for individuals with little or no computer experience. For placement purposes, AccuPlacer scores have an expiration date of two years.

EXEMPTIONS

Exemptions to the placement testing policy are as follows:

• Students who have submitted official college transcripts indicating the completion of college-level composition and math courses with a "C" or satisfactory grade.
• Students who have submitted official college transcripts indicating the completion of remedial or equivalent courses with a "C" or satisfactory grade.