Course Placement

Placement is an assessment of a student’s level of preparation in a subject. The purpose of placement is to help students enroll in the courses in which they are most likely to be successful. The following commonly taken courses require placement:

• English Composition
• Calculus 1 (MAC 2311 and MAC 2233)
• General Chemistry (CHM 2045)
• French, German, Latin and Spanish (if the student has studied them previously)
• Incoming Credit and Credit by Examination Information

Who needs to review placement requirements for these courses?

English Composition - All students, unless they already have college credit for English Composition.

Calculus and General Chemistry - Students who intend to pursue a science or engineering major or who intend to go on to a health profession after completing the bachelor’s degree probably need to take these courses. A number of business and technical majors require calculus. Students should check the information on majors of interest to determine if calculus and/or general chemistry are required.

College-level foreign language is required by several programs: Liberal Arts and Sciences and the B.A. programs in Fine Arts have a proficiency requirement; students in Journalism and Communications may choose between foreign language proficiency or a quantitative option.

What are the placement requirements for each of these areas?

English Composition

Unless they already have college credit for English composition, students are placed based on their SAT or ACT verbal score.

• Students with a 640 (or lower) on the verbal portion of the SAT and/or a 28 (or lower) on the verbal portion of the ACT must enroll in ENC 1101.
• Students with a 650 (or higher) on the verbal portion of the SAT or a 29 (or higher) on the verbal portion of the ACT may enroll in any 1000/2000-level composition course beyond ENC 1101. These students should not enroll in ENC 1101.
• Students with college credit for English Composition (from AICE, AP, CLEP, IB or dual enrollment) should consult an adviser to determine if additional courses are needed to meet degree requirements.

Calculus 1 (MAC 2233 and MAC 2311)

The Mathematics Department offers two Calculus 1 courses: MAC 2233 Survey of Calculus 1 and MAC 2311 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1. To find out if a Calculus 1 course is required for a major, students should check the requirements for that major to determine which calculus course is required.

To assess his or her background and to determine the right course in which to enroll, every student who intends to take calculus must complete the Calculus Readiness Assessment (CRA) or have one of the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF.

The CRA is designed to determine whether a student has adequate background for potential success in calculus at the college level. It is essential to note that the assessment can be taken one time only, and thus should not be taken lightly.

For students taking MAC 1140 or MAC 1147, a grade below C will supersede a passing CRA score. In addition, students who earn only a C or C+ in these courses may need to review precalculus heavily in order to succeed in calculus.

To enroll in MAC 2233, students must earn a score of at least 10 on the algebra portion of the assessment, except for students who have one of the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF. However, the Department of Mathematics strongly recommends that students not enroll in MAC 2233 without a score of at least 15 on the algebra portion of the CRA. If the minimum CRA algebra score of 10 is not achieved, the student must achieve one of the following before taking MAC 2233:

• a letter grade of C or better in MAC 1140, or
• a letter grade of C or better in MAC 1147.

To enroll in MAC 2311, students must earn a score of at least 10 on the algebra portion and a score of at least 2 on the trigonometry portion of the assessment, except for students who have one of the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF. However, the Department of Mathematics strongly recommends that students not enroll in MAC 2311 without a combined score (algebra plus trigonometry) of at least 20. If the minimum CRA scores of 10 and 2 are not achieved, the student must achieve one of the following before taking MAC 2311:

• a letter grade of C or better in MAC 1147, or
• a letter grade of C or better in both MAC 1140 and MAC 1114, or
• a letter grade of B or better in MAC 2233. (However, a student placing into MAC 2311 by this criterion may need to review trigonometry heavily in order to succeed in MAC 2311.)

Alternative Placement Scores: Students with any of the alternative placement scores listed below already on file at UF* are advised to complete the Calculus Readiness Assessment to check that they are prepared for UF’s MAC 2233 or MAC 2311, but they are not required to achieve the minimum score(s) stated above. However, these students should try their best on the assessment since, even for students with one of these alternative scores, a low CRA score could predict potential trouble in calculus. Alternative placement scores are

• a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Calculus AB or BC exam, or
• a score 6 or 7 on the IB Math Methods exam (However, a student placing into MAC 2311 by this criterion may need to review trigonometry heavily in order to succeed in MAC 2311.), or
• a score of 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the IB Higher-Level Mathematics exam.

* Already on file at UF refers to scores that have already been entered into UF's electronic student-records system and can therefore be detected by the automated prerequisite-checker. In general, this happens within a few days of UF's receipt of an official transcript of a student's test score(s). There is one and only one exception to the “already on file at UF” rule: At Preview, if a student has in hand an official transcript of test scores, a Preview adviser may use these scores to place the student into a calculus class. Please note that this exception will be made only during Preview and only at the Preview location, never at the mathematics department.

General Chemistry

The general chemistry sequence CHM 2045/2045L and CHM 2046/2046L meets the preprofessional requirements for a broad range of science and engineering majors. Students who enroll in general chemistry courses must have a functional command of high school chemistry and Algebra 2.

Students with weak backgrounds must enroll in CHM 1025, Introduction to Chemistry, to prepare for CHM 2045 General Chemistry. Students who enroll in and successfully complete CHM 1025 and either MAC 1140 or 1147 can enroll in CHM 2045 the next semester.

To assess their backgrounds and to determine whether to take CHM 1025 or CHM 2045, students must complete the Chemistry Readiness Assessment (ChRA).

• Students must enroll in CHM 1025 if their scores are 5 or less on either the math portion or the chemistry portion of the ChRA.
• Students may enroll in CHM 2045 if their scores are 6 or greater on both the math and chemistry portions of the ChRA. Students must also have credit for MAC 1140, MAC 1147 or MAC 2311 to enroll in CHM 2045.

Passing AP and IB scores may also be used for placement. Students with AP or IB credit in chemistry should consult the course equivalency charts and then discuss their next chemistry course with an adviser.

Students wishing to enroll in CHM 2047, one semester General Chemistry, and the co-requisite CHM 2047L must meet all three of the following conditions:

• AP or IB credit in chemistry or a very strong high school background in chemistry,
• A high score on the AP, IB or SAT II chemistry test, and
• Approval of the Honors Program office or the Chemistry Department.

Foreign Languages: French, German, Latin, Spanish

Students who have previous background in one of these languages and who wish to enroll in the same language at UF must demonstrate placement. Such students should take the SAT II placement exam for the appropriate language (unless the student has passing AICE, AP or IB scores for that subject). Students should consult the SAT II, AICE, AP or IB charts to determine placement based on their scores.

In general, language placement is determined by a combination of placement scores and high school background in the language.