Placement Guidelines: English, Academic Learning Skills, College Success

English I (ENGL101):

  • Must be a graduate from an accredited high school (within 5 years prior to enrolling in first semester at NCC) with a GPA of 3.00 or higher (on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent) in a college preparatory curriculum
  • Score of 500 or higher on both the SAT Writing and Critical Reading exams (2005 to March 2016)
  • Score of 560 or higher on the new SAT Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing exam (March 2016 and beyond)
  • Combined Reading and Writing 11th grade PSSA score of at least 2650; with neither Reading nor Writing score below 1200. (PSSA scores are only valid for 5 years)
  • Evidence of a score of 21 or higher on the ACT English Exam
  • Completion of required developmental courses
  • Competence as determined by the English placement test

Writing Skills Workshop (ENGL027) Linked to English I (ENGL101):

  • Placement into Writing Skills Workshop and English I only as determined by the English placement test or with faculty recommendation after completion of ACLS050, ACLS025 and ACLS026.

Introduction to Academic Literacy (ACLS050):

  • Placement as determined by the English placement test
  • Must also register for COLS150 College Seminar: Applied Strategies for Academic Success in the same semester.

Academic Reading and Writing Skills I (ACLS025):

  • Placement as determined by the English placement test

Academic Reading and Writing Skills II (ACLS026):

  • Placement as determined by the English placement test
  • Must also register for COLS150 College Seminar: Applied Strategies for Academic Success in the same semester.

English as a Second Language:

  • English language competence as determined by ESL department

Placement Guidelines: Mathematics

Foundations of Mathematics I (MATH118), Foundations of Mathematics II (MATH119), The Nature of Mathematics (MATH120), College Algebra (MATH140), Introductory Statistics (MATH150):

  • High school transcript review for those who graduated from an accredited high school (within 5 years prior to enrolling in first semester at NCC) with a GPA of 3.00 or higher (on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent) in a college preparatory curriculum
  • Score of 500 or higher on the SAT mathematics exam (prior to March 2016)
  • Score of 530 or high on the new SAT mathematics exam (March 2016 and beyond)
  • 11th grade PSSA math score of 1300 or higher (PSSA scores are only valid for 5 years)
  • Competence as determined by the mathematics placement test
  • Completion of required developmental courses with a C or better

Elementary Algebra (MATH022), Intermediate Algebra (MATH026), Elementary and Intermediate Algebra Combined (MATH028):

  • Competence as determined by the mathematics placement test
  • Completion of required developmental courses with a C or better
  • Review of high school mathematics course work

Prealgebra (MATH020), Applications in Math (MATH103):

  • Open enrollment; no placement or pre-requisites needed

Trigonometry (MATH145), Pre-calculus (MATH160), Applied Calculus (MATH165), Calculus I with Review (MATH175), MATH 180 Calculus I (MATH180):

  • High school transcript review for those who graduated from an accredited high school (within 5 years prior to enrolling in first semester at NCC) with a GPA of 3.00 or higher (on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent)
  • Completion of required prerequisite course work as listed in each course description
  • Competence as determined by the Mathematics Placement Test

For all other MATH classes, refer to course prerequisites in each course description.