Placement Info for Advisors—Spring 2019
All new entering students, including transfer students, regardless of prior college chemistry credit at the 100 level, must take this chemistry placement exam (CPE) in order to enroll in CHEM-C 105. Continuing students without CHEM-C 101 credit are also required to take the exam in order to enroll in the general chemistry courses CHEM-C 105. Continuing students with CHEM-C 101 credit (grade C or higher) within the past three semesters are not required to take the CPE.
What are the prerequisites for CHEM-C 105?
The minimum prerequisites for enrollment in CHEM-C 105 are one year of high school chemistry AND two years of high school algebra. If these prerequisites have not been met by a student, then the student must enroll in CHEM-C 101. The widely available course Integrated Chemistry and Physics (ICP) does not meet the requirement for one year of high school chemistry. Credit earned by completion of an IU CHEM-C 101 (or higher level) course with grade C or better within the past year meets the CHEM-C 105 prerequisite requirement.
What are the scores needed to enroll in the chemistry options?
The placement process involves achieving qualifying scores both on the CPE and the math placement exam (MPE) based on ALEKS and SAT/ACT math scores.
- Recommended to CHEM-C 105. A CPE score of 22 or higher AND an ALEKS MPE score of 62 or higher AND 520 or higher on SAT-Math (or 19 or higher on ACT-Math). Alternatively, a CPE score of 22 or higher AND 670 or higher on SAT-Math (or 29 or higher on ACT-Math).
- Student’s Advisor Conditional Placement: Either the CPE or the MPE (both ALEKS and SAT/ACT) does not meet the targets in #1. If either the CPE score is 17 to 21 OR either of the math requirements (ALEKS score is 40 to 61 OR the SAT math is below 530 or ACT math is below 20) is not met, enrollment in CHEM-C 105 will be permitted with the approval of the student’s advisor. The advisor should consider performance in the prerequisite courses stated above and the likelihood of success based on the student’s recent academic performance, especially in STEM courses, if the student has taken any in recent semesters.
- Chemistry Advisor Conditional Placement: Neither score meets the CPE/MPE targets in #1. If the CPE score is 17 to 21, AND the ALEKS MPE score is 40 to 61, AND the SAT math is below 520 (or ACT math is below 20), the student is strongly recommended to take CHEM-C 101 first. However, enrollment in CHEM-C 105 will be permitted with the approval of both the student’s advisor AND the chemistry department advisor if they both have good reasons to believe that the student will have a good chance of succeeding in CHEM-C 105.
- Required Enrollment in CHEM-C 101. If the CPE score is 16 or lower AND the ALEKS MPE score is 40 or higher, the student must enroll in CHEM-C 101 first. If the ALEKS MPE score is lower than 40 regardless of the CPE score, the student should take the appropriate math course(s) prior to enrollment in either CHEM-C 101 or C 105.
The CPE score is valid for three semesters.