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What tests are included?
English will determine placement in either Basic Writing or Composition I.
[All freshmen and undergraduate, degree-seeking international students, as well as some international exchange students planning to take an English course, will take the English essay placement test. Students respond to one of two prompts. Preparation, in the form of an outline, may be done in advance. The prompts are available for printing from the English Placement webpage.
The mathematics and reading exams are computer-based examinations:
Mathematics will provide information about algebra skills and determine placement in math courses. (All freshmen and undergraduate degree-seeking international students must take this exam.) Practice questions
Reading provides students and advisers with information as to the student's reading level as compared with other entering college freshman (all entering freshman students must take this exam).
Foreign Language:
Spanish is taken by all students who had this language for more than one year during the last two years of high school. Majors in the colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences or Natural Sciences and Mathematics (as well as Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management; English Education; and International Business majors) who have taken Spanish in high school take the Spanish exam.
French: Students in the colleges and majors listed above who have taken French in high school and who want to take French in college should indicate this on the Orientation Enrollment Form. Confirmation instructions will include a log-in to an online French exam, which must be completed before arriving for Orientation.
German: During the advising sessions, students who took German in high school may self-place based upon the number of years of German taken in high school.
Education Readiness Exam is taken by all Education majors and allows the College of Education and Educational Technology to inform students as to how to best prepare for the PAPA.
How will my test results be used?
Your test results will affect your course requests. You must abide by your English, mathematics, and reading placement results. If you decide or are required to take a foreign language and select Spanish, you are expected to use your placement results when registering. French exam results should be followed, unless changed after discussion with a professor of French once in a course. Students with Education majors will be expected to follow the plan of preparation outlined in their results letter, received at orientation advising.
Will orientation placement exams provide college credit?
No. College credit may only be obtained through college-level courses or by taking the Advanced Placement (AP) or College Level Exam Program (CLEP) exams.
What if I have taken the CLEP or AP exam?
See AP/CLEP information on our Orientation website.
You must take the placement exams even though you may have taken the CLEP exams for English, math, and/or a foreign language. The only exception to this is if Transfer Admissions has already received the results and verified that you will in fact receive IUP course credit for the exam(s) taken.
If you have taken any of the five general CLEP tests (English Composition, Natural Science, Mathematics, Humanities, Social Science-History) and received a score of 50 or better (or other scores as applicable), you may be eligible to receive three to four credits per test (depending on which test is taken). IUP accepts up to 12 credits gained by taking the general tests. You also may take one or more of the various subject area tests. The scores required for earning credit vary by subject area.
Submit your results to IUP as soon as possible.
Where do I take the CLEP or AP exam?
The CLEP exams are administered at IUP by appointment only through the University Testing Center (724-357-4994). They may also be available at a site closer to your home. Results take approximately six weeks to process and are sent to the student and the credit evaluation office of the designated schools. Be sure to have your results sent to IUP as soon as possible.
The AP exams were administered through your high school. Results should be sent immediately to the IUP Office of Admissions. Further information should be obtained from your guidance counselor. [Note: If you submitted AP scores during your junior year, confirm with Transfer Admissions ([email protected]) that these have been received and placed on your IUP transcript.]
Must placement exams be taken by students who are attending community or other colleges either during the senior year or the summer before matriculation?
Yes. You must participate in testing and, as well, have the transcript forwarded to the Office of Admissions for transfer credit evaluation as soon as possible. Should the evaluation show that you will be receiving credit for English, mathematics, or foreign language when you have been scheduled into one or more of these courses, you may drop the course assigned as a result of placement testing and select another during the drop/add period at the beginning of the semester.
How can I be sure that my transfer credits appear on my IUP record before registration?
By having the school from which you are transferring credits send an official copy of your transcript to the Transfer Credit Evaluator in the Office of Admissions (Sutton Hall, Room 117, 1011 South Drive, IUP, Indiana, PA 15705). Any transcripts received after your Spring Orientation session will be credited before the Fall semester.
What if I cannot submit a transcript in time for my orientation?
If you have one, bring an unofficial transcript. If not, bring the name of the college and the subject course number with you to Orientation. We will try to determine to which IUP course the course you are taking will equate (as long as you receive a C or better).
You will still take placement tests, but may delay registering for the IUP course equivalent until you get your final official transcript sent to IUP, as you may not need to take the course, if it transfers in.
Will parents and family members be present at their student's advising session or registration?
No. While we recognize the invaluable role parents and family members play in their students' education, Orientation is the time when we help the student make the transitions from being told what to do to working together in a partnership with an academic advisor. Orientation provides a supportive structure for beginning this new kind of relationship so that students are better prepared to work on their own with their advisor in the future.
How will the student know the courses for which to register?
Freshman-year courses and courses specific to the student's major will be outlined for the student in writing. The advising sessions will allow students to pull together their placement testing results, their major requirements, and their first-year courses into a plan for scheduling. Faculty and staff are actively involved in the registration session to assist students as the need arises.
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