Policy and Procedures Manual
SUBJECT:
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Policy 301.17 – Composition Placement
Adopted: November 16, 2007; Issued December 3, 2007
Effective Date: Fall 2008
Board Policy:
A.
Composition Placement Policy is based on Writing Proficiency Policy
301.16, which sets thresholds for full admission to the four-year programs at
Montana State University-Bozeman, Montana State University-Billings, Montana
State University-Northern, The University of Montana-Missoula, Montana Tech of
The University of Montana, and The University of Montana Western. This placement policy applies to the programs
listed above, as well as Montana University System programs with open
admissions and dual enrollment programs that offer composition courses for
college credit.
B.
This
policy reflects the Montana Board of Regents’ expectation that students should
not be required to take multiple writing examinations as part of their initial
matriculation in the System.
C.
This
policy provides campuses with the flexibility to select assessment measures based
on their own course offerings, course content, and predictive studies. Campuses must clearly communicate their
placement practices to students, counselors, staff, and advisors.
D.
Students
who earn the following minimum
scores on tests taken during high school will be placed directly into a
college-level freshman composition course without further testing:
1.
7 on the Writing Subscore
or 18 on the Combined English/Writing section of the Optional Writing Test of
the ACT; or
2.
7 on the Essay or 440
on the Writing Section of the SAT; or
3.
3.5 on the
E.
Students
who score below the thresholds set in D will be placed into developmental
courses. Campuses have the discretion to
allow students who do not meet the thresholds in D, but scored at least 5 on
the ACT or SAT essays or 2.5 on the MUSWA, to challenge this placement through
one of the following approaches:
1.
A
campus-administered writing assessment modeled upon the MUSWA: students are given 40 minutes to respond to a
persuasive prompt and two trained scorers use the MUSWA six-point holistic scoring
rubric to arrive at a score; or
2.
A
campus-specific measure, such as portfolios, approved by the Writing
Proficiency Steering Committee; or
3.
Regular
and supervised participation in a tutoring program/learning center from which
students can exit with the threshold scores set in section H of this policy.
F.
Students
will be placed into developmental courses, without further testing, if their
writing scores are below 5 on the ACT or SAT or below 2.5 on the MUSWA or the
campus-administered writing assessment modeled upon the MUSWA.
G.
Students
may be placed into advanced composition courses, where they are available,
based on MUSWA, ACT, SAT, Advanced Placement, or International Baccalaureate
scores as determined by the English Department of each campus.
H.
Students
without writing placement examination scores, students whose writing scores
were earned more than three years before enrolling, or students exempted under
Section H of Policy 301.16 Writing Proficiency (nontraditional students,
summer-only, and part-time students) are placed into college-level composition
by taking examinations offered by the two-year or four-year campuses and
earning the minimum scores listed below.
Students with scores below these thresholds are placed into developmental
composition courses:
1. 50 on the CLEP General Examination with
an essay; or
2. 7 on the COMPASS E-Write Examination; or
3. 90 on the COMPASS Writing Skills Test until
a proficiency measure is put into place on the campus; or
4.
71
on the COMPASS Writing Skills Test if a proficient essay is also submitted; or
5.
3.5
on a campus-administered writing assessment modeled upon the MUSWA: students are given 40 minutes to respond to a
persuasive prompt and two trained scorers use the MUSWA six-point holistic
scoring rubric to arrive at a score.