Math Placement Levels

1. Placement levels at MCC range from level one, TRS 092 Arithmetic, to level ten, Calculus I. For courses above MTH 210, there is no test. Students must establish prerequisites based on prior College Mathematics courses at the level of Calculus I (MTH 210) or higher.
2. Instead of placement testing, MCC is now using academic records to determine placements into Math and English. Once the student provides their high school transcripts and other academic records, placements will be determined and added to the student’s record, viewable in Degreeworks. High school scores must have been earned within the last 3 years to be eligible for math placement by high school.
3. If a student’s placement is over 3 years old, the placement level is no longer valid. Unless the student has earned college math credit for the prerequisite course, the student must establish a current placement level before taking a mathematics course.

Math Placement by High School

1. High school transcription information must be within the last three years to be used for establishing a math placement level. See the chart below for a detailed explanation of how placements by high school are determined by qualifying Regents exam scores, high school Precalculus final grades, SAT math test scores, or ACT math test scores.
2. College mathematics courses are not used for Math Placement by High School. Students either transfer the courses in as MCC equivalent courses, or, in the case of non-matriculated students, the Mathematics Department Chair enters a prerequisite override and makes a comment in Banner indicating how the prerequisite is met.
3. Math placements by high school are based on completed Precalculus courses or Regents exams (with very limited exceptions for temporary placement levels – see link above.) Students should bring in final high school transcripts if they have completed more mathematics since their placement level was determined. Admissions or the Math Department Chair may revise math placements based on new information.
4. Students may also see the Mathematics Chair for permission to take the math placement test if they wish to challenge their placement by high school.

Math Placement by Test

1. If a mathematics placement cannot be made based on the high school transcript, and the student does not have college mathematics courses eligible for transfer to MCC, then the student must take the MCC mathematics placement test before taking an MCC math course. (We don’t use placement test results from other schools).
2. Students may also see the Mathematics Chair for permission to take (or re-take) the math placement test if they wish to challenge their placement by high school, or if they believe their placement level is incorrect.
3. If a student’s credit, including transfer credit, for MCC mathematics courses is over one year old, especially if the grade is C (the minimum qualifying grade for a prerequisite) the student may wish to take the mathematics placement test to determine his or her skill level. Mathematics prerequisite courses are not time-limited, so the test results will inform advising but will not prohibit a student from taking a course for which he or she meets the prerequisite.
4. If a student’s placement is over 3 years old, the placement level is no longer valid. Unless the student has earned college math credit for the prerequisite course, the student must establish a current placement level by taking the math placement test before taking a mathematics course.

Math Prerequisites:

1. All math courses have prerequisites which we enforce in every term, including summer when automatic stops are disabled.
2. Prerequisites are either math placement levels, or prior college mathematics courses.
3. Flow charts from the Mathematics Department show college course prerequisites and math placement levels required for each mathematics course from TRS 092 through MTH 230.  The flow charts illustrate the path through the mathematics curriculum. A student may register for a math course which is in the row corresponding to his or her placement level, or which follows immediately below, via an arrow, a mathematics course for which the student has either a grade of C of higher (B- in MTH 096 to advance to MTH 160 or 162), or MCC transfer credit.

Mathematics Acceleration Options

(See the section on registering for these options which follows the descriptions of options.)

TRS 092, TRS 094, MTH 096, MTH 098, MTH 104 Flex Pace option:

Consider flex pace courses for students in any of the courses above who are self-motivated and comfortable reading and entering answers on a computer. Students who need to complete one or more of the courses above to meet the mathematics requirements of their degree can finish more than one course in a semester. This will accelerate their time to completion. Students who need to take more time to finish any one of these courses would also benefit from this option since material finished in one semester does not have to be repeated in the next. Each of the courses is divided into six modules. Students must demonstrate mastery in one module in order to move on to the next. They may test out of a module by taking a pretest on the material. If they don’t finish all six modules of the course, they will receive a failing grade but will be able to repeat the course in the next semester without repeating any of the tests they mastered. Those test scores will be imported into the new course section. TRS 092 and 094 as well as MTH 096 are only offered face to face. MTH 098 and 104 are offered both face to face and online. Students who finish TRS 094 flex early and wish to continue in the same semester to MTH 096 or MTH 098 will be able to move into a section by asking their TRS 094 instructor to contact the MTH 096 or 098 instructor on their behalf. Students who finish MTH 098 early and want to move into MTH 104 will be able to do so with the same schedule and instructor since all math flex sections are blends of MTH 096, 098, and 104. Students who have TRS with a C or higher or score at level 4, need MTH 160 which has a MTH 096 prerequisite and Accounting or Chemistry with a MTH 098 prerequisite, can take both MTH 096 and 098 in the same semester. There is overlap between the two which will result in some efficiency if taken together in flex format. Warn students that they will need to work consistently through the semester according to the recommended schedule to finish by the end of the semester. Warn them against the temptation to put off their mathematics work in order to accomplish other work with firm deadlines, resulting in a failing grade in their flex mathematics course due to running out of time to finish the course.

Late start MTH 160 and MTH 165 sections for early Flex Pace Finishers

There are late starting MTH 160 and MTH 165 sections in both face to face and online formats. Students who need MTH 096 for MTH 160 or MTH 104 for MTH 165 can take flex pace MTH 096 or flex pace MTH 104 so they can finish in time for the late start section. With permission of the late start instructor they can sign up for the late start class if they also register for the prerequisite course. The instructor of the late start class will, of course, drop any student who doesn’t complete the prerequisite course before the late start course begins.

MTH 165 and MTH 175 Linked Courses

Consider this to shorten the time to completion for level 8 students who have a degree requiring MTH 175 and beyond, or other courses with a math level 10 prerequisite. This is an intensive, math immersion experience. Students will meet for 7 hours a week with the same instructor. Initially all the class periods for both MTH 165 and MTH 175 will cover MTH 165 material. As the semester progresses, MTH 175 topics will be added. The MTH 165 final exam will be given sometime during the semester after all MTH 165 topics have been covered. By the end of the course, all class periods for both MTH 165 and MTH 175 will cover MTH 175 topics. Students will receive separate grades for MTH 165 and MTH 175.

MTH 099 and MTH 104 Linked Courses

MTH 099 is a one imputed credit hour lab with two contact hours which covers the material in MTH 098 at a much more rapid pace. It is taken together with MTH 104 in the same semester with a single instructor. Students who place level 5, or who earned a C- in MTH 098, or who have finished MTH 096 but need MTH 098 as a prerequisite for another course can all benefit from taking the linked courses MTH 099 with MTH 104. The online community functions as a flex pace online course. The face to face option is a more traditional, synchronous classroom experience. During Intersession only, students may take MTH 099 as a stand-alone face to face flex course.

TRS 050 and MTH 150 Linked Courses

Consider this for students who need MTH 150, place at math level 2 or 3, and are English 101 ready. These MTH 150 sections use a writing-intensive, project-based approach. The TRS 050 section will be taught by the same instructor as the MTH 150 section and will provide supplemental instruction for the MTH 150 topics.

MTH 104 and MTH 165 Fast Track 

Consider this to shorten the time to completion for level 6 students who have a degree requiring MTH 165 and beyond, or other courses with a math level 8 prerequisite. This is an intensive, math immersion experience. Students will meet for 7 hours a week with the same instructor. Initially all the class periods for both MTH 104 and MTH 165 will cover MTH 104 material. As the semester progresses, MTH 165 topics will be added. The MTH 104 final exam will be given sometime during the semester after all MTH 104 topics have been covered. By the end of the course, all class periods for both MTH 104 and MTH 165 will cover MTH 165 topics. Students will receive separate grades for MTH 104 and MTH 165.

Advising Tips for Math Courses

Math Advising Flowcharts

Do’s:

1. In general, advise students to take their mathematics requirements starting in their first semester, before they forget too much of their math, and because they may need to take prerequisite courses for their math and other courses, especially in science and business.
2. Check the student’s school and pathway to see which mathematics courses are required. The Mathematics Department has flow charts which illustrate the pathways to completing mathematics requirements. There is an overall chart as well as abbreviated charts for each School with mathematics requirements by program on the back of each chart.
3. Check the student’s placement level and transcripts to see what mathematics course the student should take first and to map the student’s pathway to completing their mathematics requirements.
4. If the student has transcripts from high school or college which have additional mathematics results not in the student’s records, send the student to Admissions or the Math Department Chair to evaluate the records for possible revision of placement levels, awarding of college transfer credit, or overriding prerequisites.
5. If the student has not taken mathematics courses recently, especially if the mathematics grades are less than A’s, discuss possibly re-taking a prerequisite or re-evaluating current skill levels by meeting with the Mathematics Department chair.
6. If the student will need to take prerequisite mathematics courses, discuss the Mathematics Acceleration Options which allow the student to complete more than one mathematics course in a semester. Be aware that not all options are suitable for all students. Please read the handout on Mathematics Acceleration Options.

Don’ts:

• Don’t override mathematics prerequisites without consulting with, or at least informing, the Mathematics Department chair.

• Don’t tell students that there are no math prerequisites in the summer. It is true that the computer does not do automatic checks in the summer, but the Math Department does check prerequisites for summer courses and drops students who lack prerequisites. Non-matriculated students should send proof of prerequisites taken at other institutions to the Mathematics Department chair.

• Don’t assume that a student who was successful in one course at a given level is prepared for all courses at that level. For example, a student with an A in statistics – a level 8 course – does not necessarily have sufficient algebra background to succeed in MTH 165, College Algebra. While the algebra background indicated by level 8 placement predicts success in MTH 160, success in MTH 160 does NOT predict level 8 algebra preparedness.

• Don’t use in-progress high school Calculus courses to let students into math courses. Use the high school record prior to Calculus, or send the student to get permission to take the placement test. Tell the student to bring in a test score report showing a 3 or higher on the AP Calculus exam for MCC transfer credit or to add a course with a Calculus prerequisite.
• Don’t tell students with A’s in a course to skip the next one in the sequence.

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Updated 10/4/2021