Mathematics Placement Info for New Students

Many new students are required to take the Mathematics placement exam except for those in the following majors list below. If students are not required to take the placement, this does not mean that they will not be required to take a math course; it only means that the math course(s) required for their major do not require the placement.

Students do not need to take the placement if they are in one of these academic programs:

The ALEKS assessment has 25 questions and takes 1-2 hours to complete. Once students start it, they will need to complete it within 48 hours.

Taking the placements is an important step in setting yourself up for a successful first year. Students should remember the importance of academic integrity when completing the ALEKS assessment and complete it without support or guidance. This will ensure that their placement is accurate. Students ALEKS score, or prior credit with a C- or better in a university prerequisite course, will be used to determine their proper starting  point for their PennWest mathematics course. See the table under "What is the required ALEKS score for each Mathematics Course?" 

Yes! Students who are within 10 points of the required ALEKS score for their first-year mathematics course can re-take the assessment. Student Success will reach out to students if they are eligible to re-take the placement. Second and subsequent attempts require monitoring using Respondus Monitor that requires a lockdown browser and webcam, and the cost is $5 to the student per attempt. Please click here for more details.

If students do not get the score they need, they will work with a faculty advisor to identity an alternate math pathway so that they can still achieve their academic goals. In the table below, students can see this might mean taking an additional MATH course.

First-year mathematics requirements vary by academic program, but the list below includes the courses with their required ALEKS score. For more information about the Mathematics course for a students major, they can reach out to Student Success or talk to a faculty member in their program.

Students with disabilities should make requests and inquiries for accommodations directly to:

First Year Students

To get started, students need to have access to their myPennWest platform:

1. Sign into the myPennWest portal. Students who have not set their account up yet can click password set-up for instructions.
2. Once logged into myPennWest, students will be able to see the placement testing card. The icon for each placement that a student needs to take is located on this card. See sample below:
   
   
   
   
3. Students who do not see the placement card should select the blue “Discover More” button that should be hovering near the middle of the screen, and on the next screen, type “placement” into the Find Card search box.

Transfer Students

You will need your PennWest student email address and password to create your ALEKS account. To access the ALEKS assessment, click on the ALEKS assessment link. You may be asked for a cohort or class code. If that happens, please use YDF3M-EAQ4L.