Placement

Welcome to Placement at UBalt

In order to accurately assess and prepare new students for the rigors of their first semester, The University of Baltimore requires placement testing to determine accurate writing and math courses for its new and current students. Newly admitted first-year students with valid SAT/ACT scores should consult their admission counselor to determine if math placement is required.

Transfer students requiring placement should register for placement tests no later than their second semester at UBalt. Failure to do so may impact your intended graduation schedule and course registration.

If placement testing accommodations are required and you are new to UBalt or not registered with the Office of Disability and Access Services for accommodations, please send current documentation of a disability (at least two weeks in advance) to the Office of Disability and Access Services.

First-Year Student Placement

All first-year students should contact their admission counselor to verify their placement requirements. All students are required to complete the Haven and Plagiarism tutorials and placement activities prior to meeting with their first-year adviser.

For additional information, email Mr. Carey Miller, Director of Student Success and Retention, at cmiller@ubalt.edu.

Upper-Division Writing Placement

If you have completed WRIT 101 or you have been given credit by taking a similar course at another institution, you are eligible to take the placement assessment provided here which will determine whether you will be taking WRIT 200 or WRIT 300.

Directed Self Placement (DSP) is an online process that helps you decide which course path is right for you. This assessment is a combination of questions that ask about your history with reading and writing as well as some skill-oriented questions that help us determine the abilities you have at this time. In addition, there is a short writing prompt that will assist us in placing those who are "borderline."

You should plan to spend approximately 90 minutes completing this DSP process, but you may take as much time as you wish.

While students can take the test on their own time, we are requesting that they keep these dates in mind if they'd like to be guaranteed registration:

Summer: May 5
Fall: Aug. 5
Spring: Jan. 10

Complete Directed Self Placement

All questions regarding this process should be directed to Dr. Rachael Zeleny, Writing Program Director, at rzeleny@ubalt.edu.

Transfer and Upper-Division Math Placement

The ALEKS Math Placement is offered completely online, and can be completed on your own time and at your own pace. The ALEKS Math Placement has two components: the pre-assessment, and the official placement. The pre-assessment will generate a study path which students can use as a preparation tool to complete the official placement. The official math placement will determine the math course(s) you will be required to complete.

For additional information and preparation for the Math Placement, please email mathplacement@ubalt.edu.

Math Placement

Transfer and Freshman Math Placement Exemption Policy

Students who are required to sit for the math placement will take the ALEKS Placement. Students will complete an unproctored placement 48 hours prior to their arrival for their official Math Placement assessment. Once a student completes their placement on campus and places into developmental math, they will have the opportunity to re-take the placement for a better score. Students are encouraged to utilize the learning and prep module developed in ALEKS, based on their placement results. The prep and learning modules are open for six months from the first completed placement.

Placement scores determine initial enrollment in MATH 82: Introduction to Algebra and MATH 153: Statistics (Math 82 & MATH 153 must be taken together in the same semester), MATH 86: Developmental Mathematics-Algebra and MATH 163: College Algebra (MATH 86 & MATH 163 must be taken together in the same semester), MATH 111: College Algebra, MATH 113: Math for Liberal Arts, and MATH 115: Statistics.

Students will be advised to register for appropriate courses based on placement scores.

A score of 46 or higher will place a student into general education math i.e. MATH111: College Algebra, MATH113: Math for Liberal Arts, or MATH115: Statistics.The placement results are posted to a students' UBPortal, under Placement Test Results.

Placement FAQs