Catalog 2010-2011 - South Texas College

(3) years from the date of testing.4 Students who are enrolled in a certificateprogram of one-year or less (42 or fewersemester credit hours or the equivalent) unlessrequired for a prerequisite.4 Students who have graduated with anassociate’s or baccalaureate degree from anaccredited institution of higher education.4 Transfer students from an accreditedinstitution of higher education who have earneda “C” or better in a corresponding course (SeeDevelopmental Education Plan ProceduresGuide).WHEN MUST A STUDENT TAKE ANALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT EXAM?All students enrolling in credit programs at STC forthe first time must have scores from an assessmentinstrument approved by the Texas SuccessInitiative (TSI) prior to advisement and registration.REGISTRATION FOR THE ACCUPLACEREXAMTo register for the ACCUPLACER Exam, a studentmust fill out an STC Admissions form prior to the testadministration. Once an Admissions form has beenprocessed, the student may reserve a test dateat the Student Assessment Center (ReservationFee-$15). Payment for the ACCUPLACER Examfee is $29 on the day of testing.. A student thathas already tested for an ACCUPLACER Examand failed one or more sections of the test mustwait 30 days before attempting the ACCUPLACERExam. An ACCUPLACER Exam is offered byappointment only.Please contact the Student Assessment Centers(Pecan: 956-872-3484, Mid-Valley: 956-447-6602,Starr: 956-488-6976) for more information.REGISTRATION FOR THE THEA EXAMTo register for the THEA Exam, a student must fillout a registration form by entering the Internet www.tasp.nesinc.com. The THEA web site provides thestudent with all the information necessary toregister. All registration is handled through theNational Evaluation System-Pearson (NES)located in Austin, Texas. STC is a designated testsite. Tests are administered several times duringthe year.PAYMENT FOR THE THEA EXAMThe THEA Exam fee is $29.TAKING AN ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTEXAMINATION TO FULFILL STCPLACEMENT STANDARDSTo be considered TSI College Ready, a studentmust pass all three sections of an AlternativeExam - reading, writing, and math. If the studentdoes not pass one or more sections, the studentmay register for an Alternative Exam again andtake only the section(s) of the exam that he/sheneeds to fulfill minimum placement standards. Astudent must be in “continuous” developmentalcoursework for any section of an exam not passed.For each student who fails to meet the minimumpassing standards the following student successinitiatives will apply. These new initiatives will fosterthe academic preparation necessary for studentsto be successful in future academic courses.4 All developmental courses will be included inthe Grade Point Average for all students at STC.4 Students in developmental studies will be limitedto a maximum of 13 credit hours of course workper fall and spring semester, and seven credithours of course work per summer session.4 Students who have not met Assessmentrequirements will be required to take more thanone developmental course each semester ifthey are deficient in more than one area.Students required to take an Alternative Exam maynot graduate from a certificate program that hassix or more semester credit hours or the equivalentoutside of the specified curriculum, an associatedegree program or a Baccalaureate degreeprogram until they have passed all three sectionsof an Alternative Exam and/or completed sectionswith “C” or Better option. To obtain additionalinformation on Alternative Exams, contact theStudent Assessment Center located at eachcampus: Mid-Valley (956) 872-6602; Pecan (956)872-3484, or Starr (956) 488-6976 or visit the website at: http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/testing/index.html.ACCUPLACER EXAMThe ACCUPLACER Exam is offered throughout theyear. Each section of the ACCUPLACER Exam isdesigned to measure a student’s academic skill inrelation to an established standard of competence.The score on each section of the test is based onthe mastery of the skills being tested.The ACCUPLACER EXAM includes four computeradaptive,multiple-choice tests and a writing essay:Reading Comprehension TestEach student taking this test will be presented witha series of 20 questions of two primary types. Thefirst type consists of a reading passage followedby a question based on the text. The second typeof question, sentence relationships, presentstwo sentences followed by a question about therelationship between these two sentences. Thequestion may ask, for example, if the statement inthe second sentence supports that in the first, if itcontradicts it, or if it repeats the same information.Sentence Skills TestEach student receives 20 Sentence Skillsquestions of two types. The first type issentence correction questions, which require anunderstanding of sentence structure. The secondtype is construction shift questions. Within thesetwo primary categories, the questions are alsoclassified according to the skills being tested.These categories include social sciences, naturaland physical sciences, human relations andpractical affairs, and the arts.Arithmetic TestThe 17 arithmetic questions administered by theACCUPLACER Tests are divided into threetypes.4 Operations with whole numbers and fractions.4 Operations with decimals and percents.4 Applications and problem solving.19