Placement

Math Placement at IU South Bend

Math placement is designed to help you get off to a strong start in your academic journey. By identifying the math course that best matches what you already know, you can begin at the right level, build on your existing knowledge and skills, and make progress toward your academic goals.

Whether you need to take the math placement depends on your prior coursework. Here is how students are placed in math classes and whether they need to take the ALEKS math placement:

First Year Beginners (students graduating high school and starting college):
- First-year beginners enrolling in math courses during their first and second years at IU South Bend are placed into appropriate math courses based on their high school academic transcript/record. Students who have previously earned college-level math credit may be placed into math courses according to the requirements of their academic program.
- First-year beginners who do not initially enroll in a college-level math course and wait two or more years to take their first math course at IU South Bend must complete the proctored ALEKS math placement at that time.
Transfer, second baccalaureate and other students:
- Math placement is based on previously completed college-level math coursework.
- Those without college-level math credit are required to complete the proctored ALEKS math placement.
All students have the option of taking the proctored ALEKS math placement if they believe they have the math skills to place into a higher-level course. Students should discuss with their academic advisor whether this is a good option for them.

Continue to ALEKS Math Placement

English Course Placement

You do not need to take this course placement if:

You decide to take ENG-W130 to build reading and writing skills before taking ENG-W131. You do not need a placement score to enroll in ENG-W130.
You already have ENG-W131 credit because:
- You have transferred in the equivalent of IU South Bend course ENG-W131 from another college or university.
- You took ENG-W131 as a high school student and received credit for it.
- You received a score of 4 or above on the Advance Placement (AP) exam for English composition.

Students may take the English course placement up to three times per testing session, provided they have not already enrolled in a First-Year Writing class. The Fall testing session runs from mid-October through early January and the Spring/Summer session runs from early March through late August. Once a student has enrolled in a First-Year Writing class, that signifies acceptance of the score and the course placement may not be retaken.

Note: students will also do a diagnostic writing exercise on the first day of their First-Year Writing class, at which point the instructor will either confirm the accuracy of the course placement or recommend moving the student to the appropriate level.

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Chemistry Course Placement

If your major requires you to take either CHEM-C 102 or CHEM-C105/125 then the Department of Physical Sciences recommends the following:

Your status	What should you do?
Recently earned a B or better in a second year of high school chemistry after either a full first year of chemistry or integrated chemistry and physics.	Enroll in CHEM-C 102 or CHEM-C 105/125 You will need your advisor’s help to enroll in the appropriate course.
Never took a full year of chemistry – or you did, but it was a long time ago or you performed poorly.	Enroll in CHEM-C 101 (lecture) and 121 (lab).* You still need to satisfy the mathematics prerequisite for CHEM-C 101.
Intermediate cases	We suggest you enroll in CHEM-C 101 (lecture) and 121 (lab).* You still need to satisfy the mathematics prerequisite for CHEM-C 101.* However, if you have had a very good and recent high school chemistry experience then you may consider taking the Chemistry Course Placement.

*Starting Fall 2026, CHEM-C 101 and 121 will be merged as a single course: CHEM-B 101

The Chemistry Course Placement is designed for incoming students who have taken high school chemistry. It is not required; all students may enroll in CHEM-C 101 and CHEM-C 121 if the mathematics prerequisite is satisfied. Students who do not successfully complete CHEM-C 101/121 will need to retake the course(s); they may not take the Chemistry Course Placement to move ahead. Starting Fall 2026, CHEM-C 101 and 121 will no longer be offered as separate courses and instead will be merged into a single course: CHEM-B 101.

Continue to Chemistry Course Placement

World Language Studies

Students who have previously studied French, German, Japanese or Spanish should take the World Language Studies course placement before enrolling in a language course at IU South Bend. This course placement will place you into a course at the appropriate level.

Continue to World Language Studies Course Placement

Questions

If you have any questions, please call (574) 520-5005 or email sbinfo@iusb.edu