Placement Testing and advisement Dates

Whether you are a first-time or a transfer student, it is important that you read the following information in its entirety.  Then follow the instructions at the bottom of this page to register for Placement Testing and Academic Advisement.

    The dates below are for both placement testing and academic advisement.   

1.  The dates are placement testing dates for all new transfer students required to take the math or English placement test, or both, regardless of the number of transferred credits.

2.  Academic Advising on these dates is only for transfer students transferring fewer than 60 credits to BSU.   Please note exceptions below.   

3.  Transfer students who have transferred 60 or more credits to BSU should register for any required placement testing, but must contact their academic department and make an appointment for advisement.   

FIRST-TIME STUDENTS

Only students who have been admitted to Bowie State University are permitted to take the Placement Test.

All first-year students must take the Placement Test before participating in the New Student Orientation Program and before being permitted to register for classes.  All transfer students who do not transfer English composition with a "C" or better must take the English Placement Exam before participating in the New Student Orientation Program and before being permitted to register for classes. Transfer students whose transfer evaluation does not indicate credits for MATH 116 or some higher math course must take the Math Placement Exam before being permitted to register.   All questions about transfer evaluations should be directed to the Office of Enrollment, 301.860.3415.  In-state transfer students who have an associate degree are not required to take a placement test.

academic advisement

During the month of August, academic advisement will be available for all first-time and new transfer students.   Immediately after completing the Placement Exam, first-time students and transfer students who tranfer fewer than 60 credits to BSU will be advised by the Academic Advisement Center.   However, transfer students transferring 60 or more credits to BSU must contact their academic department and make an appointment for advisement.  All students who register for a placement testing date must report to the Library Auditorium (room 077) by 7:45 a.m. on that date.   (Registration instructions are at the bottom of this page.) 

Special Accommodations

Students who have a disability and who need special accommodations should call Dr. Michael Hughes, Coordinator of Disability Support Services, at 301.860.4067.

WHERE TO TEST

Unless instructed otherwise, all students who are required to take the Placement Test must report to the back entrance of the Thurgood Library and proceed to the Library Auditorium 077 by 7:45 on the morning of their test date.   The Placement Test is not accessible off campus.

WHAT TO BRING

Students who have been admitted to the University and who have registered to take the Placement Test must bring to the testing site a photo I.D., their student ID number, and two No. 2 pencils.  Personal calculators are prohibited!

TEST SCORES AND COURSE PLACEMENT

Scores on the Placement Tests are determinant factors in whether students begin with developmental or regular college courses. A fee of $150, in addition to tuition, is charged per developmental course that a student takes. The grade earned in a developmental course is calculated into the semester and cumulative GPA. However, the credits earned for developmental courses do not count toward graduation.

Approximate Testing Time

The writing/essay portion of the Placement Exam is the only timed section.   Students are given forty minutes to complete the writing section of the Exam.   The reading and math sections are not timed.   Students move at their own pace.   It usually takes first-time students approximately two hours to complete all three sections (writing, reading, and math) of the Placement Exam.   It generally takes transfer students an hour to complete the math portion of the Exam. 

RETESTING

A student may retake the writing, mathematics, and reading sections of the Placement Exam only once.  All retesting must be completed within two weeks of the students' initial placement testing date.   Call Miss Kathy Jenkins, the Program Administrative Specialist in University Testing Services, at 301.860.3295 to make an appointment to take the test a second time.

ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT

Academic advisement follows immediately after placement testing.   Depending on your major or the number of credits you transfer to Bowie State University, you should report to the Academic Advisement Center or to your academic department for academic advisement.  Please refer to the Academic Advisement Center's web site for detailed instructions. 

The Placement Test

The Placement Test, ACCUPLACER, is administered on computers at the testing site on campus. The test items themselves were developed by the College Board, with the help of committees of college professors, and are designed to help determine the initial English, reading, and mathematics courses most appropriate for students.  The Placement Test consists of three areas: writing, reading, and math.

THE ESSAY

Students will be given 40 minutes to write an essay on a given topic. The essay should consist of an introductory paragraph with a clearly stated and appropriate thesis, three to five paragraphs of adequate support and an appropriate concluding paragraph. The essay will be evaluated in terms of development, unity, coherence, clarity/logic, correct grammar and usage, spelling, punctuation and other proper mechanics. Below is an example of an acceptable essay.

Community Service at BSU

Some people have suggested that Bowie State University should institute a community service requirement that all students would have to fulfill to graduate. Although some schools already have such requirements, starting a program like this could cause a great deal of controversy at BSU. I would not support this program because it could interfere with my schoolwork, it doesn’t directly pertain to education, and a requirement defeats the whole purpose of service. [THESIS STATEMENT]

Placing the additional requirement of community service on students who already work very hard at their studies to maintain BSU’s high standards of academic excellence would overburden them. [TOPIC SENTENCE] Students have enough on their minds trying to learn as much as possible, complete their homework, do well on their tests, and pass exams in order to graduate. Students taking 15 or 18 credit hours are often overwhelmed trying to meet deadlines and are very stressed out. College students tend to have high stress levels in general, and many of us at BSU hold jobs in addition to attending classes, which adds even more stress. Requiring community service would add even more stress to overworked students. [SUPPORT]

In addition, [TRANSITIONAL DEVICE] I don’t believe that community service is directly relevant to our education. [TOPIC SENTENCE] As an institute of higher learning, Bowie State’s purpose is to provide students with an education, which they earn by completing course work. In some cases, community service could be linked to course work; a math major might, for instance, volunteer to tutor at a youth center. Generally, however, community service is separate from schoolwork. Requiring community service hours, then, would not help students further their academic goals, and could in fact detract from their academic performance by requiring them to devote time on these activities that they need to spend studying. [SUPPORT]

Finally, [TRANSITIONAL DEVICE], BSU should remember that forced community service has a negative connotation. [TOPIC SENTENCE] "X hours of community service" is often used as a punishment for misdemeanor crimes in courts of law. Because of this, requiring students to complete a certain number of hours of community service might make students feel that they are being punished, even though they have done nothing wrong. I personally would be offended if I was required to pay for the "privilege" of being forced to do something that is commonly used as a punishment for illegal or questionable activities. [SUPPORT]

I think that instead of requiring a set number of community service hours from students, BSU should encourage students to participate in community service activities on the campus. [TOPIC SENTENCE] Bowie State University is a wonderful academic facility that could be of use to the whole community. If students could take an hour out of their schedule to help out, without leaving campus, for example by showing local citizens how to use the university library, or dropping by the cafeteria to help make a few bag lunches for the local chapter of Martha’s Village, then they might be inclined to do so. Helping out the community should always be a voluntary activity. Bowie State University should make community service activities accessible to the students—but not force a requirement on them. [CONCLUSION]

Reading Comprehension

This test is designed to measure how well one understands what he/she reads.  It contains 20 questions. Some ask for the relationship between sentences. Others ask for the main ideas, details, and inferences.

Elementary Algebra

There are three categories in the Elementary Algebra Test.

• The first is operations with integers and rational numbers, including computation with integers and negative rationale, the use of absolute values, and ordering.
• The second category is operations with algebraic expressions. This tests one's skills with the evaluation of simple formulas and expressions, and the adding and subtracting of monomials and polynomials.

Both of these categories include questions about multiplying and dividing monomials and polynomials, the evaluation of positive rational roots and exponents, simplifying algebraic fractions, and factoring.

• The third category tests one's skills in equation solving, inequalities, and word problems. These questions include solving systems of linear equations, solving quadratic equations by factoring, solving verbal problems presented in algebraic context, geometric reasoning, translation of written phrases into algebraic expressions, and graphing. Twelve questions are presented.

College-Level Mathematics (CLM)  

The CLM Test assesses proficiency from intermediate algebra through precalculus. Six categories are covered. The first category, algebraic operations, includes simplifying rational algebraic expressions, factoring, expanding polynomials, and manipulating roots and exponents. The category, solutions of equations and inequalities, includes the solution of linear and quadratic equations and inequalities, equation systems, and other algebraic equations. Coordinate geometry asks questions about plane geometry, the coordinate plane, straight lines, conics, sets of points in the plane, and graphs of algebraic functions. Applications and other algebra topics ask about complex numbers, series and sequences, determinants, permutations and combinations, fractions, and word problems. The last category, functions and trigonometry, presents questions about polynomial, algebraic, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions. Twenty questions are asked.Access the Accuplacer study guides and practice exams for writing, reading, and mathematics.

TIPS FOR TAKING THE PLACEMENT TESTS

• Relax! The Placement Tests were designed to help you succeed in college. Your score helps you and your advisor determine which courses are most appropriate for your current level of knowledge and skills.
• You will be able to concentrate better on the test if you get plenty of rest and eat properly prior to the test. You should also arrive a few minutes early so you can find the testing area, restrooms, etc., and gather your thoughts before the test begins.
• Pay careful attention to directions and be sure you understand the directions before you begin each test.
• If you do not know the answer to a question, try to eliminate one or more of the choices. Then pick one of the remaining choices.

Do not bring textbooks, notebooks, dictionaries, or paper into the testing room.  They are prohibited!

PRACTICING FOR THE PLACEMENT EXAM

College Board has provided tutorial sessions in ACCUPLACER for the Placement Exam.   To practice for the exam, you may click here on  ACCUPLACER and complete as many tutorial sessions as you like in writing/English, reading, and math before you take the Placement Test.   

PLACEMENT TESTING  AND ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT REGISTRATION

To register for Placement Testing and/or Academic Advisement, please click https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFdvQUdSQzdWNUdJZ281bjFGa3BfMWc6MA.  If you have not paid your $80.00 enrollment acceptance fee, you will not be permitted to take the Placement Exam or receive academic advisement.