Placement Without Credit

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Language Placement

Students who have completed two or more years of French, German, Latin, or Spanish in high school or one or more semesters of German at another college or whose native tongue is one of these languages are required to take a language examination for placement without credit before enrolling in a course in that language. For additional information write:

University of Houston
Learning and Assessment Services
210 Student Service Center 1
Houston, Texas 77204-3025

First-Time-In-College Students

1. All first-time-in-college students must take a Texas Success Initiative examination or qualify for exemption from the test. Students must take the test before enrolling for courses.
   Students who fail one or more sections of the TSI examination will be required to meet with an advisor at the Academic Advising Center of Undergraduate Scholars at UH before enrolling for courses.
2. Students without any college credit must have documented placement before enrollment (registration) for certain classes.
   1. English Placement
      Incoming freshmen should enroll in ENGL 1303  if they are exempt from the TSI program or if they have a minimum of 240 on the THEA Writing Test or a passing score on the writing section of ACCUPLACER, ASSET or COMPASS. Students with scores below the minimum should enroll in ENGL 1300 . After completing this course successfully, students may enroll in ENGL 1303  and proceed through the regular sequence of required courses.
      
      The normal sequence of English courses for international students and nonnative speakers of English who have completed fewer than four years of schooling in an American secondary school is ENGL 1309  and ENGL 1310 . All nonnative speakers of English must take the Placement Examination for Nonnative Speakers of English (PENNSE) to determine their proper placement in English courses. Based on this examination students may be permitted to enroll in ENGL 1309  or may be required to complete ENGL 1300  or equivalent in preparation for ENGL 1309 . Students who do not qualify for placement in 1300 must seek compensatory remedial work. They will be retested prior to admission to the regular sequence of English courses at the University of Houston.
      
      For information about compensatory work below the level of 1300, students may contact the Language and Culture Center, 713-743-3030, or the Department of English, 713-743-3004. For information about the PENNSE and the reentry test, call the Department of English, 713-743-3004.
   2. Mathematics Placement
      All freshmen entering from high school and freshmen transferring into UH with less than 15 hours of college credits are required to take the mathematics placement test.
      
      Mathematics placement examinations are offered in two ways: through University Testing Services and/or through Courseware. University Testing Services offers exams every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. throughout the year. For more information on the testing schedule or to enroll (register) online, through University Testing Services, please visit their Web site at www.las.uh.edu/uts or call 713-743-5444. Courseware offers math placement exams online at the following Web address: www.casa.uh.edu/. Deadlines for Courseware exams are indicated on the Courseware site.
      
      Those who enroll (register) for a course for which they lack the proper placement score may be dropped from the course and will be required to reenroll (reregister) at the appropriate level.
   3. Reading Placement
      Students who fail the reading section of the TSI exam must enroll in READ 1300  and must not enroll in PSYC 1300 , HIST 1377 , HIST 1378 , POLS 1336 , POLS 1337 , ENGL 2301 , ENGL 2302 , ENGL 2303 , or ENGL 2304  until they have passed the READ 1300 .

International Students

All international students who are non-native speakers of English and are new to the University of Houston are required to satisfy English proficiency requirements for admission by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). For placement into English courses, the Placement Examination for Nonnative Speakers of English (PENNSE) is required. Placement of all students into courses in English as a second language (ESL) is made by the ESL Committee. The normal sequence of courses for entering freshman international students is ENGL 1309 , ENGL 1310 . The fee for the PENNSE is $8.00. For information on the testing schedule, please call the University Testing Services at 713-743-5444 or visit their Web site, www.las.uh.edu/uts.

Students who do not show satisfactory performance on the PENNSE are required to take ENGL 1300  or equivalent, regardless of previous credit in English courses. Students whose scores reveal the need for work in English below the level of ENGL 1300  must seek compensatory remedial work. They will be retested before being permitted to enroll in the normal sequence of English courses at the University of Houston. For information about compensatory work below the level of ENGL 1300 , students may consult with the Language and Culture Center, 713-743-3030, or the Department of English, 713-743-3000.