All WOU students are required to complete a foundational skills level mathematics course  (MTH 105, MTH 110, MTH 111, MTH 112, both MTH 211 and MTH 212, or above). Please consult your major program requirements, an advisor or Dr. Matthew Ciancetta, Mathematics Department Head, at ciancetm@wou.edu for assistance selecting a course. Students who wish to register for a math course can use their AP/IB math score, CLEP credit, or prior college credit for initial placement purposes.

Students without these forms of credit must complete the ALEKS Math Assessment online through the WOU Portal prior to SOAR. We recommend visiting wou.edu/math/aleks to prepare for the ALEKS Math Assessment. If the link for ALEKS is not available under the “My Programs” menu in your Portal, please contact Annika Thompson at thompsona@wou.edu or by phone at 503-838-9407. Alternatively, students may show competency by scoring 61 or higher on the ALEKS Math Assessment, earned in a proctored and timed testing environment (see www.wou.edu/math/aleks/ for more information).

Studying a language is required for certain majors as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees. One key to success in a language is to enroll in the class that matches your skill level. If you are new to the language, enroll in the first-year, 101 level. If you averaged a grade of “B” or better in two years of high school language, you may be able to enroll in the second-year series beginning with 201. If you averaged a “B” or better in four years of a high school language, you may already have met the language requirement for the major and the Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Students who wish to register for a language course can use their AP/IB language score, CLEP credit or previous college credit for initial placement purposes. Students without these must complete a language placement test before SOAR if they would like to enroll in a 102-level course or above. Placement tests are available at the links below.

French: wou.edu/french/placement-test

German: wou.edu/german/proficiencies/german-placement

Spanish: wou.edu/spanish/placement

Transfer students with prior college credit for ASL will conduct an online evaluation with our faculty before registering for courses.

Faculty will conduct evaluations for course placement at the June 27, July 17, and August 27 SOAR programs. If you have not completed high school or college level ASL courses, an evaluation is not necessary. In the event our SOAR programs are delivered online than in-person due to COVID-19, evaluations will be conducted online.  

All WOU students are required to complete WR 121 and WR 122. Most students begin with and will be placed into WR 121. Students can use their ACT/SAT scores, AP/IB English Language score, Smarter Balanced score, Essential Skills score, CLEP credit, or prior college credit for placement purposes. Placement information can be found: wou.edu/english/first-year-writing/. Any student may challenge their placement by taking the challenge exam during new student week at the start of the Fall Term. Freshmen without these scores or forms of credit should contact Dr. Leigh Graziano, Director of First-Year Writing at grazianol@wou.edu.

Placement into Biology 211 is required for students majoring in these fields:

• Biology
• Certain pre-professional health science areas (Dental Hygiene, Dentistry, Medicine, Clinical Lab Science, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physician Assistant or Veterinary Medicine)
• Certain chemistry concentrations (environmental, forensic or medicinal/pharmacology)
• Certain Teacher Education programs with a middle level/high school authorization (biology, chemistry or integrated science)

Students in these majors can use their ALEKS math placement score, SAT/ACT math section score, AP/IB Biology score, previous Biology 102 college credit (B grade or higher), or previous Math 111 college credit (C grade or higher) for placement purposes.

Students in all other majors, including Pre-Nursing and Exercise Science, do not require placement into Biology 211.