Academic Advising

Math Placement

All St. Kate's students are required to satisfy the core liberal arts requirement of a math or stats course. The table below lists the many majors which require a specific math course as part of the supporting requirements.

Before enrolling in a math course, students must demonstrate that they have the background needed to succeed in the course, based on ACT math scores or by taking the appropriate online assessment.

Students entering after Fall 2009 or those who need to retake the assessment can visit the O'Neil Center website inside Kateway to take the new on-line assessment. The information below will direct you to the correct test.

If a major is not listed the requirement is equal to the University requirement:

• any MATH course numbered 1050 or higher (except MATH 2050)
• ECON 2220, ECON 2250 or PSYC 2050 (statistics)
• Both MATH 1110 and 1120

**MATH 1130 requirement can be met with the sequence of MATH 1110 and 1120, placement requires an ACT score of 23 or better or a score of 12 on the Calculus assessment.

What if my placement score is not high enough for the math course I need?

• The O’Neill Center offers Algebra Brush-up workshops for those students whose skills only need brushing up. Students who complete a workshop will need to retake the Placement Assessment to ensure appropriate placement.
• Students who have never studied Algebra, or whose Algebra skills are very weak, should consider taking OCAD 0800, a four credit Elementary Algebra course offered by the O’Neill Center.
• Students who need work in arithmetic should consider taking OCAD 0700, a 4 credit course in Arithmetic and Problem solving.
• Both OCADs are 4 credit courses offered at half the day tuition rate; OCAD credits are not applied to graduation credit requirements, but do count toward course load and financial aid.
• The O'Neill Center may offer alternative suggestions if the above options are not appropriate.
• DO NOT ENROLL FOR A LOWER LEVEL COURSE. Math courses are not sequential and taking a lower level course will not usually qualify you for a higher level course. You must take steps to improve your score on the math assessment, then enroll in the appropriate course.

Students Who Entered Prior to Fall 2009 may use the guide below.
This information is intended to assist students in selecting the appropriate math course.

Math course selection at the St. Kate's is based on the Math Placement Assessment. Your score is not used to test you out of mathematics or statistics courses but rather to place you into them. If you have not already taken it , you may take the math assessment online at your convenience.

The results of this assessment determine the math courses for which you are eligible to register. Students are encouraged to take the math course specified by their major of interest, or the highest level course for which they qualify based on the assessment test. Many graduate programs require statistics or Calculus, so taking higher level math now gives you more options in the future.

Majors Not Requiring a Specific Math Course
If a major is not listed the requirement is equal to the University requirement:
both MATH 1110 and 1120,
or any MATH course numbered 1050 or higher (except MATH 2050),
or ECON 2220, ECON 2250 or PSYC 2050
*Statistics is satisfied by ECON 2200, or ECON 2250, or MATH 1080 or PSYC 2050
**MATH 1130 requirement can be met with the sequence of MATH 1110 and 1120, placement requires a 13 on the Functions Assessment.

What if my placement score is not high enough for the math course I need?

• The O’Neill Center offers Algebra Brush-up workshops for those students whose skills only need brushing up. Students who complete a workshop will need to retake the Placement Assessment to ensure appropriate placement.
• Students who have never studied Algebra, or whose Algebra skills are very weak, should consider taking OCAD 0800, a four credit Elementary Algebra course offered by the O’Neill Center. Students who successfully complete OCAD 0800 achieve an algebra assessment score between 11 and 35.
• Students who need work in arithmetic should consider taking OCAD 0700, a 4 credit course in Arithmetic and Problem solving. Students who successfully complete OCAD 0700 achieve an algebra assessment score between 11 and 15.
• Both OCADs are 4 credit courses offered at half the day tuition rate; OCAD credits are not applied to graduation credit requirements, but do count toward course load and financial aid.
• The O'Neill Center may offer alternative suggestions if the above options are not appropriate.
• Math courses are not sequential and taking a lower level course will not usually qualify you for a higher level course. You must take steps to improve your score on the math assessment, then enroll in the appropriate course.