Academic Assessment and Placement Testing for Student Success Source: 2005/2006 College Catalog

General Information

Lansing Community College cares about student success and believes that strong basic academic skills are the student’s passport to achieving school and job success. The following basic skill areas are particularly important: reading, writing, mathematics, computing, communicating, critical thinking, and study skills.

Many courses at LCC have minimum skill level requirements in reading, writing, and/or mathematics. These levels must be met before a student will be permitted to enroll in those courses. Skill levels are listed along with other prerequisites required for each course in the Lansing Community College Catalog, the Course Schedule, and on the College’s World Wide Web home page http://www.lcc.edu. Students meet these skill prerequisites either by achieving the required scores on placement tests or successfully passing specific courses at LCC. (See Other Options to Meet Skill Prerequisites in this section for other alternatives.) Students who have attended LCC previously may need to take or retake one or more of the placement tests. An advisor or counselor can determine if this is needed. Student orientation is available at http://www.lcc.edu/orientation/, or by calling 483-1904. New students should complete all assessment testing prior to completing orientation.

The department offering the course determines any exceptions to prerequisites or skill levels.

What the Tests Are Like

Reading, writing, and some mathematics tests are administered on computers. The tests are adaptive, and each item’s difficulty is based on the student’s response to the preceding question. The tests are not timed. The average amount of time spent on a test is about 30 minutes, so students should allow about two hours for all skill placement tests.

The results of the tests are available immediately.

Where Testing Centers Are Located

Drop-in placement testing is available on-campus in the Assessment Center, Gannon Building, Room 200. For testing hours and information call (517) 267-5500. Placement tests are also available at the off-campus Learning Centers. Contact the off-campus Learning Centers, the LCC Extension and Community Education Office, (517) 483-1860, or contact the West Campus at (517) 267-5510 for more information.

Other Options to Meet Skill Prerequisites

Students who have taken the SAT, the ACT, or Advanced Placement courses should have their scores sent to LCC. The results may establish reading and/or writing and/or math levels, which may meet some course prerequisites. The Advanced Placement examination results may also result in the awarding of credit for a specific course(s).

Students who have earned credits from one or more accredited colleges or universities should have their official transcripts sent to the LCC Enrollment Services Office. An evaluation of transfer credits will determine if some of the courses meet skill prerequisites.

Students who have an earned degree (associate, bachelor, or higher) can have the reading and writing prerequisites waived. An official transcript from all institutions previously attended should be sent to the LCC Enrollment Services Office.