Incoming students have received the following instructions:
 

To register for classes at orientation all freshmen must take this test by June 15… You will need a temporary username to gainaccess to the testing site, which will consist of the first four letters of your last name and the last four digits of your social security number (no spaces). This username is for the math test only, and is NOT the same as the JMU electronic identity you will create.

A student named Mary Dukeworthy, 123-45-6789 wouldhave the username duke6789. If your last name has fewer than four letters,just use the full last name. A student named Mel Ott, 511-22-1860 wouldhave the username ott1860.

We will recommend course choices to your freshman adviser. Obtain a copy of this recommendation by revisiting the web site after June 15th and log in with your username.

Students having problems should send e-mail to: placement@math.jmu.edu

Freshman advisors should also review the placement recommendations byvisiting the mathematics placement site at www.math.jmu.edu/placementandentering usernames for your students (i.e the special placement-exam usernamedescribed above;  a lso note that the username uses SSNand not Peoplesoft ID numbers). You will probably want to bookmarkthis site.  If the student has completed the placement test, a scorewill appear.  In some cases,  a score may appear with no additionalinformation on course recommendations.  This indicates that the studenthas completed the test very recently and the placement advice has not yetbeen provided.  In this case, please log in later.

Specific entry-level course recommendations are made on the basis ofplacement test score, HS grades, major, and GENED considerations.

FAQs:

Are placement recommendations binding? No, but please discussdepartures carefully with your advisees. A change in thinking regardingmajor is an obvious reason to switch to a different course, but studentsmay have other justifications.

What is the difference in background required for various courses? It is not easy to give a simple answer, but Mathematics 235 requires thestrongest background among the courses listed, followed by 205/220, 107,and 103/115.

What about "multiple" recommendations? Students should be encouraged to enroll in the "strongest" recommended course, as this will usually keep open the largest number of future options.

How may a student be placed in a higher level course not on the list? Some students will come to JMU with AP mathematics credit, most often incalculus (a student with a 4 or 5 on the AB exam may enroll in 236/CalculusII… a student with a 4 or 5 on the BC exam may enroll in 237/Calculus III).If you do not yet have AP scores when you meet with an advisees, ask advisees to make their "best guess" regarding their AP success. Try to enroll ina section for which switching to a different course will be convenient.

May a student take the exam after June 15?  Yes, studentswill still be able to take the placement exam.  We will also be ableto process a few students who come to campus for orientation and take theexam on campus that morning.  If you meet with an advisee who hasstill not taken the exam, ask them to do so before leaving campus or immediatelyafter they return home.  Check the results (as above) in a coupleof weeks to be sure that adjustments in schedule are not needed.
 

Problems: email  placement@math.jmu.edu

Other questions: Dave Carothers 2817 carothdc@jmu.edu

Placement test: Chuck Cunningham cunnincx@jmu.edu