Course Placement Guides

Southwest Minnesota State University is committed to placing students into their English and Mathematics courses as accurately as possible. SMSU’s placement guides utilize a system of “Multiple Measures” set forth by the Minnesota State System Office for more accurate placement by looking at all valid scores available for each student. The advantage of course placement for students is the opportunity to bypass developmental education courses that delay taking college-level courses. Course placement can be determined using one or a combination of the following: 

• Scores from ACT, SAT, MN Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) - valid within the last 5 calendar years 
• High school GPA - valid within the last 10 calendar years 
• Standardized score reports from Advance Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) 
• Completion of college-level coursework from an accredited U.S. college or university 
• Course Placement Assessment – ACCUPLACER math subject tests - valid within 2 calendar years 
• Course Placement Assessment – ACCUPLACER reading subject tests - valid within 5 calendar years 
• Course Placement Assessment – ACCUPLACER ELL/EMLS subject tests - valid within 5 calendar years 

 
Below are the current course placement guides for English, Mathematics, and English for Multilingual Speakers (EMLS). 

• English
• Math
• English for Multilingual Speakers (EMLS)