Academic Placement Guide
This page is a guide to assist with placement assessments, exams, and resources.
In the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), the placement process helps ensure that you are matched with the right courses at the right level for you. This page will guide you through the steps for:
- Writing placement
- Quantitative skills (math) placement
- Language placement
Note that all placements can be completed remotely at this time, even if part of your placement requires a meeting with a faculty member.
Writing Placement
The CAS general education program offers a variety of ways to satisfy our writing foundations requirement. Our self-directed placement process helps you determine the best path through our writing courses. Typically, it takes 10 minutes.
All first-year students in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) will be asked to complete a Writing Foundations Pathway Survey.
Transfer students are not asked to take the writing placement and can work individually with their faculty members to address questions about their writing needs.
First-year students can find the link for writing placement on your New Student Checklist Journey in Navigate360. You will also find the link in your email after taking the Bulldog Advising and Registration Questionnaire (BARQ).
If you need additional help, please email kathryn_tucker@redlands.edu.
Language Placement
Language and culture study is a part of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) general education program, and many majors also require language coursework. You may be asked to complete a language placement survey to match you with the best pathway through language courses. The placement is not timed, but typically, students complete it in 30 minutes or less.
If your academic plans include studying Chinese or Spanish, you will be asked to complete a language placement survey regardless of your prior experience. After taking the placement, some students may be asked to work with a faculty member in the language of their choice to discuss the best-fit course. We will reach out to you individually if this is the case.
If you are interested in taking courses in Arabic, American Sign Language (ASL), French, or Japanese, you won’t need to complete a language placement survey. You can register for ARAB-101, ASL-101, FREN-101, or JPNS-101, and your instructor will work with you to identify the best pathway through those languages.
Please note that you can also study language and culture while abroad! Consult with your faculty advisor to learn more!
First-year students can find the link for language placement on your New Student Checklist Journey in Navigate360. You will also find the link in your email after taking the Bulldog Advising and Registration Questionnaire (BARQ).
Transfer students will be provided with a link for language placement if they need it after meeting with their advisor. Transfer students can review their transfer credit evaluation to see if they have satisfied our language requirement.
If you need additional help, please email language_placement@redlands.edu.
Quantitative Skills (Math) Placement
Quantitative reasoning is part of the CAS general education program, and many majors. The Quantitative Skills Placement is designed to match you with the best pathway through quantitative courses. Placement is up to 30 questions and generally takes 60-90 minutes to complete.
Most first-year students in CAS will need to take the Quantitative Skills Placement. Quantitative courses are required to fulfill our general education program, and there are a number of majors, like those in the sciences, social sciences, and business – which require courses with math or statistics content. You will find out if you need to take the Quantitative Skills (Math) Placement by completing the Bulldog Advising and Registration Questionnaire (BARQ).
Transfer students will meet with their advisor to discuss whether they need a Quantitative Skills Placement.
First-year students can find the link for Quantitative Skills (Math) placement on your New Student Checklist Journey in Navigate360. You will also find the link in your email after taking the Bulldog Advising and Registration Questionnaire (BARQ).
Transfer students will be provided with a link for Quantitative Skills (Math) placement if they need it after meeting with their advisor.
After the placement, an individualized Prep and Learning Module is available for you to refresh your knowledge on forgotten topics. You then have the opportunity to retake and improve your placement. You can take the ALEKS PPL placement up to five (5) times.
If you need additional help, please email math_placement@redlands.edu.