The Developmental Education Program seeks to preserve and make possible educational opportunities for each postsecondary learner. The developmental education program at Eastern Kentucky University was designed to help students achieve academic success by developing or enhancing skills in three essential skill areas: reading, writing and mathematics. The development of these skills is needed for success in college-level coursework.  At EKU and other colleges and universities nationwide, students must demonstrate college-level readiness skills in the three essential skill areas. 

The University measures skill proficiencies in writing, reading, and mathematics by student performance on the ACT, SAT and EKU placement tests. Initial course placement is based on the ACT or SAT exam scores.  Therefore, all students are responsible for having ACT or SAT scores and subscores on file at the University.  Placement in, and successful completion of, specified coursework is required of students who do not demonstrate proficiency through testing or college transfer course work. 

 

 

Developmental Course Descriptions  (top)

Developmental courses in the areas of writing, reading, and mathematics are designed to improve essential skills in these areas. The Departments of English and Theatre and Mathematics and Statistics offer the developmental courses. Each course is a three-hour institutional credit course. Credit hours for these courses do not apply toward graduation but do count toward enrollment status for such purposes as determining eligibility for housing and financial aid.

Placement in and successful completion of these courses is required of students who do not demonstrate proficiency in the basic skill areas.

• ENG 090 (Basic Writing)
  This course focuses on academic writing. It provides strategies for improving content, organization, voice, reading to writing, and editing from sentences to essays. Exit exam required.
  
  
• ENG 095 (Developmental Composition)
  This course focuses on academic writing. It provides strategies for improving content, organization, voice, reading to write, and editing in analytical essays and reports. Exit exam required.
  
  
• ENR 090 (Developmental Reading I)
  This course focuses on improving reading skills by developing vocabulary and active reading strategies such as previewing, organizing information, and identifying main ideas and supporting details.
  
  
• ENR 095 (Developmental Reading II)
  This course focuses on developing comprehension skills. It provides systematic methods for learning college-level vocabulary, analyzing structure and ideas of written materials, and developing critical reading skills.
  
  
• MAT 090 (Prealgebra)
  Course content includes the real number system, ratio and proportion, order of operations, measurement, exponents and radicals, probability and statistics, graphs, a strong strand of geometry, and basic algebraic concepts such as solving linear equations and understanding variables and algebraic expressions.
  
  
• MAT 095 (Developmental Algebra I)
  Prerequisite: MAT 090, with a course grade of at least "C". Course content includes the real number system, algebraic expressions, integer exponents, linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, polynomials, graphing linear and quadratic functions, factoring, systems of equations, radical expressions, and basic descriptive geometry.
  
  EKU offers an academic orientation course specifically designed for students with two or more developmental requirement areas. Following is a description of that course.
  
  
• GSO 102 (Transition to College)
  This course is a three-credit hour academic orientation course that is taken by referral or placement. This course is an intensive introduction to the University, including study skills, cultural and learning resources, academic life, university policies and procedures, self-exploratory activities and growth. This course is required for all students with two or more developmental area requirements.

 

Placement Guidelines  (top)

All students are required to demonstrate basic skills in reading, mathematics, and writing. Basic skills are assessed by ACT and SAT scores and placement test scores. Students have the opportunity to take placement tests prior to orientation sessions and during New Student Days. Students not demonstrating proficiency are required to successfully complete the appropriate levels of developmental courses.

Students are encouraged to prepare for the placement tests by using the sample on-line placement test.

• Reading

  The reading section of the ACT is used to identify students who may have difficulty with college level reading material and are required to take developmental courses. The following guidelines have been established.

  • ACT Reading score 01-14 - placement in ENR 090
  • ACT Reading score 15-17 - placement in ENR 095
  • ACT Reading score 18 or above or or a sum of the SAT verbal/critical reading and mathematics score 870 - basic reading skills are assumed
  
  
• Mathematics

  The mathematics section of the ACT is used to determine placement in developmental mathematics courses. The following guidelines have been established.

  • ACT Math score 01-15 - placement in MAT 090
  • ACT Math score 16-17 - placement in MAT 095
  • ACT Math score 18 or above or a sum of the SAT verbal/critical reading and mathematics score 870 - basic mathematics skills are assumed
  
  
• Writing

  The English section of the ACT test is used to determine placement in the appropriate level freshman English composition course. The following guidelines have been established.

  • ACT English score 01-14 - placement in ENG 090
  • ACT English score 15-17 - placement in ENG 095
  • ACT English score 18-27 or a sum of the SAT verbal/critical reading and mathematics score 870 - basic writing skills are assumed and students are placed in ENG 101 (English Composition I)
  • ACT English score 28 or above - basic writing skills are assumed and students are placed in ENG 105 (English Composition Honors)

 

Transfer Students  (top)

Transfer students must demonstrate proficiency in the essential skill areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. The University will consider transfer course work, ACT or SAT scores on file at the University, and EKU placement tests in determining skill proficiencies.

Students transferring to EKU with an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Sciences, and Associate of Science in Nursing degree, or equivalent, should be considered proficient in the three basic skill areas of English (writing), mathematics, and reading.

 

Advising & Course Load  (top)

Students with two or more developmental area requirements are enrolled as "undeclared" majors and restricted to 13 hours of University enrollment, unless otherwise specified by admission status. The Office of Academic Advising will assist these students in creating linkages to the departments of their intended majors.

 

Enrollment & Completion Requirements  (top)

Following are the policies concerning developmental enrollment and completion requirements for degree seeking students:

1. All full- or part-time students with developmental requirements in two or more areas must take GSO 102 in the first semester of enrollment.
2. All full- or part-time students with developmental requirements, identified by the ACT, SAT and local placement testing, are required to enroll in the specified developmental course(s) during their first and each subsequent semester of enrollment, excluding summer, at EKU until all developmental requirements are completed.
3. Part-time students must enroll in any required developmental course(s) before attempting course work which carries academic credit, other than GSO 102 or other required orientation courses.
4. Students with developmental requirements are allowed a maximum of two consecutive terms of University enrollment, excluding summer, to successfully complete each required course. Students not completing developmental requirements in the specified timeframe will have developmental holds placed on their course registration.
5. Students with developmental requirements must complete all required developmental courses by the end of the term in which they attempt their 45th credit hour, including developmental hours. Withdrawal from a developmental course counts as one semester of University enrollment toward the attempted completion of developmental requirements. Students not completing all developmental requirements within 45 hours will be developmentally dismissed.

 

Restrictions  (top)

• Students with two or more developmental area requirements are enrolled in associate degree programs or as "Undeclared" majors. The Office of Academic Advising will assist these students in creating linkages to the departments of their intended majors.
• Students with two or more developmental area requirements are restricted to 13 hours of University enrollment, unless otherwise specified by admission status.
• Students enrolled in MAT 090 (Prealgebra) cannot enroll in any course with the following prefixes: AST, BIO, CHE, CIS, CNM, CSC, FOR, GLY, NAT, PHY, SCI, or STA.

 

Grades in Developmental Courses  (top)

• Developmental course grades are not included in the calculation of GPAs.
• Developmental course grades include the grades A, B, C, and F. There are no course grades of D in developmental courses.