Placement Procedures

This course introduces you to writing as a conscious and developmental activity. You learn to read, think, and write in response to a variety of texts, to integrate your ideas with those of others, and to treat writing as a recursive process. Through this work with texts, you are exposed to a range of reading and writing techniques you can employ in other courses and are introduced to fundamental skills of information literacy. You work individually and collaboratively, participate in peer review, and learn to take more responsibility for your writing development. Placement into this course is determined by entering SAT (or ACT) writing scores. 4 Credit hours

Sample ENG110 writing assignment: “Action for Change in the Digital Age”

In “Small Change,” Malcolm Gladwell writes about social media’s limited ability to effect real change. In his view, meaningful social change requires high-risk activism, strong-tie connections, hierarchies and hard work. He finds social media lacks all these elements. In his interview on ABC News and in the It Gets Better Project website, Dan Savage offers a portrait of a largely web-based, social media style campaign to improve the teen years for LGBTQ kids. Together, Gladwell’s text, Savage’s interview and the It Gets Better Project website offer us an opportunity to consider social activism in the twenty-first century.

Write a five-page paper that draws on Gladwell, Savage’s interview with ABC News and specific material from the It Gets Better Project website to evaluate the potential for social media to contribute to meaningful social change. In your response, be sure to:

• Be clear about your perspective or point of view;
• Briefly (and appropriately) introduce Gladwell’s text, Savage’s interview and the It Gets Better Project website;
• Take seriously Gladwell’s critique of social media and draw on his ideas about strong and weak ties;
• Engage with specifics in both Savage’s interview with ABC News and the It Gets Better Project website as you develop and support your claims;
• Document sources using MLA style.

Questions You Might Consider

• Are “It Gets Better” videos on the project website low risk in the way that the cheek swabs described by Gladwell are low risk? How? Why?
•  Might the Savage interview and project website confirm or challenge elements of Gladwell’s argument? Which elements? Why?
• Consider the question of personal risk in It Gets Better sharing and broader network context of the campaign. What does this help us understand about activism today?

Self-Placement Diagnostic Survey

Take our “Self-Placement Diagnostic Survey”

Sample Writing Assignment: “Action for Change in the Digital Age”

In “Small Change,” Malcolm Gladwell writes about social media’s limited ability to effect real change. In his view, meaningful social change requires high-risk activism, strong-tie connections, hierarchies and hard work. He finds social media lacks all these elements. In his interview on ABC News and in the It Gets Better Project website, Dan Savage offers a portrait of a largely web-based, social media style campaign to improve the teen years for LGBTQ kids. Together, Gladwell’s text, Savage’s interview and the It Gets Better Project website offer us an opportunity to consider social activism in the twenty-first century.

Write a five-page paper that draws on Gladwell, Savage’s interview with ABC News and specific material from the It Gets Better Project website to evaluate the potential for social media to contribute to meaningful social change. In your response, be sure to:

• Be clear about your perspective or point of view;
• Briefly (and appropriately) introduce Gladwell’s text, Savage’s interview and the It Gets Better Project website;
• Take seriously Gladwell’s critique of social media and draw on his ideas about strong and weak ties;
• Engage with specifics in both Savage’s interview with ABC News and the It Gets Better Project website as you develop and support your claims;
• Document sources using MLA style.

Questions You Might Consider

• Are “It Gets Better” videos on the project website low risk in the way that the cheek swabs described by Gladwell are low risk? How? Why?
•  Might the Savage interview and project website confirm or challenge elements of Gladwell’s argument? Which elements? Why?
• Consider the question of personal risk in It Gets Better sharing and broader network context of the campaign. What does this help us understand about activism today?

If you feel that your initial placement does not accurately reflect your mathematical ability, you are encouraged to submit additional evidence of achievement, including Advanced Placement scores, updated or additional transcripts, or Accuplacer results from another college. In particular, if you were enrolled in any mathematics class during your senior year, you should email a final senior transcript directly to Lori Wall at lwall@davidegalliani.com.

Every degree program has a mathematics requirement and mathematics prerequisites exist for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Your initial mathematics placement level will determine your first-semester course schedule. Placement levels and corresponding courses are listed below.

If you change your major, you will be required to follow the prerequisites of that program which may include a different math requirement.

*Courses with a SAS designation are offered through the Student Academic Success Center and serve as prerequisites to mathematics and science courses. SAS courses count towards full-time enrollment for the purposes of athletic eligibility and financial aid but do not satisfy core curriculum or graduation requirements and do not earn credit toward graduation. Grades for SAS courses are computed into your grade point average. If you are required to enroll in SAS mathematics courses, you will be invited to participate in UNE’s Mathematics Bridge Opportunity.

ALEKS Mathematics Bridge is an independent study opportunity for students who want to advance their placement level. ALEKS is a completely online, artificially intelligent, assessment, and learning system adopted by UNE to assist you in mastering the material you will need for success in college-level mathematics and science courses. It is adaptive to each individual and quickly determines what you know and doesn’t know within the context of the selected modules. ALEKS offers an individualized learning plan, practice, help, and immediate feedback from virtually any computer with Internet access.

If you have a UL2 or UL3 (SAS021 or SAS022) mathematics placement you may complete this coursework prior to the start of classes in your first semester at UNE. SAS 021 and SAS 022 are required prerequisite courses for many college-level math and science courses. Eligible students are invited to participate based on mathematics placement. If you have a UL4 placement and your major requires UL5 calculus you may also elect to complete the ALEKS bridge for precalculus.

If you complete at least 90% of the required ALEKS modules you are eligible to advance your mathematics placement level and enroll in your next required math and/or science courses saving time and money. You should expect to spend 20 to 40 hours on ALEKS but this number will vary depending on your current mathematical knowledge.

If you elect not to participate in Bridge or if you do not complete 90% of the required modules, you will be enrolled in a traditional classroom section of the required math course for your placement level in the fall semester and advance to your next level of math upon successful completion of that course.

A six-week access code costs less than $50. There are no university fees associated with this program. If you are interested in enrolling in the UNE bridge opportunity, email Lori Wall at lwall@davidegalliani.com or call (207) 602-2794 for a course code.