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Prerequisites, Placement, & College Readiness

Admission to a curriculum program is based on criteria developed to ensure students have a reasonable chance of success in their program. When evaluations of applicants’ records indicate a lack of readiness in English or math, applicants will be required to enroll in the appropriate transition or corequisite classes as determined by the prerequisites of their pro-gram. Applicants can also choose to take a placement test to satisfy English and math prerequisite requirements. Selected health-related programs require that certain prerequisites be met prior to students being considered for admission to those particular programs.

 Students entering Martin Community College will be placed by unweighted, high school GPA (requires successful com-pletion of high school Math 2). Additional guidelines: no time limit when the GPA was earned and graduation from a USA High School.

  1.   2.8 or Above – Students with a GPA of 2.8 or above may enroll in curriculum gateway English and math courses without additional support.

  2. 2.2-2.799 – Students with a GPA of 2.2-2.799 may enroll in curriculum gateway English and math with a mandatory corequisite course; the corequisite courses are MAT 001 and ENG 011.

  3. 2.199 or Below – Students with a GPA below a 2.2 must enroll in transition courses; the transition courses are MAT 003 and ENG 002.

Course Prerequisites and/or Corequisites

Students must comply with the catalog requirements for all course prerequisites and corequisites. Students must take and pass (as required by their program) any prerequisites and/or be registered for any corequisites required for their courses. If a student fails the prerequisite, it must be retaken until a passing grade is achieved before proceeding to the next course. Students enrolled in a course who have not met the prerequisite and/or corequisite requirements will be removed from the course.

 MCC prerequisite and/or corequisite waivers are granted only in exceptional cases where sufficient justification is pre-sented and supported by ample documentation. This justification/documentation may include, but is not limited to, the stu-dent’s transcript from another regionally accredited college showing that the student has successfully completed the same course or a course with similar content. The waiver must be approved and signed by the course instructor, student’s advi-sor, and the Chief Academic Officer. The waiver must then be submitted to the Registrar for his/her signature and filing.

Corequisite Course Guidelines

If a student is withdrawn from or drops the curriculum course, the student may not remain in the corequisite course. If a student is withdrawn from or drops the corequisite course, the student may not remain in the curriculum course unless the curriculum course instructor agrees that the student has the ability to be successful without the corequisite course based on at least 4 weeks of instruction, assignments, and assessments.

College readiness may also be demonstrated when verified by official transcripts/score reports. Applicants may provide evidence of the following:

  1. Grade of “C” or higher in college-level English composition at a regionally accredited college or university

  2. Grade of “C” or higher in a college-level mathematics course (one that meets the requirements of an associate’s degree or higher) at a regionally accredited college or university

  3. College & Career Readiness Graduate Placement Test – 80 or higher

  4. SAT:

    • SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing – 480

    • SAT Mathematics – 530

  5. ACT:

    • ACT Reading – 22

    • ACT English – 18

    • ACT Mathematics – 22

  6. General Education Development (GED) – 165 or higher on all tests (gateway); 145-164 on all tests (gateway with corequisite)

  7. High School Equivalency Test (HiSET) – 15 or higher on all subject tests, with a minimum of 4 on the Essay

  8. Reinforced Instruction for Student Excellence (RISE) Placement Test – 70 or higher

  9. Score of 4 or 5 on Math 3 EOC (demonstrates readiness for college-level math)

  10. Placement test scores from a North Carolina community college

  11. Grade of “C” or higher or “P” (Passing) in developmental course(s) at a regionally accredited college or university

  12. Advanced Placement credit for English and/or mathematics on CLEP exams or AP exams

DMA to MAT 001 Tier Credit

  1. DMA 010-030 MAT 060 MAT 003 Tier 1

    • A status of NC or a grade of P in DMA 010, DMA 020, AND DMA 030 allows a student to register for MAT 110 without a corequisite or MAT 143 or MAT 152 with a corequisite.

    • DMA 010-050 MAT 070 MAT 003 Tier 2

    • A status of NC or a grade of P in DMA 010, DMA 020, DMA 030, DMA 040, AND DMA 050 allows a student to register for MAT 110, MAT 143 or MAT 152 without a corequisite or MAT 121 or MAT 171 with a corequisite.

  2. DMA 010-080 MAT 080 MAT 003 Tier 3

    • A status of NC or a grade of P in DMA 010, DMA 020, DMA 030, DMA 040, DMA 050, DMA 060, DMA 070, AND DMA 080 allows a student to register for any gateway math course without a corequisite.

DRE to ENG 002 Tier Credit

  1. DRE 096 does not provide credit for any developmental tier or course

    • A status of NC or a grade of P in DRE 096 requires a student to register for ENG 002 if there is no GPA placement into ENG 111 with or without a corequisite.

  2. DRE 097 * ENG 002 Tier 1

    • A status of NC or a grade of P in DRE 097 allows a student to register for ENG 111 with a corequisite.

  3. DRE 098 * ENG 002 Tier 2

  • A status of NC or a grade of P in DRE 098 allows a student to register for ENG 111 without a corequisite.

Any student may choose to take the RISE placement test to achieve higher placement. If the placement test score places the student into a different category for course registration, the student will be registered into the higher measured course(s).

 RISE Placement Test Overview

The math placement test can take up to 3 hours to complete. The three tiers in the test correspond to the three tiers in the transition course. The English placement test can take up to 2 hours to complete. The two tiers in the test correspond to the two tiers in the transition course. Even if the placement test places a student in curriculum with no mandatory support courses, the student may opt to take a corequisite course with their curriculum class.

Cost and Frequency of RISE Placement Testing

  1. Applicants can take each placement test without charge 2 times as long as they are not enrolled in a developmental course in that subject area.

  2. Placement test scores are valid for 10 years.

  3. A fee of $5 will be charged for students per test who have not applied to Martin Community College. Students must pay the Business Office and present a receipt to the placement testing coordinator prior to taking the placement test.

For information regarding scores and placement guidelines, please contact the Office of Admissions, Counseling, and Student Support Services.

Enrollment in a certificate or diploma program which has no English or math prerequisites for the courses within the program is permissible without demonstration of college readiness in English or math. However, if the student changes to another program that requires English or math, the student must demonstrate readiness as outlined.

Direct Placement for MAT 271 Calculus I

A student may place directly into MAT 271 if the student has met at least one (1) of the following criteria within the past five (5) years:

  • A score of 2 or higher on the AP Calculus AB Exam.

  • A grade of “C” or higher in an AP Calculus course and an unweighted HS GPA of 3.0 or higher.

  • A score of 90 or higher on the ACCUPLACER College-Level Math (CLM) test.

  • A score of 46 or higher on the trigonometry section of the ACT Compass Math Placement test.

  • A score of 580 or higher on the old (prior to March 2016) SAT Math and a grade of “C” or higher in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Pre-Calculus course or an equivalent course from another state.

  • A score of 600 or higher on the new (March 2016 and beyond) SAT Math and a grade of “C” or higher in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Pre-Calculus course or an equivalent course from another state.

  • A score of 24 or higher on the ACT Math and a grade of “C” or higher in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Pre-Calculus course or an equivalent course from another state.

  • A score of 560 or higher on the SAT Subject Test in Mathematics Level 2.

  • Local diagnostic exam or challenge exam which demonstrates proficiency in Pre-Calculus course(s) competencies.

  • An unweighted HS GPA of 3.5 or higher and a grade of “C” or higher in the North Carolina Course of Study Pre-Calculus course or an equivalent course from another state.