Admissions & Outreach

Students with Smarter Balanced assessment scores that are admitted and enrolling the academic year immediately following high school graduation or who are seeking to participate in Running Start may use their Smarter Balanced Assessment/Achievement Score Level for English placement. The Smarter Balanced Assessment/Achievement Score Level must be from the SBA assessment taken during 10th grade or higher.

For SBA placement

Send the following in an email to admissions@cascadia.edu or turn in to Kodiak Corner (CC1):

• A copy of your results showing your SBA Assessment/Achievement Score Level
• A copy of your high school transcript, if applicable

SBA Math Placement

Use your high school trancript for eligible math placement. 

SBA English Placement

• Score Level 4 - ENGL& 101
• Score Level 3 - ENGL& 101
• Score Level 3 - Placement determined through Directed Self-Placement or optional Accuplacer assessment
•  Score Level 3 - Placement determined through Directed Self-Placement or optional Accuplacer assessment

Directed Self-Placement

The directed self-placement is a process that is designed to give students guided choices about their educational placement and help them accomplish the writing goals that they will need for success in school by selecting one of the three courses provided (EF 65, ENGL 95, and ENGL& 101).

The 15-25 minute process will help you decide on the best writing course placement. 

• Review the course options: EF 65, ENGL 95, ENGL 101
• Review sample student profiles
• Read a few examples of student writing from each option
• Read a few examples of readings from each option
• Think about your needs
• Complete a 5-minute reading and writing prompt
• Make your course selection

Fill out the Directed Self-Placement form to help guide your placement. 

Students can place into College English using their high school transcript.

• Students must have a cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Student must earn a qualifying grade in one of the courses listed below.

 

Please be sure to submit a copy of your high school transcript to admissions@cascadia.edu or to Kodiak Corner (CC1). It is helpful to bring a copy with you to your CORE (Cascadia Orientation and Registration Experience) appointment.

Cascadia College offers various ways to place into Math courses including using high school transcripts. This is available for students who earned grades in Mathematics courses in public high schools within Washington State within the last two years. Contact admissions@cascadia.edu with any questions. 

• Students may opt to register for any math class lower than their placement.
• Students need to consult with an academic advisor after placement to be sure to enroll in a course that is consistent with their planned course of study.

Public High Schools from Washington State

• If the high school course is conducted over two semesters, the second semester grade is used for placement purposes.
• Transcripts can only be used for placement if the high school course was completed less than two years prior to placement. Moreover, the college math course must be taken no more than two school years after the completion of the high school course.
• Spring 2020 high school grades are not eligible for use in placement due to the pandemic and its impact on high school grading practices.
• Students who earn grades of “P” or “pass/fail” cannot use their high school transcripts for placement. These students should take the Accuplacer placement test for accurate placement.
• Students who place into Math& 152 (Calculus 2) will not have Math& 151 (Calculus 1) on their college transcript (unless they have earned credit from the AP exam). These students should make sure their program of study does not require that they show Math& 151 (Calculus 1) on their transcript.

 

Please submit a copy of your high school transcript to admissions@cascadia.edu or to Kodiak Corner (CC1). It is helpful to bring a copy with you to your CORE appointment. Students who have earned lower than a C in their last math class must have placement determined in another way such as the Accuplacer placement. 

Current WA State Public High School students

• If a student is currently taking the second semester of a course for the academic year, it may be used for placement if:
  • The student is currently enrolled in their Math course between May 1 and June 30;
  • and the student achieved a "C" or higher in the first semester. The lower of the two individual semester grades will be used for placement. (i.e. if a student received a "C" in their first semester and currenly have a  "B" in their second, we will use the "C" for placement).

 

• Students must provide two items
  • A current high school transcript (showing first semester grade for Math)
  • A screen shot of their current grade in their math course (between May 1st and June 30th) by submitting a screenshot of their grade as an email attachment to admissions@cascadia.edu. Should include Student Name, School Name, Math Course Name, and Class Grade. 

 

• If a student’s second semester final grade is higher than the one provided in the screenshot, their placement may be determined by the final grade on the High School transcript. Students will need to provide their updated High School transcript to be considered for higher placement by sending to admissions@cascadia.edu.

Private and Out-of-State High Schools and Homeschools

• Homeschooled students need to take the Accuplacer placement test to assess where they should begin taking mathematics courses. Transcripts made by home-based instruction cannot be used for placement.
• Students who attended high school outside of Washington state or private high schools in Washington state will need to take the Accuplacer placement test to assess where they should begin taking mathematics courses.

Washington State Placement Reciprocity

The policy states that a student who qualifies for entry into college-level math, English, or reading, either through course completion or local skills assessment, will be considered to have met the entry college-level standard at every community and technical college.

• A student who qualifies for a specific level of pre-college math, English, or reading, either through course completion or local skills assessment, will have that course placement level honored at another Washington CTC if the student so requests, even if the courses may not be exact equivalents.
• A student who qualifies for entry into college-level math, English, or reading, either through course completion or local skills assessment, will be considered to have met the entry college-level standard at every community and technical college.
• Students requesting reciprocity must initiate the process within one year of their initial placement assessment.

Instructions

• Email your placement documents (COMPASS or Accuplacer score report or other documents) to enrollment@cascadia.edu and in the subject line note Placement Reciprocity.
• Enrollment Services will reply back once your placement has been determined.

Visit Transcript Evaluationif you are a transfer student and schedule an advising appointment.

What is ACCUPLACER?

The ACCUPLACER Placement is an untimed, computerized assessment that has three multiple choice sections (writing, reading, and math). Students cannot pass or fail ACCUPLACER. The results are used to evaluate skills and place students into appropriate courses given current skill level.

• Scratch paper and pencils are provided.
• No dictionaries or personal calculators are allowed, but calculators will be provided.
• Results are printed immediately following the completion of Accuplacer.
• Valid Photo ID is required
• In-person ACCUPLACER fee is $17 (non-refundable) when you sign up to take the Accuplacer, a charge will be posted to your account that can be paid through your ctcLink account.
• Online ACCUPLACER fee is $42

While there is no specific time limit, we ask that students give themselves enough time, approximately 2 hours to finish. ACCUPLACER Placement must be completed in the same day started. Please allow ample time to complete all three sections before the office closes. 

Guided Self Placement

The math placement listed on the score sheet is a recommendation based on ACCUPLACER performance. If a student believes that this score does not represent their best performance the student has the option of Guided Self Placement. Guided Self Placement is a process where students are provided additional information about the next placement level and may elect to enroll in a math course one level above their initial placement recommendation. Additional information about this process is available on the ACCUPLACER score sheet the student will receive after the completing the assessment.

Directed Self-Placement

This form is only for students that would be previously directed to complete the writing sample. The directed self-placement is a process that is designed to give students guided choices about their educational placement and help them accomplish the writing goals that they will need for success in school by selecting one of the three courses provided (EF 65, ENGL 95, and ENGL& 101).

Taking the ACCUPLACER

The ACCUPLACER Placement is currently administered remotely online and in-person. Students who need to complete the Accuplacer online will take it with a remote proctor. If you complete the Accuplacer in-person will be monitored by an in-person proctor. For questions or accessibility needs, please email  enrollment@cascadia.edu.

• You will need a ctcLink Student ID number (not your high school SID) to take the ACCUPLACER Placement. If you don't have a ctcLink Student ID number, please apply for admissions online. Your application should be processed within 2 business days. Once processed, you will receive your email that contains your ctcLink Student ID number. Proceed to step 2 once you have your ctcLink Student ID number.
• Complete the Cascadia College ACCUPLACER Request Form for Voucher which provides additional instructions.

Note: The process may take up to four business days.

Opting Out of Remote Proctoring

We understand that some of you may be uncomfortable with this process. Depending on which assessment you need to complete, you may have alternative options.

• English - After reviewing the other placement methods available, students may email enrollment@cascadia.edu for information on completing an alternate assessment.
• Math - An alternate assessment is currently unavailable. Please review the other placement methods available to determine if they can be used. Email enrollment@cascadia.edu if you have questions.

ACCUPLACER Placement Resources

• ACCUPLACER College Board: What's on the Tests
• Sample Questions and WEb-Based Study App (be sure to select Next-Generation materials)

Students with Disabilities

Students with a disability can set up a time with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office to take the Accuplacer Placement in a private room or to set up accommodations for a reader and/or scribe. Depending on the type of accommodations request, students may be asked to provide documentation of their disability.

Please call 48 hours in advance to schedule an appointment at accessibility@cascadia.edu or call 425-352-8128.

English as a Second Language Students

Placement for English as a Second Language (ESL) is used to determine the placement level of non-English speakers. Contact the ESL office at 425-352-8158 for ESL placement.

To attend CORE, you MUST:

• Have your SID (ctcLink ID)
• Be a student with no prior college experience
• Received English and Math placement by submitting English/Math Placement Information to admissions@cascadia.edu 

NOTE: If you are a new Running Start Student, please be sure to turn in your Running Start Contract prior to scheduling a CORE appointment.