Placement Requirements

Many UAF courses require placement. All students planning to take courses with specific placement requirements must meet those requirements before registering for those courses. Specific writing, reading and math placement requirements are listed in the sections below.

Students need mathematics placement at MATH F105 or above and writing placement at WRTG F111X or above to register for natural science general education requirement courses unless otherwise noted.

Placement Assessments

Assessment results are required for first-time degree or certificate students, transfer students with fewer than 30 transfer credits, or students planning to take F100-level English, reading, mathematics, natural sciences and many general education courses. Placement scores from ALEKS, EdReady, American College Testing Program (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) must be on file with the Office of the Registrar before registration.

Students who enroll in any course without meeting placement or prerequisite requirements may be dropped or withdrawn from the course through the faculty-initiated withdrawal process.

Score Expiration 

Writing placement scores expire two calendar years from the date taken. 

Mathematics placement scores expire one calendar year from the date taken.

Students enrolling in developmental or lower-division general education requirement courses must have completed any prerequisite courses within two calendar years of their enrollment.

Course Prerequisites

Course prerequisites indicate what previous preparation is needed to enroll in a course. An instructor has the right to waive a course prerequisite if the instructor documents that the student possesses the background required to succeed in the class. Instructors also have the right to drop any students from a course if they do not meet the prerequisite or have not received a grade of C- or better in all prerequisite courses. Students who take a course at a higher level than a corresponding prerequisite course required for a degree program are not exempt from taking that required course.

Foreign Language

Students may not register for foreign language classes higher than F101 unless they have received credit through CLEP, AP, transfer or another UAF-approved test for the prior levels. With the approval of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, students may enroll in the level of a language at which they are competent, based on prior experience.