Starting in the appropriate entry-level math course is critical to your success at Michigan Tech. We aim to place you into the course that will provide you with the best opportunity to complete your degree in four years. For most majors, calculus is your recommended entry-level math course.
Ideally, we want you to start in precalculus or higher so you can take co-requisite courses. For example, engineering majors need precalculus or higher to take engineering fundamentals.
Placement in Your Initial Math Course
Once you’ve been accepted to Michigan Tech, we will place you in your entry-level math course based on your highest ACT or SAT math score we have on file, or AP, IB, CLEP, or the college credit you've already earned for an equivalent math course. If you feel this placement is correct, you do not need to do anything else. If you feel this placement is incorrect, you may challenge it using ALEKS. If you do not have ACT, SAT, AP, IB, or CLEP scores, or a grade of C or higher in an equivalent math course, you will need to take the ALEKS placement.
Challenging Your Math Placement
We realize that some students will feel they have not been placed into the correct course. You may take the online ALEKS placement if you want to challenge your placement or do not have a placement score.
ALEKS placement is open to Fall incoming students from May 1st to the first day of Fall orientation. Since students' schedules are built around your entry-level math course, you should plan to have ALEKS completed by June 30th.
Incoming stduents for Fall can access the ALEKS online assessment by clicking on Take the ALEKS test and logging in using your Michigan Tech SSO, go to your Husky Portal for instructions.The password for each ALEKS assessment is PLACEMENTF25.
*Current students that need placement for Fall can contact Ann Humes.
If you have SAT or ACT scores and choose to take ALEKS to challenge your placement, you will be placed based on whichever score is the highest and places you in the highest possible math course.
You must earn a qualifying score to be scheduled for college algebra, precalculus or calculus. Qualifying ALEKS scores : Calculus 76 or higher; Precalculus 61-75; College Algebra 40-60. Engineering majors need precalculus or higher to take engineering fundamentals.
Accessing ALEKS
You can access your math placement information and the ALEKS math placement assessment by clicking on
