Many students enter IU Indianapolis without the necessary preparation and background for MATH-I 110 Fundamentals of Algebra.
To help students succeed in their required math courses, the Department of Mathematical Sciences now offers:
SCI-M 100: Strategies for Success in College Mathematics (3 cr.)
SCI-M 100 may also be appropriate for STEM students whose degree path requires MATH-I 111 Algebra, as indicated by the factors below.
All students whose degree path includes MATH-I 110 or MATH-I 111 should take a proctored ALEKS placement exam. Students are strongly encouraged to take SCI-M 100 if:
their proctored ALEKS placement exam score is below 20, or
they have previously received a D, F, or W in MATH-I 110
Other indicators that SCI-M 100 is the best choice for a student include:
Familiarity with less than half of the problems on the SCI-M 100 Self-Assessment
Math SAT score below 500
C or lower in their two years of high school algebra
No math in senior year of high school
Students in MATH-I 110 often need MATH-M 118 for degree requirements. Institutional data show that:
Students with a proctored ALEKS score of 15-19 have roughly a 50% chance of completing MATH-I 110 and MATH-M 118 successfully (C- or better in 110; D- or better in 118) in two terms. The same holds for students with math SAT score 450-490, and these chances decrease with test scores.
Students with math SAT score below 500 and ALEKS score below 20 have roughly a 33% chance of completing MATH-I 100 and MATH-M 118 successfully in two semesters.
SCI-M 100 is not a prerequisite for MATH-I 110. Students who prefer to start in 110 are still welcome to do so. Space permitting, dropbacks early in the fall semester will be allowed.