St. Charles Community College expects students to exhibit certain academic skills and competencies before they take college-level courses.

• Students may be required to take assessment tests for placement and to predict readiness for college-level courses.
• You may be required to enroll in appropriate developmental courses before being allowed to take college-level courses.
• Students who test into three developmental courses must take the Student Success Semester. You will only be able to register for developmental courses or courses from an approved list available from the academic counseling staff.
• Students testing into ENG 095, RDG 092 or below, and/or MAT 095, must enroll in the developmental courses for the deficient area that semester.
• You could be advised to withdraw from a college-level course and take assessment tests if the instructor believes you lack necessary skills to continue. A student with an identified deficiency may then enter a recommended developmental course to address the deficiency.

All first-time entering freshmen who are encouraged to take the ACT test and forward their scores to the Admissions Office. ACT test scores will be primarily used for institutional research, academic advising, and assesment appeals process. Students enrolled in selected Allied Health programs are required to submit ACT scores before admission.

Outcomes Assessment
SCC is committed to the assessment of college programs and services to improve and maintain their quality and effectiveness. Classroom and program activities, including surveys and focus groups, will be used to assess the outcomes of college education.

Students completing the Associate of Arts 42-hour general education block are required to take COL 299 Sophomore Portfolio Assessment, which will assess their acquisition of knowledge and skills.

Students who complete career-technical programs will be assessed on their mastery of essential occupational skills and general education knowledge. The method of assessing these skills will vary by discipline. Some of the methods used by the programs will be portfolios, culminating projects, field specific national tests, and tests developed by the department. Most programs will assess general education knowledge using multiple modules from ACT-WorkKeys. These are taken in the Assessment Center. The nursing program uses the ACT-CAAP Critical Thinking module to pre- and post-test students.

The results of these assessments will be used to modify the curriculum as needed to assure program completers are ready to proceed to employment in their chosen field or to further their education.

For more information, call 636-922-8246.