Academic Skills Requirements

The associate degree requirements at Jackson College include proficiency in the academic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics. To ensure the development of students’ abilities in these skills, the College offers an academic skills development program.

The first phase of the program occurs upon entry to the College when students’ competencies are assessed via multiple measures (using high school GPA, ACT/SAT scores, prior college coursework, etc.) and/or Jackson College-administered placement assessments. Some programs may require a higher mathematics score. Students with prior successful college coursework may also be exempt. Jackson College accepts recent course placement scores from other Michigan colleges.

Writing: All Jackson College students seeking a degree are required to pass the college-level writing course, ENG 131 Writing Experience I, or demonstrate proficiency in writing. Upon completion of assessment via multiple measures or the Jackson College writing placement assessment, students whose results indicate a need for further development in writing must enroll in ENG 091, Introduction to College Writing.

Reading: All Jackson College students seeking a degree are required to demonstrate proficiency in reading. Upon completion of assessment via multiple measures, students whose results indicate a need for further development in reading must enroll in ENG 086, Active Reading.

Mathematics: All Jackson College students seeking a degree are required to pass a mathematics course best suited to their program of study or demonstrate math proficiency. Upon completion of assessment via multiple measures or the Jackson College mathematics placement assessment, students whose results indicate a need for further development in mathematics must enroll in MAT 040, Quantitative Reasoning Fundamentals; MAT 033, Algebra for Statistics; or MAT 039, Beginning Algebra, based on mathematics course required for that pathway.

Guidelines: ENG 080, ENG 085, ENG 086, ENG 090, ENG 091, ENG 101, ENG 102, ENG 109, ENG 110, MAT 019, MAT 020, MAT 030, MAT 031, MAT 033, MAT 039 and MAT 040 academic credit and grades earned are included in calculating the student’s grade point average. The credits for these courses, however, constitute additional graduation requirements beyond the total number of credits required for an associate degree or certificate.