Competency
Requirements
CMU expects its graduates to be competent in written
English, oral English, and mathematics. Prior to graduation,
all students must demonstrate their competency as detailed
in this section.
Written
English Competency Requirement
To satisfy the Written English Competency Requirement,
students must complete three separate but related tasks:
I.
Freshman Composition
Students should satisfy the requirement for freshman
composition during their freshman year. Students can satisfy
the requirement in one of three ways:
1. Earning a grade of C (2.0) or better in ENG 101, Freshman
Composition, (Students should be aware that ENG 101 has a
prerequisite of ENG 100 or a satisfactory Freshman Writing
Placement Score.) OR
2. Successfully completing one of the following: CLEP
English Composition General Examination with Essay, the AP
English Language and Composition Examination, the AP English
Composition and Literature Examination, or the International
Baccalaureate English Language Examination (higher or
subsidiary level), OR
3. Earning a grade of C (2.0) or better in ENG 103, Freshman
Writing (ENG 103 has ENG 099, Writing Workshop, as
corequisite).
Students
wishing to fulfill this requirement by passing the CLEP
English Composition General Examination with Essay must take
the exam by the end of their first semester at CMU. The best place to obtain exam
information is from the Center for Learning Assessment
Services (CLAS) located in the lower level of Robinson Food
Commons, 774-3162.
Students wishing to fulfill the requirement by taking ENG
101 or ENG 103 must enroll in that course in either their
first or second semester at CMU and continue to enroll in
subsequent semesters until the requirement is
satisfied.
II. Writing Across the University Program
After completing the basic freshman composition requirement,
students should continue to enroll in courses in the
University Program. Each of the courses in the University
Program requires a significant amount of meaningful writing.
Completion of the University Program constitutes
demonstration that the writing skills developed in ENG 101
(or its equivalent) have been sustained and developed by
writing assignments in courses across the program.
III. Advanced Composition Requirement
Students must complete a course in advanced composition. This
should normally be done during the sophomore or junior year.
This requirement is met by earning a grade of C or better in
one of the ENG 201 advanced composition courses. Selection
of the appropriate course should be made in consultation
with the student’s advisor.
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Oral
English Competency Requirement
There
are two ways by which a student may satisfy the Oral English
Competency Requirement:
1. Earning a grade of C (2.0) or better in one of the
following courses:
SDA 101 Introduction to Speech Communication
SDA 302 Voice and Diction
IPC 267 Introduction to Debate
IPC 269 Practicum in Debate - Forensics
IPC 357 Public Speaking
TAI 170 Fundamentals of Interpretative Reading
Students who wish to use this option will be screened for
possible speech or hearing disorders as part of the course.
2.
Successfully completing the Oral English Competency
Examination. Students who wish to take this option must
first obtain a screening for possible speech and hearing
disorders. Students seeking to satisfy the Oral English
Competency Requirement by successfully completing the Oral
English Competency Examination must pass the exam by the
time they have completed 54 hours of academic credit.
Students who transfer more than 54 credit hours to CMU may
take the competency examination only during their first
semester at CMU.
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Oral
English Competency Examination
The Oral English Competency Examination includes the
development and delivery of a ten to fifteen minute public
speech accompanied by a properly typewritten, detailed
outline. The student will deliver the speech to a
hypothetical audience and will be evaluated by a judge.
Exam results are reported in writing to the student.
Students who receive notice of unsatisfactory examination
results will be allowed to retest. A student may retest only
once. Students who fail twice must enroll in one of the Oral
English Competency courses.
The Oral English Competency Examination is administered
twice a year (prior to the beginning of the fall and spring
semesters) by the Office of Academic Affairs, 312 Warriner
Hall, 774-3631.
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Screening
for Speech and Hearing Disorders
The screening for speech and hearing disorders for option
two above incurs a cost of $10.00. The screening takes
place at the CMU Speech
and Hearing Clinic, 420 Moore Hall, 774-3904. The following
classes incorporate screening as part of their requirements:
SDA 101, SDA 302, TAI 170, IPC 357, IPC 267, ENG 199, HON
101, and HON 110. Teacher education students transferring
speech classes to CMU should take the test during the second
or third week of the fall or spring semester during
regularly scheduled group times, which can be obtained in
Moore 420 or by calling 774-3904. Other testing may be
arranged by calling the CMU Speech and Hearing Clinic,
774-3904. Testing is not available between semesters, during
registration week, during the last week of the semester, or
during exam week.
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Written
and Oral English Competencies for Honors Students
Honors students earning a grade of C (2.00) or better in HON
101, Written and Oral Competency for Honors Students, or in
HON 110, Speaking and Writing with Critical Awareness,
fulfill the Oral English Competency and the Freshman
Composition portion of the Written English Competency
requirements. A high school/university cumulative GPA of
3.5 or higher is a prerequisite for HON 101. HON 110 is
intended primarily for Centralis Scholars. Honors students
must still fulfill parts II and III of the Written English
Competency and the Mathematics Competency requirements as
specified in those sections.
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Written and Oral English Competencies
for Students from Other Nations
Those students from other nations who are required to take
ENG/SDA 198 and ENG/SDA 199, American Language for
International Students, will fulfill the Basic Freshman
Composition portion of the Written English Competency
Requirement and the Oral English Competency Requirement by
earning a C (2.00) or better in the course. Students must
still fulfill parts II and III of the Written English
Competency and the Mathematics Competency requirements as
specified in those sections.
Mathematics
Competency Requirement
There are three ways by which a student may satisfy the
Mathematics Competency Requirement:
1. Completing with Credit MTH 055, Elementary Algebra (CR/NC
only), OR
2. Earning a grade of C (2.00) or better in any mathematics
(MTH) or statistics (STA) course numbered 105 or above
(excluding MTH 151, MTH 152, or MTH 200), OR
3. Successfully completing the Mathematics Competency
Examination, the International Baccalaureate Mathematics
Examination (higher or subsidiary level), or any CLEP or AP
examination approved for credit in a mathematics (MTH) or
statistics (STA) course numbered higher than MTH 105 (except
MTH 151, MTH 152, or MTH 200).
Students
who have not satisfied the requirement by the time they have
earned at least 54 hours of academic credit should enroll in
an appropriate mathematics class for the next semester.
Mathematics
Competency Examination
Students seeking to satisfy the Mathematics Competency
Requirement by successfully completing the Mathematics
Competency Examination must pass the exam by the time they
have completed 36 hours of academic credit at CMU. Students
who transfer more than 36 credit hours to CMU may take the
competency examination only during their first semester at
CMU.
The Mathematics Competency Examination consists of 60
questions from which an overall score and five subscores are
computed. The Mathematics Competency Requirement is
satisfied by an overall score of at least 80% on the test
together with established minimum scores on each of the five
subsections of the test: (1) arithmetic operations,
exponents and number theory; (2) polynomials; (3) algebraic
notations, equations, inequalitites and applications; (4)
percent, ratio and proportion, measurement; (5) functions,
lines and graphs.
The examination is administered four times each
semester. Examination results are reported in writing to the
student with the following information: the overall score
together with individual subscores, a statement of
performance objectives which the student has not satisfied,
instruction for retesting, if applicable, and a list of
remedial options such as recommended textbooks and/or
coursework at CMU, if applicable.
Students who receive notice of unsatisfactory examination
results will be allowed to retest on any of the scheduled
dates, subject to the requirement that a student may retest
no more than two times. A student who receives an overall
score of less than 80% will retake the entire exam. A
student who receives an overall score of 80% or higher, but
scores below the minimum level required on one or more
subsections, needs only to retest on those areas with
subscores below the minimum.
The Mathematics Competency Examination is administered by
the Center for Learning Assessment Services (CLAS), located
in the lower level of Robinson Food Commons, 774-3162.
General
Requirements for all Competencies
1. A student must demonstrate competency in each of the
competency areas described in the Bulletin under which the
student graduates.
2. A student attempting to satisfy a specific competency
requirement in a given academic year will use the method(s)
and requirement(s) in effect that year. The method(s) and
requirement(s) may change from year to year.
3. A competency requirement in a specific area, once
satisfied, remains valid until the student graduates.
4. If the chairperson of the department most directly
concerned with a competency judges that a student has
satisfied a competency requirement by means other than those
approved by the Academic Senate, that chairperson will
certify in writing to the registrar that the student has
satisfied the requirement. These departments are:
Written English Competency - Department of English Language
and Literature
Oral English Competency - Department of Speech Communication
and Dramatic Arts
Mathematics Competency - Department of Mathematics
5. Students with disabilities who, by virtue of these
disabilities, might be prevented from taking competency
examinations or otherwise meeting competency requirements
may have such requirements waived by the Director of Student
Disability Services or by the appropriate department
chairperson as listed above, including for Oral English, the
chair of the Department of Communication Disorders.
Additional
General Education for Teacher Certification
The State Board of Education requires a minimum of 40
semester hours of General Education for teacher
certification. Each teaching degree specifies the way in
which this requirement is to be met.
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