Math Competency Requirement at Western Illinois University

All students must demonstrate math competency in order to graduate from Western Illinois University. There are three ways this competency can be met:

  1. Receive University credit for Math 100 - Core Competency in Mathematics.
  2. Place in a math course for which Math 100 is a pre-requisite, directly or indirectly. Math 100 is a prerequisite for all General Education math courses (101, 102, 106, 123, 133, 134, 137, 138, 139, 206, Stat 171). Placement in math is determined by the Math Department using Math ACT scores and subscores and grades in math courses completed prior to enrollment at Western. Students may elect to take an assessment exam (COMPASS) to improve their placement results on the day they register for classes. If a student places into a General Education math course, he/she has met the University math competency requirement. Whether or not a student who has met the math competency requirement takes math at Western will depend on the student's major and individual preferences.
  3. Receive University credit for a mathematics course that lists Math 100 as a prerequisite.

Math 099N: Intermediate Algebra. Pre-requisite for Math 100 unless student is placed into Math 100 based on prior experiences or placement test. S/U grading. Does not count toward graduation. Four semester hours of credit count temporarily for full time status and financial aid purposes during the semester the course is taken. Students who have not taken the equivalent of algebra I and/or geometry in high school must take Math 099N.

Math 100: Core Competency in Mathematics - 3 s.h. COUNTS AS 3 SEMESTER HOURS OF ELECTIVE CREDIT FOR GRADUATION. Introduction and use of mathematics in problem solving, analyzing & interpreting models, and drawing inferences; studying diverse examples and cases of real-world problems.

General Education Math Courses:

If a student places into a General Education math course, he/she has met the University math competency requirement. Courses which count in the General Education are as follows with semester hours in parenthesis: