The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) Act established a new statewide system for transitional math instruction that increases college readiness for high school seniors and reduces remedial education needs. Successful completion of transitional math instruction, signified by a grade of “C” or better, provides students with guaranteed placement into college-level math courses at all Illinois community colleges and participating Illinois universities. The PWR Act organizes the state’s approach to transitional math into three overarching math pathways:
- The STEM pathway is for students with career goals involving occupations that require the application of calculus or advanced algebraic skills.
- The Quantitative Literacy and Statistics (QL / Stats) pathway is for students focused on attaining competency in general statistics, data analysis, quantitative literacy, and problem-solving.
- The Technical Math pathway is for students with career goals involving occupations in technical fields that do not require the application of calculus, advanced algebraic, or advanced statistical skills.
More information on transitional math is available at iltransitionalmath.org.
The table below shows Illinois universities’ current participation status and related placement processes for transitional math courses in two of these pathways – STEM and QL / Stats. (Technical Math pathway courses are less common around the State and are focused on articulating to community college programs.) This information has been compiled by Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University (EdSystems) based on a review of information submitted by universities in response to a survey sponsored by CPS’ Chicago Higher Education Compact, a review of placement information posted by universities on their website, and follow-up emails and interviews by EdSystems. Any university seeking to update its information should contact EdSystems. Terms used in the table are defined at the end of this page.
Please note: Even if a university uses transitional math for placement, entering students are still likely to be required to take a placement test to determine the appropriate college-level course for the student.
Public Universities
| Illinois University | STEM Pathway | QL / Stats Pathway |
|---|---|---|
|
Chicago State University |
Co-requisite based on placement |
College-level, credit-bearing only |
|
Eastern Illinois University |
Does not use TM for placement |
Does not use TM for placement |
|
Governors State University
|
Co-requisite based on placement |
Co-requisite based on placement |
|
Illinois State University |
Does not use TM for placement |
Does not use TM for placement |
|
Northeastern Illinois University |
Uses TM for placement |
Uses TM for placement |
|
Northern Illinois University |
Uses TM for placement |
College-level, credit-bearing only |
|
Southern Illinois University Carbondale |
Uses TM for placement |
Uses TM for placement |
|
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville |
Does not use TM for placement |
Co-requisite based on placement |
|
University of Illinois Chicago |
Does not use TM for placement |
Co-requisite based on placement |
|
University of Illinois Springfield |
Does not use TM for placement |
Does not use TM for placement |
|
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
Does not use TM for placement |
College-level, credit-bearing only |
|
Western Illinois University |
Uses TM for placement |
Uses TM for placement |
Select Private Universities
| Illinois University | STEM Pathway | QL / Stats Pathway |
|---|---|---|
|
Roosevelt University |
Uses TM for placement |
Uses TM for placement |
|
Loyola University Chicago |
College-level, credit-bearing only |
College-level, credit-bearing only |
|
National Louis University |
Co-requisite based on placement |
Co-requisite based on placement |
|
Bradley University |
Uses TM for placement |
Uses TM for placement |
|
Dominican University |
Does not use TM for placement |
Does not use TM for placement |
|
DePaul University |
Does not use TM for placement |
Does not use TM for placement |
Definitions of Terms in Table
STEM pathway: The STEM pathway is for students with career goals involving occupations that require the application of calculus or advanced algebraic skills. For universities accepting transitional math for placement in the STEM pathway, successful completion of a transitional mathematics course in the STEM pathway guarantees student placement into college algebra.
QL / Stats pathway: The Quantitative Literacy and Statistics (QL / Stats) pathway is for students focused on attaining competency in general statistics, data analysis, quantitative literacy, and problem solving. For universities accepting transitional math for placement in the QL / Stats pathway, successful completion of a transitional mathematics course in the QL / Stats pathway guarantees student placement into a General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) mathematics course not in a calculus-based course sequence which includes general education statistics, general education mathematics, quantitative literacy, or elementary math modeling.
Co-requisite remediation: Students who have been assessed as not yet ready for college-level math receive extra help while they take a college-level math course instead of receiving a traditional, prerequisite remedial course in math.
Pre-requisite remediation: Students who have been assessed as not yet ready for college-level math are required to successfully complete a non-college level prerequisite remedial course prior to enrolling in a college-level math course.
College-level, credit-bearing only: Regardless of placement score, students can enroll in a college-level, credit-bearing math course in the math pathway without any pre-requisite or co-requisite requirements.
Uses TM for placement: While the university has a pre-requisite and/or co-requisite developmental course in the math pathway, a student is waived out of the developmental requirement based on completion of a transitional math course in accordance with the PWR Act.
Co-requisite based on placement: The university does not have a pre-requisite developmental course in the math pathway, but has a co-requisite course requirement that is contingent on the student’s placement using the university’s placement criteria.
Does not use TM for placement: The university has a non-college-level pre-requisite developmental course in the math pathway, and students are not waived out of the requirement based on completion of a transitional math course in accordance with the PWR Act
