Chemistry Placement Requirement

About the Chemistry Placement Requirement

To assure enrollment in general chemistry, all students must earn a qualifying score from the Chemistry Placement or complete CHE 1V with a C- or higher. Students who do not earn a qualifying placement score are encouraged to register for CHE 1V or take the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry course. A grade of C- or higher in CHE 1V will exempt the Placement Exam requirement. The ALEKS program will aid in preparation to take/retake the Chemistry Placement. For more information about the Chemistry Placement Requirement, please refer to our Chemistry Placement Requirement FAQ page. If you still have questions after reviewing this webpage, please email chemplacement@ucdavis.edu.

Placement into CHE 2A (General Chemistry)
All students enrolled in CHE 2A must earn a qualifying score from the Chemistry Placement or take and pass CHE 1V with a C- or higher. Students who do not earn a qualifying score or have a grade of C- or higher in CHE 1V, will be administratively dropped from their course by the Department of Chemistry. There are no exemptions to this policy or exemptions for International Baccalaureate (IB) scores or general chemistry coursework taken at another institution. The following scores are required to assure placement:

For CHE 2A (General Chemistry):

Score of 24 or higher on the Chemistry Placement
A grade of C- or higher in CHE 1V

Students who do not earn a qualifying score are encouraged to register in CHE 1V. They can also take the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry course in preparation to take/retake the Chemistry Placement. The ALEKS program is meant to prepare students to re-take the Placement Exam; completion does not exempt from the exam.

If students fail to obtain a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement after a third attempt, they will need to submit an online petition to the Department of Chemistry. Petitions will be reviewed by select faculty members in the Department of Chemistry.
Placement into CHE 4A (General Chemistry for the Physical Sciences & Engineering)
CHE 4A is intended for students in the following majors: Chemistry (American Chemical Society emphasis), Chemical Physics, and Chemical Engineering. All students enrolled in CHE 4A must earn a qualifying score from the Chemistry Placement. Students who do not earn a qualifying score will be administratively dropped from their course by the Department of Chemistry. There are no exemptions to this policy or exemptions for International Baccalaureate (IB) scores or general chemistry coursework taken at another institution. The following scores are required to assure placement:

For CHE 4A (General Chemistry for Physical Sciences & Engineering):

Score of 28 or higher on the Chemistry Placement

A grade of C- or higher in CHE 1V

Students who do not earn a qualifying score are encouraged to register in CHE 1V. They can also take the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry course in preparation to take/retake the Chemistry Placement. The ALEKS program is meant to prepare students to re-take the Placement Exam; completion does not exempt from the exam.

If students fail to obtain a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement after a third attempt, they will need to submit an online petition to the Department of Chemistry. Petitions will be reviewed by select faculty members in the Department of Chemistry.
The Chemistry Placement (Summer Session & Fall 2023)
Login information to access the Chemistry Placement to assure Summer Session & Fall Quarter 2023 enrollment in CHE 2A or CHE 4A will automatically be sent to students registered (or wait listed) in the class. It will be sent to their @ucdavis.edu email address and specifically target students who have not taken the online placement exam or did not earn a qualifying score from previous attempts. The email will be sent in the week leading up to the exam session. As with any exam, if special accommodations are needed due to a disability, please contact the Student Disability Center. You many only take the Placement Exam one time per Testing Session.

Summer Session 2023
Testing window: June 19 - June 27

Fall Quarter 2023
Testing window 1: September 6 - September 12
Testing window 2: September 27 - October 3

Students who are not enrolled in CHE 2A or 4A during Summer or Fall 2023, but wish to take/retake the Chemistry Placement, may request access to the exam by completing our online Manual Registration Form. The registration form will open on the first day of each Chemistry Placement testing window and close the second to last day of each testing window.

The manual registration form to take the placement exam is for UC Davis students who are not enrolled in CHE 2A or 4A during Summer or Fall. All enrolled CHE 2A and 4A students will receive an e-mail with instructions and do not need to manually register.
Petition to Retake the Chemistry Placement (4x)
If students fail to obtain a qualifying score on the Chemistry Placement after a third attempt, they will need to submit an online petition to the Department of Chemistry. In the petition, students must include:
A justification for why enrollment in CHE 2A/4A is needed (i.e. required for their major, satisfies a graduate school prerequisite, etc.)

A specific plan for how the student plans to prepare for their fourth attempt of the Chemistry Placement (after already having completed the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry course).

Optional - Provide an extenuating circumstance with support documentation

Petitions will be reviewed by select faculty members in the Department of Chemistry. Approval (or denial) of a fourth attempt of the Chemistry Placement will be shared via email to the student the week prior to the beginning of the exam testing window.

Petition: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5QDT56D
ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course
ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is designed to test for individualized knowledge gaps and to fill the gaps through computerized adaptive learning software. Students take an initial assessment which the software uses to gauge your current content mastery level. Your mastery level may go up or down based on your subsequent interactions with the software. The goal of this preparatory course is to fill the "pie chart" to 100%, which is the mastery level.

ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is open to all students. In this way, ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course may also be used to refresh skill sets in general chemistry or supplement one's learning of general chemistry.

Access to ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course

The ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is designed to prepare students to take/retake the Chemistry Placement or as a means of refreshing one's skill set in general chemistry. To fully appreciate the preparatory course and its benefits, students who opt to take this online, self-paced, minimally supervised course are encouraged to earn a mastery score by filling their “pie chart” to 100%. The topics in the course were selected by faculty members in the Department of Chemistry who teach general chemistry.

Additional information about ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course:

-Course Credit. ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is a not-for-credit course. There is no course registration number associated with this option.

-Cost. An approximate fee of $35.29 will be billed to your UC Davis account as part of the Inclusive Access Program for digital course materials (much like online textbooks or online homework). Billing generally occurs after financial aid funds have been distributed to students.

-Completion Time. Since ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is an adaptive learning program, time to completion will vary based on a student's interactions with the course. Time to complete the course ranges from 8 hours to 120 hours, with an average of 25 hours, of work in the online modules. The student license to access the course is twelve weeks, starting when students first complete their registration. It is the student's responsibility to complete ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course before his or her license expires, or before the specified deadline to finish, whichever occurs first.

-Enrollment. Students may enroll in ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course via Canvas. After enrolling via Canvas, students will be able to read more about the online course and how it works prior to giving billing consent. Once billing consent is given, students are to follow the prompts to begin the problem modules.

Access to the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course: You can sign up for the course at the following link: https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/enroll/39K34K

-Recommendations. Taking ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is recommended for students who have reliable internet access from a computer or tablet (sorry, no smart phones), have the time management skills necessary to complete an online, self-paced course, and feel that limited interaction with peers and an instructor is sufficient. Students are encouraged to create an "ALEKS Notebook" to take notes on how to complete problems and to review notes prior to taking the periodic assessments in the course. Students should set aside time each day towards completing the course. Additionally, students are encouraged to consult outside resources (i.e. Chemistry LibreTexts) before clicking the "explain" button. Frequent use of the "explain" button will extend the time spent in the program. Long gaps between sessions to solve problems can trigger a re-assessment of a student's mastery level.

-Supervision. ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course is minimally supervised by a designated faculty member in the Department of Chemistry. Students taking the course will be able to communicate with other students and the faculty member via an online forum.

Deadlines to access the ALEKS Preparatory Chemistry Online Course for Summer 2023:

-First Day to Sign Up: Monday, May 1, beginning at 12:00am

-Last Day to Sign Up: Monday, June 12, ending at 11:59pm
CHE 1V: Preparation for General Chemistry
As another option to help students prepare for General Chemistry is a new fully virtual course: CHE 1V. Students who complete CHE 1V with a C - or higher will be able to enroll in CHE 2A/4A without a qualifying Chemistry Placement score.

https://chemistry.ucdavis.edu/summer-sessions-prep-general-chem

Additional information about CHE 1V:

Detailed Course Description: CHE 1V is a one-quarter online preparatory course which provides an introduction to basic ideas of chemistry in the context of real-world issues which include, air and water pollution, acid rain, global warming, and sustainability challenges.

The main goal of this course is to provide students the necessary skills and chemistry knowledge to succeed in the General Chemistry series as well as in more advanced chemistry courses. While accomplishing this important goal, the students will also explore chemistry and chemical principles in the context of real-world scenarios. The course also aims to help students gain an appreciation for the beauty and workings of chemistry and how it relates to the world in which they live in. Also, upon completion of this course, the students will develop a background that enables them to assess the benefits and risks associated with the decisions they make in their professional and personal lives.

Course Credit & Offering: CHE 1V provides 3 units of academic credit and is offered in Summer Session and Fall Quarters.