Requirements for Placement into ENG 2100:
- A minimum score of 480+ on the SAT Verbal OR
- 20+ on the ACT English OR
- 75+ on the NY State Regents exam OR
- 56+ on the CUNY Assessment in Writing (CATW) and 70+ on the CAT in Reading.[1]
English Language Learning (ELL) Placement:
Baruch offers ELL versions of ENG 2100, called “T” or “Tutorial” sections. ENG 2100T sections provide extra support for students whose first language is not English: T courses are capped at 20 students, meet for two additional hours per week than ENG 2100 courses, and are taught by faculty with specializations in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
During orientation all students eligible for ENG 2100 write a short essay to determine placement into ENG 2100 or 2100T. The ELL Placement essay scoring is conducted by faculty in the Department of English who teach ENG 2100 and 2100T. Approximately 15-20% of students place into ENG 2100T each semester. ENG 2150T courses are available as well.
Placement for students transferring from institutions outside the U.S:
Transfer students whose last college of attendance was a foreign university must take the CUNY Reading and Writing exams for placement purposes. Students who pass the CATW with a 56 may enroll in ENG 2100 but ideally should be advised by the ELL or Writing Director in the English Department to see if ENG 2100T would benefit the student. In such cases the ELL Director may ask the student to take the department’s Placement Exam.
Placement for students with degrees from outside the U.S.:
Prior to their first semester at Baruch, all students with degrees from institutions outside the U.S. must take an Exemption Exam, a 60-minute essay exam administered and scored by faculty in the Department of English at Baruch. Students who pass the exam will be awarded composition credits based on their score: a low pass earns credit for ENG 2100; a high pass earns credit for ENG 2100 and 2150. Students who do not pass the Exemption Exam will be placed into either ENG 2100(T) or ENG 2150(T) based on their score.
Placement for students with no CATW:
Students with no CATW score or other required placement measure must take the English Department’s Placement Exam prior to enrolling in ENG 2100. The Placement Exam, administered and scored by English Department faculty, is a 60-minute essay exam scored by faculty in the English Department. Students will be placed into either ENG 0153 (see below), ENG 2100, or ENG 2100T based on their score.
Placement for students who do not pass the CATW or English Department Placement Exam (effective fall 2016):
In the fall of 2016 the English Department began a pilot course for ELL students who do not score high enough on the CATW to place into ENG 2100 or 2100T. This course, based on the nationally recognized Accelerated Learning Program model (ALP), offers students extra support in a non-credit course taken in conjunction with a credit bearing First-Year Writing course. It works as follows: Prior to fall 2016, any student, including those transferring from a university outside the U.S., who did not pass the CATW (with a score of at least 56) or the English Department Placement Exam was enrolled in ENG 0132, a 9-hour, non-credit bearing course focused on preparing students to pass the CATW. Upon completion of ENG 0132 and passing the CATW, a student could then enroll in ENG 2100 or 2100T.
In the ALP model, ELL students with a score of 48-55 on the CATW are placed in to ENG 0153, a 3-hour, non-credit, ELL intensive writing class that must be taken concurrently with a special, paired section of ENG 2100T (indicated with a “3” at the end of the section, e.g. ENG 2100T, EMW3). The ENG 2100T course is capped at 20 students, 10 of whom placed in to 2100T and 10 of whom placed in to ENG 0153. ENG 0153 is paired with a special section of ENG 2100T, totaling 9 credit hours. In order to receive credit for ENG 2100, students in ENG 0153 must pass ENG 0153 (a pass/fail course) and pass ENG 2100T.
ENG 2100 Exemption Criteria (effective spring 2017):
Students who earn a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition or AP English Literature and Composition exam will be exempted from ENG 2100. Otherwise ENG 2100 and ENG 2150 are required for all Baruch students; no exemption is available for ENG 2150.
[1] For more information on how to interpret CATW scores, please see: http://www.cuny.edu/academics/testing/cuny-assessment-tests/faqs.html – 5. For details on the CATW exam, see: http://www.cuny.edu/academics/testing/cuny-assessment-tests/faqs/StudentHandbookCATWWebnew.pdf
