Students who are required to take the TSI/THEA and do not successfully
pass all three sections at the level of the previously stated standards
will be required to register for Developmental Education courses for
all areas in which they did not achieve the stated standard. Their enrollment
in Developmental Education on The University of Texas at Dallas campus
is required during the first semester that they attend U.T. Dallas.
If at any time during the semester an audit reports a student in violation
of this policy, that student will be immediately transferred into the
appropriate Developmental Education course and dropped from a collegiate
level course that is in the same content area. U.T. Dallas students
must take their Developmental Education on the UTD campus.
Placement into Developmental Education Courses
Developmental Education coursework is designed to build upon existing
skills in order to facilitate student success in the core curriculum
at U.T. Dallas. The Developmental Education courses that are offered
are as follows:
- DMTH OV93 Fundamentals of Math and Elementary Algebra
- DRDG OV92 Reading for Success
- DWTG OV91 Writing for Success
Students are required to remain in Developmental Education until
they pass the THEA examination in the particular content area in which
they had previously failed. If students do not pass the THEA examination
after one semester of developmental coursework, they re-enroll in
the same course, but their assignments are individualized to avoid
redundancy. Students are not permitted to enter college-level courses
without evidence that they possess the basic skills necessary to have
a reasonable chance of success; thus, students are not permitted to
be enrolled in “college-level and developmental work in the
same content area simultaneously.”
Participation and Attendance in Developmental
Education
Students who are required to enroll in Developmental Education because
they have failed one or more parts of the THEA examination are subject
to the following policies.
Students sign a contract that states that they understand class attendance
is mandatory and if they are absent and do not follow the procedure
in the contract, they will be withdrawn from The University of Texas
at Dallas for the semester with no refund.
Students are advised when they are in jeopardy of being withdrawn;
an attempt is also made to contact their advisor. The Director of
Learning Resources reports those students who are not in compliance
to the Registrar, and the Registrar sends a letter to any student
who is withdrawn. A copy of the letter is sent to the Dean of Undergraduate
Education. Students who are required to be in Developmental Education
for TSI/THEA purposes may not drop a developmental course unless they
pass the THEA examination or they are withdrawing from all university
courses for the semester. All drop forms are to be signed by the TSI
Liaison Officer.
Completing Required Developmental Education
In order to complete successfully any required Developmental Education
course, students must comply with the mandatory attendance policy,
complete assignments, quizzes, and tests with an overall minimum average
of 70% in the course or courses in which they are enrolled. Students
are then required to re-take the THEA examination. If they fail any
part of the THEA examination, students are required to re-enroll in
Developmental Education coursework in all content areas of the THEA
they have not passed.
Provisions for Transferring Students
Students transferring to The University of Texas at Dallas from
private or out-of-state institutions must meet both TSI/THEA requirements
(be tested or exempted) prior to being allowed to enroll in any collegiate-level
work. Students who transfer with 60 or more accumulated semester credit
hours or the equivalent to U.T. Dallas from an American private or
out-of-state U.S. institution may use transferred courses which are
given common course numbers corresponding to courses approved by U.T.
Dallas to satisfy TSI/THEA requirements. Students must have earned
a course grade of “B” (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) or higher
in each of the three skill areas. If not, the student must be tested
for the remaining skill areas and must comply with all other TSI/THEA
requirements.
Students transferring from other public institutions of higher education
in the state of Texas must be both TSI/THEA exempted or comply with
the UTD policies for Developmental Education set forth in this document.
NOTE: Once any student accumulates 60 hours of collegiate-level coursework,
he or she may not enroll in any upper division courses until all three
areas of the TSI and UTD's THEA standards have either been exempted
or achieved.
The specific application for the Texas Success Initiative as outlined
in this statement applies to UTD students only.
TSI: The Texas Success Initiative (formerly TASP)
is a state-legislated program designed to improve student success
in college. There are two components of the program:
- an assessment to diagnose students’ basic skills in reading,
mathematics, and writing; and
- developmental instruction, to strengthen academic skills that
need improvement.
THEA: Texas Higher Education Assessment.
