Guided Placement

Guided placement tools support Equitable Placement and Completion by helping students without a U.S. high school GPA determine which courses they will need to pass transfer-level math or English within the first year of enrollment, with the exception of ESL students, who have a three-year timeframe. Guided placement should only be used for students who do not have transcript information available, are not able to report their transcript information because they did not attend a U.S. high school, or cannot remember their high school information.

A Model Guided Placement Process

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This slideshow presents the elements of an online guided placement process. It can be used as a template or guideline for colleges creating or refining their own processes.

Carefully consider which students are directed to guided placement systems. This will be one of the first experiences they have with the California Community Colleges. The process should be simple and clear.

Processes requiring students to meet with counselors for placement may create an unnecessary obstacle and exit point. This challenges equity goals by disproportionately affecting both lower income students and students of color.

This mock-up is a generalized template. Colleges should incorporate its elements using their own branding and aesthetic guidelines.
This template may not be appropriate for ESL placement. An ESL specific template will be provided when the placement process is finalized.

Mock-up of guided self-placement process website
  • The term Placement Wizard is based on common student experiences with contemporary interactive media.
  • Resources that help students succeed should be forwarded and mentioned as often as possible throughout.
  • Follow the example Guided Placement process to continue.