If ODU Admissions has awarded you credit for ENGL 110C or ENGL 211C, then you do not need to use the WSPT. If you anticipate being awarded credit for ENGL 110C or ENGL 211C, please contact ODU Admissions to inquire about the timeline for that credit evaluation by e-mailing transfereval@odu.edu. If you do not know your credit evaluation status by at least 3 days prior to your scheduled orientation, then you should use the WSPT to receive a placement result. For more information about college credit eligibility, please visit: https://www.odu.edu/admission/undergraduate/credit

The WSPT is an application that measures students' writing and reading abilities and considers their previous learning experiences to determine which ODU English composition course sequence is the best fit for them. The WSPT uses a combination of high school GPA, performance on writing, reading, and grammar diagnostics, and self-assessment to make this determination. Anyone entering Old Dominion University without credit for ENGL 110C English Composition should use the WSPT.

The tool invites students to think carefully about their readiness for college writing and reading. Students who are given the agency to make their own writing placement decisions tend to perform better, especially when they, themselves, opt in to support courses. Therefore, the WSPT operates from a guided self-placement model.

Students who score a "3" will enroll directly into ENGL 110C (3 credit hours). These students cannot opt of this placement in the WSPT, but they may appeal their placement if they believe they could benefit from taking ENGL 101, as well, by emailing writingplacement@odu.edu.

Students who score a "1" are strongly encouraged to register for a section of ENGL 101 and a section of ENGL 110C (6 credit hours total); however, they can choose to opt out of the support course on the closing screen of the WSPT. With that said, students are not restricted by the choice they make in the WSPT; if they choose to register for ENGL 101 +110C after rejecting their initial WSPT placement in 101, or if they choose to register for ENGL 110C without the ENGL 101 support course after opting into ENGL 101, they may do so by contacting the Director of Writing Placement and Support at writingplacement@odu.edu, or by asking the ENGL 110C instructor for a pre-requisite override.

Students will receive their score and directions for registration via email within 72 hours of completion.

The WSPT must be submitted at least 3 BUSINESS DAYS (Monday through Friday) prior to the start of your orientation. If you fail to meet this deadline, your placement data may not be updated in the system, which can affect your ability to register for courses. If you run into any issues, concerning writing placement, please e-mail writingplacement@odu.edu or contact the Director of Writing Placement and Support, Mary Beth Pennington at mpenning@odu.edu. Please check your ODU email thoroughly and wait at least 72 hours after using the WSPT before emailing to ask about your score.

You are encouraged to take the WSPT when you can devote a couple of hours to reading and responding to questions, drafting and revising written responses, and answering the survey questions. Students who have completed the WSPT report that it takes an average of 75 minutes to complete. Of course some students take longer, and some finish more quickly.

The WSPT includes the following modules: Honor Pledge, Academic History, Writing Assessment, Reading Assessment, Grammar Assessment, and About Composition at ODU.

While the tool, itself, is not timed, students should not leave a section inactive for longer than 15-20 minutes, as it may cause the tool to time out, potentially losing previous work. Students who wish to take a break should complete the section in which they are working and close out the tool. When ready to return, they may log back in and pick up with the next section when they are ready.

You will need to know your high school GPA and the grade earned in your most recent English class, so you may find it helpful to have your high school transcripts close.

We suggest that you draft your written responses in a document and copy and paste them into the WSPT so, if something goes wrong, you have a copy. Also, anything you write for this tool may be used in determining your placement. It is in your best interest to respond to questions with full sentences.

f you do not feel that the score you have received is an accurate representation of you as a writer, please contact the Director of Writing Placement and Support, Mary Beth Pennington at writingplacement@odu.edu, and she will put you in contact with a writing advisor who will review your score, offer feedback, and change your score.

You will see a link to the WSPT in your admitted student checklist and/or your advisor will direct you to the link in your Canvas orientation site. The tool can also be accessed through wspt.odu.edu and the Writing Placement and Support website. Students will log-in with their Midas credentials. Please note that you will need to access and complete the WSPT at least 3 business days prior to your orientation session.

Once completed, previous responses cannot be accessed. However, students can log back in to the WSPT to be reminded of their score and to retrieve basic information about registration at any point.

If the ODU Admissions Office has not granted transferrable credit for ENGL 110C upon processing your official transcripts, please refer to the Transfer Course Equivalency tool to review how courses from your previous institution are accepted into ODU. After reviewing the Transfer Course Equivalency tool you may contact the Director of Composition, Jenn Sloggie at jsloggie@odu.edu. Please note that you should be prepared to present a syllabus from the previous composition course, as well as other supporting materials, to be reviewed by ODU for course equivalency.

The WSPT may be one of the first opportunities an admitted student will have to uphold the ODU Honor Pledge. The WSPT is covered by ODU's honor code, so students must sign an honor pledge before beginning the process. Students who violate this pledge, even those who are newly admitted, are subject to university sanctions for honor violations. However, the most substantial consequence will be felt by the student. Accurate placement ensures that the student is provided the support and instruction needed to be successful in their writing courses and at ODU, in general. For example, if a student is placed into ENGL 110C before they are ready to succeed in the course, chances are much greater that the student will fail the course.

Please consult the Writing Placement and Support website for updates regarding the status of the WSPT if you are experiencing technical problems. If no updates exist on the website, please contact ODU's ITS help desk. Should ITS be unable to solve your problem, you may contact the Director of Writing Support, Dr. Mary Beth Pennington, at writingplacement@odu.edu.

Students may only use the tool once. Since the WSPT uses a combination of factors to determine the best placement for students, it cannot be reused to achieve different results.

Yes and no. While ENGL 101 is replacing UNIV 150 as the course in which those students with a score of "1" on the WSPT must enroll, the course itself, as well as the process for registering and taking ENGL 101 are much different than UNIV 150.

Starting in Spring 2020, those students who have failed UNIV 150 can retake the WSPT to see if they place differently, or they can automatically enroll in ENGL 101 +110C.

ENGL 101+110C courses share the same delivery type. If your ENGL 101 course is face-to-face, your ENGL 110C course will be face-to-face, also. If your ENGL 101 course is delivered as online synchronous, your ENGL 110C course will either be online synchronous or online asynchronous.

Students who pass 110C with a "C" but who fail the connected ENGL 101 (by earning lower than a D) do not need to retake ENGL 101, although retaking 101 is encouraged. Students who wish to retake only ENGL 101 should contact Dr. Mary Beth Pennington at writingplacement@odu.edu or mpenning@odu.edu to discuss registration options. Please review the "ENGL 101 Policies" tab above for further clarification.

Students who do not pass 110C with a "C" or above , regardless of ENGL 101 grade, must retake the course in order to advance to ENGL 211C. They are not required to retake ENGL 101.

Students who fail both ENGL 101 (by earning a D- or lower) and ENGL 110C (by earning a C- or lower) are required to retake ENGL 110C and are strongly recommended, but not required, to retake ENGL 101.

Students may enroll in any section of 101 and any section of ENGL 110C they prefer. Students can choose to have the same instructor for both courses, if their schedule allows, or students can choose different instructors for each course.

Students who score a "1" on the WSPT are not required to enroll in ENGL 101+110C, but we hope that students will take the WSPT recommendation seriously and will think carefully before opting out of the additional 3 credits of writing and reading support.