Complete All Online Placement Exams

All required placement exams must be completed prior to attending Early Registration.

When to Take Your Online Placement Exam

The online placement exams will be available starting at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) four weeks prior to your Early Registration date. The exams must be completed by 6:00 a.m. (EST) the Friday prior to your scheduled Early Registration.  If you are attending the April 16th event, the exams must be completed by 6:00 a.m. (EST) the Thursday prior to your scheduled Early Registration.

NOTE: Placement exams for students attending the Thursday, April 16 date must be completed by 6:00 a.m. (EST) Thursday, April 10.

Accessing the Placement Exams

Each exam will take between 40-90 minutes to complete. Please allow enough time to finish each exam without interruption, as you will be able to access each exam only once. Once an exam is opened, you cannot stop the exam and begin again later. You do not, however, need to complete all the exams in one sitting.

You will need your Butler username and password to access the online placement exams. Login information is case sensitive. Your username must be entered in lowercase letters and your password must be entered in the same format as it was originally created.

Placement Exams may be accessed at: blackboard.butler.edu

Need Help?

Don't know your username or password? Contact the Butler University Help Desk at (317) 940-HELP. Should you have any technical problems please call the Butler Help Desk at (800) 368-6852, ext 4357 or (317) 940-HELP. Please note that the Help Desk will be closed on Saturday and Sunday beginning May 10, 2008.

What Placement Exams Will I Be Required to Take?

Placement exams indicate which classes best match your level of preparation. Your scores will help your advisor determine the classes best suited for you.

Chemistry: The Department of Chemistry administers a placement exam for students with a strong chemistry background who are interested in taking an accelerated freshman chemistry course. This test is by invitation only. It will appear on the menu of exams online, if you have been invited to take this test.

Students invited to take the exam may be able to test into CH107. CH107 is a five credit course that offers an alternative for students with a strong high school chemistry and math background.  It allows smaller class sizes and more rapid movement to new material. For students with little previous exposure to chemistry, CH105 and CH106 are offered over two semesters and total six credit hours. The courses give a solid approach with very traditional lecture and laboratories.

There is no penalty for taking the exam. Even if you test into CH107, you still have a choice on whether you register for the accelerated course. Overall, taking the chemistry placement exam is advantageous to the student.

Foreign Language: Students who have taken French, German, Latin or Spanish classes in high school (or have other extensive experience) and plan to continue their studies at Butler, should take the language placement exams for that language. Students intending to begin a new language at Butler, will begin at the 101 level, but are not required to take a placement test in that new language. German, French and Spanish tests are conducted online through Blackboard. Students planning to take Latin at Butler will be asked to submit a form on the online placement exam. Students will then be scheduled to take the Latin placement exam on the day of registration.

TAKE THIS TEST ONLY if you have previous experience in this language.  DO NOT TAKE THIS TEST if you have had college-level language or an AP test of 4 or higher and are continuing in that language (contact Modern Languages).

*Please note that all students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and students planning to study International Management must take a foreign language while at Butler University. Early and Middle Childhood Education majors are required to take Spanish as part of their curriculum. Students in these majors or colleges, or students planning on studying a language in any major should take the placement exam for the language they plan to study.

Math: The Math placement exam is administered to students who score:

Students who score sufficiently high on the placement exam can be placed into Division 5 Core classes. Others must take MA 101 or MA 102, depending on their major, prior to fulfilling the core requirement.

Keyboarding: Students admitted to the Jordan College of Fine Arts declaring majors in music, dance or arts administration must take a piano keyboard placement test. This test will be administered on campus the day of Early Registration.

How Long Are The Placement Exams?

Each exam will take between 40-90 minutes to complete. Please allow enough time to finish each exam, as you will be able to access each exam only once. Once an exam is opened, it must be submitted and cannot be retaken. You do not, however, need to complete all the exams in one sitting. At the end of the time allotted, the exams will be submitted automatically.
Chemistry: 60 minutes
French: 60 minutes (3 sections of 20 minutes each)
German: 60 minutes (3 sections of 20 minutes each)
Math: 45 minutes
Spanish: 60 minutes (3 sections of 20 minutes each)

Practice Exams

Some sample exams are available if you would like to print them out and take them before taking the online placement exam.

Sample Chemistry Exam
Sample Chemistry Exam - Key
Sample Math Exam
Sample Math Exam - Key

For Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a properly documented disability and are eligible to receive an accommodation (i.e. extended time) for placement exams, do not proceed with exams until you have contacted Student Disability Services. Special accommodation arrangements can be made for online placement exams; however, advance notice is required.

Documentation of your disability must be received by Student Disability Services at least one week prior to taking the placement exams to allow adequate time to make the necessary arrangements. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee that the accommodation can be delivered on a timely basis.

Questions? Please contact Student Disability Services toll free at (800) 368-6852, ext 9308 or (317) 940-9308.