START Office

The State of Texas requires that all undergraduate students entering public colleges and universities in Texas have the skills necessary to perform effectively in college-level coursework. The Texas Success Initiative (TSI) is the program that administers testing to measure college-level readiness in reading, mathematics, and writing.

The University of North Texas requires students to take one of the following TSI approved tests:

• ACCUPLACER
• THEA
• ASSET
• COMPASS

All incoming undergraduate students, unless EXEMPT, must take a TSI approved test before attending orientation. You will not be allowed to enroll in any college level English or Math class until TSI requirements have been met. Once you have met these requirements, you will be considered "TSI complete" and allowed to enroll for a full semester load.

You may enroll at UNT before you become TSI complete; however, you may be required to register for developmental coursework as condition of your enrollment.

Transfer and transient students should check with the START Office if they believe they are TSI complete.

You may apply for admission to UNT before becoming TSI complete. UNT will not use your TSI status or your TSI test scores as a condition of admission to the institution.

What Is My TSI Status?

Students can check their own TSI status by logging in to the MyUNT system and going to their Student Center page. In the bottom right corner of the Student Center is a TSI link. Click the TSI link to view your TSI status.

Am I Exempt?

Determine if you are TSI Exempt here.

Preparing for TSI Testing

See a list of practice tests and other study tools here.

Completing the TSI

The Texas Success Initiative may be completed by:

1. Achieving the minimum standards on an approved test
2. Passing the highest level of developmental coursework for the section(s) not completed through testing

Students who fail to pass all three sections of the TSI test are allowed to enroll and take regular coursework the next semester, but they are required by law to participate in a developmental program every semester for the failed test sections until they either pass all sections of the test or pass the developmental program. A START Office advisor will meet with these students at orientation to determine which developmental courses are required.

Minimal Standards for All Tests

• READING: THEA = 230, ASSET = 41, COMPASS = 81, ACCUPLACER = 78
• MATH: THEA = 230, ASSET = 38, COMPASS = 39, ACCUPLACER = 63
• WRITING: THEA = 220, ASSET = 40/5, COMPASS = 59/5, ACCUPLACER = 80/5 (or a 6 or higher on the essay and no multiple choice)

Developmental work is not required for the scores above. A score below the minimum requires developmental work in that area.

Developmental Coursework

• READING: TECM 1200 Technical Communications
• MATH: NCTM 331 Pre-Algebra, NCTM 351 Beginning Algebra and MATH 1010 Fundamentals of Algebra
• WRITING: TECM 1200 Technical Communications

Students dropped for non-attendance will complete the semester through a non-course based program and shall be placed in the developmental class the following semester.

Disability Accommodations

If you need a special accommodation to fully participate in ACCUPLACER testing, click here to download the Request for Disability Accommodations on Testing Through START form, complete the form, and return it to our office. Please allow at least 2 full business days for us to arrange the accommodation. The form requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to be viewed. You can download Acrobat Reader from http://get.adobe.com/reader.