Communications Level 1

Communication Learning Module

Communications: Completing General Studies Level 1

Students must complete a General Studies Communications course as a requirement for graduation for MSU Denver, and for many majors this course and the skills developed are necessary prerequisites for major coursework. Consequently, students must complete General Studies Communications within the first 30 semester hours at MSU Denver.

How can I become eligible to take a course that fulfills the Communications requirement?

For these courses that fulfill the Communications requirements, the prerequisites for registering are listed below: SPE 1010, SPE 1710, PHI 1110.

• Enter MSU Denver with an ACT English score of 18 or higher and ACT Reading score of 17 or higher, taken within the last 5 years
• Enter MSU Denver with an SAT English score of 440 or higher and SAT Reading score of 430 or higher, taken within the last 5 years
• Take the Accuplacer test, which can be taken twice without charge at the MSU Denver Assessment and Testing Center , and achieve a score of 95 or higher on the Sentence Skills exam and 80 or higher on the Reading exam

For RDG 1510, only the required Reading score (ACT 17, SAT 430, Accuplacer Reading 80) is necessary. For HON 2950, in addition to appropriate scores in Reading and English, permission of the Honors Program Director is also required. The table below summarizes these prerequisites.

For language courses that complete this requirement, these are the prerequisites:

1. If you receive a lower score on either or both the Accuplacer exams (depending on which course you intend to take), then you must take remedial courses (Basic Skills courses) at a community college.
2. MSU Denver students can register through ConnectU for CCD Basic Skills courses (see document called Choosing Courses based on your Assessment Scores)

Why not just put off taking my Communications course?

• Students must complete the Communications requirement in their first 30 credit hours at MSU Denver. Eventually you will be prohibited from taking any courses at all at Metro if you do not complete the Communications requirement
• The Communications course will help you in other college courses by strengthening your skills in this foundational area, so completing the courses early in your college career just makes sense.
• The Communications requirement must be completed in order to take courses in many majors
  • For example, Business Core courses require the completion of the Communications requirement

Which Communications course should I take?

The right Communications course for you will depend on which courses are allowed, recommended, or required for your major or majors. To determine which is the best course for your particular situation, you should talk to an advisor.

What do I do next?

• Click Communications Level 1 Quiz on the left-hand menu
• The quiz covers the material you have just been reading
• You can refer back to this material as you take the quiz
• You have to get all 4 question right in order to pass the quiz
  • If you don't get all the questions correct, you can retake the quiz (up to 4 times) and view your previous attempts
  • If this happens, a link called What happens if I don't pass this quiz? appears, with more information about retaking the quiz
• After passing the quiz
  • You will take a brief survey
  • Then you will fill out a form with your Student ID (900 number--all 9 digits, no spaces or other characters) and MSU Denver user name
  • The hold comes off when this last step is complete and the form is submitted!