TSI - Exemptions
A student may be exempt from meeting Texas Success Initiative standards by meeting one of the following standards:
For a period of five (5) years from the date of testing, a student who is tested and performs at or above the following standards that cannot be raised by institutions:
- ACT - Effective February 7, 2023 (Request your scores to be sent here school code 4223)
- ACT administered prior to February 15, 2023: composite score of 23 with a minimum of 19 on the English test shall be exempt for both the reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment, and/or 19 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessments
- ACT administered on or after February 15, 2023: a combined score of 40 on the English and Reading (E+R) tests shall be exempt for both reading and writing or ELAR sections of the TSI Assessment. A score of 22 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. There is no composite score.
- The use of scores from both the ACT administered prior to February 15, 2023, and the ACT administered after February 15, 2023, is allowable, as long as the benchmarks set forth in clause (ii) of this subparagraph are met.
- GED - Effective May 12, 2021 (Request transcript here)
- A minimum score of 165 on the Mathematical Reasoning subject test shall be exempt for mathematics.
- A minimum score of 165 on the Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA) subject test shall be exempt for English Language Arts Reading (ELAR)
- HiSET - Effective May 12, 2021 (Request transcript here)
- A minimum score of 15 on the mathematics subtest shall be exempt for mathematics.
- A minimum score of 15 on the Reading subtest and a minimum score of 15 on the Writing subtest, including a minimum score of 4 on the essay, shall be exempt for English Language Arts Reading (ELAR)
- IMPORTANT NOTE:HiSET has informed the Texas Education Agency that it will no longer administer its test after 8/31/21. Therefore, HiSET scores with test administration dates after 8/31/21 will no longer be useable for the TSI exemption. However, HiSET college-readiness scores with test dates on or prior to 8/31/21 will still be useable up to five (5) years from date of testing. Note also that it is not relevant where the student has taken the approved HSE test (in or out-of-state) when considering applicability for the TSI exemption, only the test date and its related test score(s).
- SAT (Request scores here school code 6829)
- (administered since March 5, 2016)
- Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW): 480
- Math: 530
- (Prior to March 5, 2016)
- Combined verbal and math score of 1070 with a minimum of 500 on the verbal test and/or math test
- Mixing or combining scores from the SAT administered prior to March 5, 2016 and the SAT administered on or after March 5, 2016 is not allowable.
- (administered since March 5, 2016)
- TAKS – Minimum score of 2200 on both the English and/or math sections with at least a 3 on the writing component of the 11th grade TAKS (for a period of 3 years from the date of testing)
- STAAR EOC- English III Level 2 = 4000 (Request your high school transcript to be sent to UTEP)
- STAAR EOC- Algebra II Level 2 = 4000 (Request your high school transcript to be sent to UTEP)
- Military – (Submit your LES or DD 214 to tsi@utep.edu) Veterans and active-duty personnel serving for at least 3 years preceding enrollment.
- Transfer – (Request the official transcript to be sent to UTEP) Transfer from a private or independent institution or an accredited out-of-state institution and has satisfactorily completed college-level coursework as determined by the receiving institution.
- Certificate – Enroll in a certificate program of one year or less (Level-One certificates, 42 or fewer semester credit hours or the equivalent) at a public community college, a public technical institute, or a public state college.
- College preparatory course - (Request your final high school transcript to be sent to UTEP) if you are doing Texas College Bridge program send certificate directly from from GreenLight follow these instructions) under Texas Education Code §28.014 is exempt for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of high school graduation with respect to the content area of the course. The student must enroll in the student's first college-level course in the exempted content area in the student's first year of enrollment in an institution of higher education. This exemption applies only at the institution of higher education that partners with the school district in which the student is enrolled to provide the course. Additionally, an institution of higher education may enter a Memorandum of Understanding with a partnering institution of higher education to accept the exemption for the college preparatory course.
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- ESC- Region 19 -Students must obtain an overall grade of 75 each semester.
For a complete list of TSI exemptions, see Texas Administrative Code and Coordinating Board Rules.
UTEP Codes: ACT: 4223; AP, CLEP, SAT, TOEFL: 6829; THEA: 357; DSST: 8021