Frequently Asked Questions

The Texas Success Initiative (TSI) is a state-legislated program that helps determine if incoming college students are ready for entry-level college coursework in English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) and mathematics for students entering Texas public colleges and universities.

The program consists of testing, placement, and developmental education for students who do not pass one or more sections of the assessment. There are several testing options as well as exemptions and waivers outlined by the state mandate. Effective August 26, 2013 (based on House Bill 3468 Texas College-Readiness Assessment and Placement) the new Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) WILL BE THE ONLY accepted placement exam and all prior test scores for students not enrolled will no longer be valid.

Prairie View A&M University will use the state approved TSI Assessment to assess all non-exempt students using the Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) *prior to enrollment of the student from the Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter C, Rule §4.55.

*To move forward with the PVAMU registration process, valid documentation must first be on file for an exemption, or you must have completed the appropriate TSIA PRIOR to registering for New Student orientation and/or enrolling in any college level classes.

If a student has not either passed the TSI Assessment or successfully completed the co-requisite courses then a TSI hold will remain on your account for every semester that these actions are not completed.

The ‘TSI Hold – New Student’ is a hold that delays registration for the upcoming semester for All New Incoming First-Time Freshmen & Transfer Students.

All New Incoming First-Time Freshmen & Transfer Students with the hold ‘TSI Hold – New Student’, please ensure you submit All TSI Scores and/or Exemptions. Once you submit All TSI Scores and/or Exemptions, next you will register for New Student Orientation.

All Students with the ‘TSI Hold-Co-requisite Required’, you must meet with your assigned advisor to determine the appropriate college and co-requisite course(s) you need for registration based on your major and TSI scores.

NOTE: The ‘TSI Hold-Co-requisite Required’ does NOT hinder registration for current students.

*Academic Advisor contact information can be found on the Academic Advising Services Meet Our Advisors webpage.

All non-exempt incoming students who enroll in a Texas public institution are required to take the TSI Assessment to determine their readiness in the general areas of reading, writing and mathematics college level work. Based on how you perform, you may either be enrolled in a college-level course or be placed in the appropriate developmental course or intervention to prepare you for success in college-level courses.

Not all incoming students need to take the TSI Assessment. Several exemptions can be used to satisfy the TSI requirement. Qualifying for a TSI Assessment exemption means that you can enroll in any entry-level college course without restrictions.

View all exemptions from the Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter C, Rule §4.54.

*All non-exempt students are required to attempt all portions of TSI.

To view your TSI hold, you can login to PVPlace, sign-in, click on “Panthertracks,” click on the “Student” tab, then click “Student Records”, then “View Holds” to view your TSI status.

All students entering PVAMU must complete the assessment test unless they meet one of the approved exemptions. A TSI exemption excuses you from having to take the TSI Assessment. These exemptions are from the Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter C, Rule §4.54.

TSI Assessment Exemptions Graph

Student must have valid documentation on file with the PVAMU Office of Admissions before any TSI exemptions are applied to the student’s account.

To determine the best way to send your official dual credit college transcript, SAT and/or ACT scores or to check the status of your documents being RECEIVED and UPLOADED by PVAMU Office of Admissions, please contact them at (936) 261-1000 (option 3) or by email at admissions@pvamu.edu.

Texas College Bridge

• The Texas College Bridge TSI Exemption is valid for two years from the date of the student’s high school graduation and it will only remain an active TSI exemption if the student enrolls in their college level English and Math during the student’s first year of enrollment at PVAMU.
• Certificates must FIRST be shared with PVAMU through GreenLight Credential; SECOND, complete this PV request form: www.pvamu.edu/tcb 

Dual Credit/Transfer Courses

• Official college transcripts must be received and processed by PVAMU’s Undergraduate Admissions Office.
• Must have a “C” or higher in the Freshman Composition or College Level Math course

Holds a Degree or Certificate

• Associate or Bachelor’s degree
• Certificate program of 1 year or less (level-one certificates, 42 or fewer semester credit hours or the equivalent) at a public junior college, a public technical institute, or a public state college)

Military

• Serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States, Texas National Guard, or a member of the reserve component of the armed forces of the United States and has been serving for at least 3 years preceding enrollment. A letter from the commanding officer is needed.
• Student who on or after August 1, 1990, was honorably discharged, retired, or released from active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard or services as a member of the reserve component of the armed forces of the United States. A DD214 is needed.
• Send clear scanned copies of military documents to tsi@pvamu.edu 

Dual Credit/Transfer Courses

Please follow the steps below for submitting your official dual credit/ college transcript: 

STEP 1: If you completed dual credit courses in high school, you must submit your official college transcripts to the Office of Admissions before any TSI exemptions can be added by the TSI office.

STEP 2: To check the status of your dual credit college transcript being RECEIVED and UPLOADED by PVAMU Admissions Office, please contact them at (936) 261-1000 (option 3) or by email at admissions@pvamu.edu.

STEP 3: Once you confirm with the PVAMU Office of Admissions that your college transcript has been RECEIVED and UPLOADED into our system, please let the TSI office know by email at tsi@pvamu.edu; (Please include your student Panther ID number).

• Official college transcripts must be received and processed by PVAMU’s Undergraduate Admissions Office.
• Must have a “C” or higher in the Freshman Composition or College Level Math course

If you have already taken the TSI assessment at another Texas institution, you need to complete the Cross Institutional Reporting Form so the TSI office can retrieve the scores from the other institution’s Accuplacer system.

NOTE: Prairie View A&M University does not accept scores from students or institutions. ALL scores must be verified by the TSI Office before they go in the system.

If you have completed the Texas College Bridge program, please follow the steps below:

NOTE: To be exempt from all portions of TSI, you must have completed both the Math and English Texas College Bridge courses. Please make sure you are sharing each certificate one at a time with PVAMU as you are following the instructions below using GreenLight Locker, i.e., share your certificate for Mathematics, then go back and share the certificate for English.

• STEP 1: Access Your Texas College Bridge Certificate(s) and share your certificate(s) with PVAMU.
  • Sign-In to your EdReady account
  • In EdReady, log in and click the View your Goals button.
  • Click on your name near the top of the page.
  • Click My Account in the dropdown menu to be taken to the My Achievements page where you can view your certificates.
    • (More instructions for accessing your Certificate of Achievement available HERE)
  • Click on the Go To Certificate button to be redirected to GreenLight Locker.
    • Click HERE for instructions to register for GreenLight locker.
• STEP 2: Complete the PVAMU Texas College Bridge Retrieval Form so the TSI office can retrieve your certificate from GreenLight Credential or visit www.pvamu.edu/tcb to complete the PVAMU Texas College Bridge Retrieval Form.
• STEP 3: If you continue to experience issues sharing your Texas College Bridge Certificate(s) with PVAMU through GreenLight, please read the common issues below or contact Green Light Support at (972) 348-1234 (option 4).
  • If you certificate has incorrect student details such as ‘date of birth,’ the ‘spelling of your first or last name,’ or ‘school district,’ associated with your certificate(s), click HERE.
  • If you are ‘Missing a Certificate of Completion’ in EdReady or GreenLight Locker, click HERE.
  • if you created a GreenLight locker, but you didn’t receive the email to activate your GreenLight locker account, click HERE to complete this form.
  • If you cannot login to your EdReady account, click HERE to submit a support ticket.

Reminder: To be considered TSI exempt for all areas of TSI, you must complete the Texas College Bridge program for both English & Math.

*If you only completed one area of the Texas College Bridge program, then the exemption will only apply to the area you completed.

The Texas College Bridge Certificate(s) for TSI Exemption are valid for two-years from the date of the student’s high school graduation provided the freshman-level mathematics and English course(s) are taken during the first year of enrollment in the Institution of Higher Education after qualifying for a TSI exemption from the Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter C, Rule §4.54.

All SAT and ACT scores must be submitted to the Office of Admissions. Please do not send the TSI office your scores. They must be properly processed by the Office of Admissions before the TSI office can add any TSI exemptions to your account.

To determine the best way to send your SAT and/or ACT scores or to check the status of your scores being RECEIVED and UPLOADED by PVAMU Office of Admissions, please contact them at (936) 261-1000 (option 3) or by email at admissions@pvamu.edu.

Student(s) who have taken Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) exams and receive a satisfactory score of those exams, could be consider college-ready for the TSI. At Prairie View A&M University, students can receive credit from the following PLA programs:

• Advance Placement (AP)
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
• DANTES Subject Standardized Test (DSST)
• International Baccalaureate (IB)

Students will need to review the PLA website at www.pvamu.edu/pla for more information on sending PLA exam transcripts to the Office of Testing Services and how to have those credits articulated in the system. Once articulated the student will need to contact the TSI office to have their TSI status updated.

To check the status of your AP or IB credits, please contact the Office of Testing Services at (936) 261-3627 or by email at aetesting@pvamu.edu.

No, you are considered TSI exempt if you completed an Associate or Bachelor’s degree or Level-1 Certificate program of 1 year or less (level-one certificates, 42 or fewer semester credit hours or the equivalent) at a public junior college, a public technical institute, or a public state college.

Military

• Serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States, Texas National Guard, or a member of the reserve component of the armed forces of the United States and has been serving for at least 3 years preceding enrollment. A letter from the commanding officer is needed.
• Student who on or after August 1, 1990, was honorably discharged, retired, or released from active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard or services as a member of the reserve component of the armed forces of the United States. A DD214 is needed.
• Send clear scanned copies of military documents to tsi@pvamu.edu 

Yes, you may mix and match exemptions and TSI scores as needed to satisfy the areas of TSI reading, writing, and math.

1. Sign in to the PV student portal
2. Click on “Panthertracks”
3. Select the “Student Tab”
4. Select “Student Records”
5. Select “View Test Scores”

‘College Ready’ TSIA 2.0 Scores (After January 11, 2021)

‘College Ready’ TSIA 1.0 Scores (Before January 11, 2021)

‘Not College Ready’ TSIA Scores

Students who did not earn ‘College Ready’ score(s) for the TSI Assessment in one or more sections, must enroll in both the college level course and the appropriate 1-credit hour co-requisite course to be completed in the same semester.

This TSI co-requisite model aims to support students in their college level English or Math course(s). With a final passing grade in the college-level course, a student’s TSI status will be updated, and they will be able to enroll in courses that required a passing TSI status in that section.

To determine the appropriate college and co-requisite course(s) you need for registration, please contact your assigned *Professional Advisor.

No, you are not required to retest if you have attempted all three areas of the TSI assessment or submitted the appropriate TSI exemptions.

If a student is transferring to another institution, the student should contact their new Testing Services office (Testing or Assessment center) at the other institution and have them pull their TSI scores through Cross Institutional Reporting in Accuplacer.

If a student wants to obtain a copy of their TSIA results, follow this GUIDE to access your TSIA scores through the ACCUPLACER student portal.

Questions about TSI scores or exemptions, contact:

TSI Office
Phone: (936) 261-3610
Email: TSI@pvamu.edu

To register and pay for the TSIA, click HERE.

If you have questions about registering, paying, or vouchers for the TSIA 2.0 testing, please contact the Office of Testing Services at (936) 261-3627 or by email at aetesting@pvamu.edu.