Mr. Rob Freidhoff, Director of University Advising and Student Transitions
Room 1114, University Center
Learning Support Policy
Learning Support is a generic term for programs designed to prepare students for, or to assist students with, collegiate work. Institutions must serve students who fall below USG placement standards and have the flexibility to develop more rigorous academic criteria with which their students must comply. Learning Support programs are intended to serve students who need additional support in mathematics or English (reading/writing). Students who may be served within the Learning Support program are:
- Students who do not meet USG criteria to exempt Learning Support placement.
- Students who are determined by the institution to need academic assistance even though they are eligible to be admitted without Learning Support requirements under USG policy.
- Students who elect to enroll in Learning Support courses in order to prepare for core curricular courses.
No degree credit will be earned in Learning Support courses, but institutional credit will be awarded.
Learning Support Attempts and Exit
A. An attempt is defined as taking an institutional credit course in which a student receives any grade or symbol except "W" or "WF".
B. If students do not complete requirements for Foundations-level English or mathematics in two attempts, they will be suspended for a calendar year. Suspended students may be considered for readmission before the end of one year if they can provide evidence that they have taken measures to improve their skills.
C. Students who have been suspended from the institution without completing Learning Support requirements may complete their Learning Support requirements and additional collegiate-level work at SACS-COC-accredited Technical College System of Georgia institutions during the year of suspension.
D. There are no limits on attempts in corequisite Learning Support courses.
E. Students will exit Learning Support by successfully passing ENGL 1101 with a "C" or higher and MATH 1101 or 1111 with a "D" or higher.
Courses with Learning Support Prerequisites or Corequisites
A. Students who are required to enroll in Learning Support courses are not permitted to enroll in credit courses that require the content or the skills of the prerequisite courses, although institutions may establish corequisite requirements for core curriculum courses.
B. Institutions shall inform students of those collegiate courses that have Learning Support prerequisites or corequisites. The following core curriculum areas require students to complete or exempt certain Learning Support requirements:
- Completion or exemption from Foundations-level Learning Support English is a prerequisite for Social, Natural, and Physical Science courses. (Additional areas for exit or exemption such as Learning Support Mathematics are at the discretion of the institution.)
- Completion or exemption from Foundations-level Learning Support English or placement into corequisite English is required for placement into college-level English courses.
- Completion or exemption from Foundations-level Learning Support mathematics or placement into corequisite mathematics is required for placement into college-level mathematics courses.
- Completion or exemption from Foundations-level Learning Support mathematics is a prerequisite for physics and chemistry courses.
- Institutions may set higher prerequisite standards, such as completion of Learning Support requirements at the corequisite level.
- Any courses with prerequisite of any other college-level course would require exit or exemption fro related Learning Support requirements.
- It is recommended that courses such as music, art, and drama remain open for students with Learning Support requirements whenever possible.
USG-mandated Enrollment in Learning Support Courses
A. The following requirements apply to those students who have USG-mandated Learning Support requirements. Institutions are not required to apply them to students who exceed the USG requirements even though such students may have institutionally-mandated Learning Support requirements.
- During each semester of enrollment, a student must first register for all required Learning Support courses before being allowed to register for other courses. This policy also applies to part-time students. Two exceptions are possible:
- if two Learning Support areas are required and a student is enrolled in at least one Learning Support course, a freshman orientation course or physical education or other activity or performance course may be taken that semester instead of one of the required Learning Support courses.
- in the event that a required Learning Support course is not available, a student may enroll in a course for degree credit if the student has met the course requirements, subject to the written approval of the president or designee.
- Students who have accumulated a maximum of 30 semester hours of college-level credit and have not successfully completed required Learning Support courses may enroll only in Learning Support courses until requirements are successfully completed. Students with transfer credit or credit earned in a certificate or prior degree program who are required to take Learning Support courses for their current degree objectives may earn up to 30 additional hours of college-level credit. After earning the additional hours, such students may enroll in Learning Support courses only. Institutions have the authority to limit accumulation of college-level credit to 20 hours.
