Academic Standards
Dean’s List
A student in good standing with a semester grade point average of 3.50 (or higher) for 12 or more semester hours of course work will be placed on the Dean’s List for that semester. Students enrolled for credit in courses numbered below 1000 are not eligible for the Dean’s List.
Dean’s Merit List
A student in good standing with a semester grade point average of 3.50 (or higher) for 10 or 11 semester hours of course work will be placed on the Dean’s Merit List for that semester. Students enrolled for credit in courses numbered below 1000 are not eligible for the Dean’s Merit List.
Graduation with Honors
To graduate with honors, students must meet all of the following requirements:
- earn a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50 on all course work attempted at Gordon State;
- earn a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50 when all course work attempted at previous colleges attended and at Gordon State is considered; and
- earn a minimum of 18 semester hours of degree credit at Gordon for an associate degree or a minimum of 30 hours of degree credit at Gordon State for a baccalaureate degree.
If eligible for graduation with honors, a student’s particular honors category will be based on a grade point average calculated using credit hours earned at Gordon State only. The honors categories are summarized as follows:
| Honors Category | Required Cumulative GPA |
|---|---|
| Cum Laude | 3.50 - 3.79 |
| Magna Cum Laude | 3.80 - 3.89 |
| Summa Cum Laude | 3.90 - 4.00 |
Academic Standards of Progress
To remain in good academic standing, all students are required to maintain an acceptable cumulative adjusted grade point average (Institutional GPA). The minimum acceptable cumulative adjusted grade point average (GPA) is based on the number of college level semester hours attempted at Gordon State College. Hours taken at Gordon State College in courses numbered below 1000 (Institutional credits earned in Learning Support courses) are not included in the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA).
| Institutional Hours Completed | Minimum Institutional GPA |
|---|---|
| 1-15 | 1.5 |
| 16-30 | 1-7 |
| 31-45 | 1.9 |
| 46 or more | 2.0 |
All students who do not earn a minimum GPA as set by this policy will be placed on Academic Warning and must participate in an intervention with their advisor.
Students must meet with their advisor and sign an Academic Success Plan within two weeks of the start of each warning term. The Academic Success Plan may include additional student support features such as required tutoring sessions, advisor meetings, study strategy sessions, or other interventions determined to be in the best interest of the student. Students continuing on warning should consult the Financial Aid office regarding maintaining funding eligibility.
A student placed on Academic Warning who does not meet the minimum institutional GPA requirement at the end of the subsequent term may continue on Academic Warning if the semester GPA for the subsequent term meets the minimum set by policy based upon hours completed.
All students on Academic Warning will be placed on Academic Suspension at the end of the subsequent semester if an unacceptable GPA is earned.
The length of the suspension is as follows:
| Suspension | Length |
|---|---|
| First suspension | One semester (Spring/Summer/Fall) |
| Second suspension | Two semesters (Spring/Summer/Fall) |
| Third suspension | Three semesters (Spring/Summer/Fall) |
| Fourth suspension | Permanent exclusion from the College |
Summer semester is counted toward completion of a suspension period. Courses taken at another accredited institution during a period of academic suspension may be applied by appeal to one’s Gordon State College GPA for potential reinstatement of Good Academic Standing.
The Provost has the discretionary power to suspend any student who is not making satisfactory progress toward graduation, regardless of the categories aforementioned.