Supplemental Admission Information

Readmission

Reapplication and readmission to the university is required if a student:

1.      has completed a degree at GSU and wishes to reenter into another major, into undeclared/non-degree-seeking status, or into a certificate program;

2.      has been admitted as an undeclared/non-degree-seeking student and is seeking admission to a major or into a certificate program; or

3.      has lost continuing student status as defined by university policy.

Commencing with Fall 1997 and for any subsequent trimester, students are subject to the new continuing student status policy, with the exception of students enrolled in accredited programs where accreditation requirements would prohibit reactivation of a student’s active status.

The policy states that students whose enrollment is interrupted for three or more consecutive trimes­ters must contact their advisor to be reactivated before enrollment, with the exception of students enrolled in accredited programs where accreditation requirements would prohibit reactivation of a student’s active status.

Any student whose enrollment is interrupted for five or more years (15 or more consecutive trimesters) must reapply through the Office of Admissions and Student Recruitment and will be subject to any new admission and curricular requirements.

With regard to accredited programs, the reactivation of a student’s status is determined on a program basis. Five programs, M.A. in Counseling, Master of Occupational Therapy, Master of Social Work, Bachelor of Social Work, and Doctorate in Physical Therapy have specific requirements. Occupational Therapy requires that students who have not been enrolled for one year (three consecutive trimesters) must apply for readmission to the M.O.T. program. Master of Social Work requires that students who have not been enrolled for four years (12 consecutive trimesters) must apply for readmission to the M.S.W. program. Master of Arts in Counseling requires that students who have not been enrolled for more than one year (four consecutive trimesters) must apply for readmission to the Counseling program. Bachelor of Social Work requires that students who have not been enrolled for three years (nine consecutive trimesters) must reapply for admission.  Doctorate of Physical Therapy requires that students who have not been enrolled for more than one year (four consecutive trimesters) must apply for readmission to the D.P.T. program; and

4.      is seeking a level change, i.e., from undergraduate to graduate status or from graduate to undergraduate status.

Special Admission (New and Readmission)

1. Applicants not meeting one or more of the published minimum university or program criteria for admis­sion and/or who fall into one or more of the categories cited below must petition for admission under the Policy on Readmissions and Special Admissions:

a. Applicants who are not in good standing at the last institution attended. (Applicants who have been suspended/dismissed may petition for admission for a trimester no earlier than one year from the date of suspension/dismissal.)

b. Undergraduate applicants with less than a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale for at least 60 semester-hours of earned college credit, regardless of academic standing at the last institution attended.

c. Undergraduate applicants who have earned at least 54, but less than 60 semester-hours of college credit.

d. Applicants seeking admission based on credit/ degree(s) earned from a nonregionally-accredited institution(s).

2. Applicants not in good conduct standing at the last institution attended must petition the Provost’s Office for admission.

3. Students on probation and who have lost continuing student status must petition for admission under the Policy on Readmissions and Special Admissions.

4. Students on their first academic suspension must petition for readmission under the Policy on Readmissions and Special Admissions.

5. Students twice suspended from the university for academic reasons will not be considered for readmission to the university at any later date.

Additional information regarding special admission opportunities and petitions for admission are available from the Office of Admission and Student Recruitment or on its website at www.govst.edu/admissions.

English Language Proficiency Requirement

The university wishes to ensure that applicants have attained sufficient mastery of the English language necessary to achieve academic success.

All applicants for degree programs whose primary (native) language is not English and who submit credentials from a non-English speaking institution of higher education to meet admission requirements must provide evidence of having attained a minimum acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or completed course work from ELS Education Services Inc.’s Language Centers (ELS).  For ELS, students must complete through a minimum level of 112. 

For the TOEFL, a minimum acceptable score is as follows:

The attainment of a minimum acceptable score on TOEFL does not take the place of any special English language proficiency requirements for specific majors or university requirements as stated in this catalog.

Implementation and verification of the minimum competencies will be done by the Office of International Services and the Office of Admission.

Admission to a Degree Program with Non-U.S. Credentials

The university will consider applications to any degree program for those citizens, resident aliens, or for those on temporary visas (other than F-1) who submit credentials from any country other than the United States. Any applicant as defined must:

1. submit an application by published deadlines as outlined in this catalog;
2. submit official academic credentials, which may include any or all of the following:
   

   1. national examination results;

   2. diploma and/or certificate;

   3. complete records of all college, university, or other post-secondary work;
      Official documents must be accompanied by certified English translations. These records must be certified by an official of the educational institution issuing them or by an appropriate United States or national government official;
      

3. submit official TOEFL report with one of the minimum acceptable scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) listed below or complete course work from Education Services Inc.’s Language Centers (ELS). For ELS, students must complete through a minimum level 112.

For the TOEFL, a minimum acceptable score is as follows:

4. provide any required additional special admission credentials for the desired major. Please refer to other sections of this catalog for any necessary special admission requirements.

NOTE: Applicants on or seeking F-1 visas should refer to the section on international students.

Placement Policy for Mathematics and Writing

All undergraduate degree-seeking and undeclared students must complete directed self-placement for mathematics and writing before the first trimester of enrollment. The self-placement process is completed through the mandatory new student orientation, which is available on-campus and online. Notification of the orientation website and schedule will be sent to students along with admission material.

Registration

All newly admitted and active continuing students who do not have a university hold on their record are eligible to register. Tuition and applicable fees are due as billed by the payment deadline published in each trimester’s schedule of classes. See the schedule of classes for the registration dates for each trimester and payment schedules and deadlines.

Maximum Credit-hour Load. Students may register for up to 16 hours during any trimester or up to nine hours in either Block 2 (courses in the first half of the trimester) or Block 3 (courses in the last half of the trimester). Permission from the college dean is required to exceed these credit-hour maximums.

Course Prerequisites and Corequisites. A prerequisite is a course that must be completed before registration in a particular course. A corequisite is a course that is taken simultaneously with, or before, another course. A concurrent course is a course taken at the same time as another course. Prerequisites and corequisites for courses are indicated in the listing of courses in this catalog.

Continuing Student Status. Continuing students at Governors State University are defined as degree-seeking students whose enrollment at Governors State has not been interrupted for more than five years. This does not include students who have enrolled in accred­ited programs where accreditation requirements prohibit return to active status following non-enrollment for more than three to 14 consecutive terms. Students in such accredited programs may return only with the program director’s permission. 

Enrollment is defined as registra­tion for one or more credit-hours or audit (noncredit programs/courses are excluded). Degree-seeking students are subject to the curricular requirements in effect at the time of their initial admission and who maintain active continuing student status.

Degree-seeking students who lose continuing status must reapply and be readmitted. They will be subject to the admission and curricular requirements of the university, college, and specific major in effect at the time of readmission.

Add and Drop. Students may add courses any time during the registration period and may drop up to the tenth day of regularly scheduled classes without penalty.

Deadline for Withdrawals. Courses dropped after the tenth day of regularly scheduled classes and by the withdrawal deadline appear on the student’s academic record with a grade of “W” (student initiated with­drawal). No withdrawals will be accepted after specified deadlines unless approved by the registrar through the appeals process.

Full-time Student Status.  An undergraduate student is considered to be enrolled full-time for any given trimester if they are enrolled in 12 credit hours for that term.  A graduate student (master’s/doctoral) is considered to be enrolled full-time for any given trimester if they are enrolled in 9 credit hours for that term.

Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI)

The Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) is a statewide initiative designed to allow students to transfer easily from one college/university to another. Governors State University is a participating receiving university.

The Illinois Articulation Initiative has established a General Education Core Curriculum (GECC), which is the statewide transfer general education curriculum common to all IAI member institutions. Governors State University accepts all courses in this curriculum toward its general education requirements. Students may, however, transfer to GSU without completing the GECC. Even though not included in IAI, students may also transfer credits from an out-of-state institution.

In order to ease transfer for Illinois students, GSU has used the IAI designations whenever possible. This is not to limit the transferability of courses but to ensure the transfer of courses which carry the IAI designation.  Comparable courses from out-of-state institutions (not bearing the IAI designation) may be accepted for transfer.

For more information on the IAI, see the IAI website at www.itransfer.org.

Articulation Agreements

To minimize transfer problems for students, Governors State University and area community colleges have developed articulation agreements that help students plan bachelor’s degree programs beginning at the community college and finishing at Governors State University. These agreements assure smooth transition from lower-division study to upper-division study and completion of a bachelor’s degree. For more information on articulation, see our website at www.govst.edu/articulation.

Dual Admissions

The Dual Admissions program can help students make the transition from several of the regional community colleges to GSU. Students who meet the admission requirements for GSU and who formally request dual admissions will be simultaneously admitted to the regional community college and GSU. Dual admissions are available to students planning to complete their baccalaureate degrees at GSU. While participating in the program, students will be invited to various events at GSU that will allow students to become familiar with the campus and will have access to the University Library and GSU advisors. The Dual Admissions program offers students the advantage of customized advising each term from the community college and GSU.