Admission

General Admission Policies

The admissions policy of West Georgia is designed to admit students who will have a reasonable chance of success and who seemingly will profit from the educational program of the University. A student is considered for admission without regard to race, creed, sex, marital status, or national origin. Application forms may be obtained from the Admissions Office and are available from many high school guidance counselors. An admission application also can be found at www.westga.edu. For information on specific categories of admission, contact the Admissions Office at West Georgia. For additional admission requirements regarding specific majors, consult the particular department area of this catalog.

Every applicant must submit a formal application to the Admissions Office along with a $40 non-refundable application fee. (Georgia residents 62 years of age or older are not required to pay the application fee.)

June 1 is the fall semester application and document submission deadline date. Deadline date for spring semester is November 15; summer semester-May 15. The Admissions Office operates a rolling admission program; in other words, applications are processed and students are accepted on a revolving, continuing schedule. As soon as all items required in support of a student’s application are received, the application is evaluated and the student is notified of a decision regarding admission. All required items must be received before a student will be allowed to register for classes.

The University may require the applicant to visit the campus for an interview, to supply further biographical information, or to take psychological, achievement, or aptitude tests before being accepted or rejected. The applicant will be notified of any such requirements. Students entering any unit of the University System of Georgia are required to provide official documentation of immunization prior to registration.

Acceptance or denial of each application is determined by the Director of Admissions, subject to the right of appeal as outlined by the University and as provided in the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University System. Information outlining the appeals procedure may be obtained from the Admissions Office or from the Student Handbook. An applicant should contact the Office of Admissions regarding details of the appeals procedure.

Admissions files of those who apply and do not enroll are kept in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for 12 calendar months. An applicant may update the semester for which he/she is applying within 12 months by calling the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Applicants who apply and do not enroll may update their initial application one time. After one update, an additional application and fee will be required.

Students furnishing the University with false, incomplete, or misleading information relating to their application or academic record will be subject to rejection or dismissal.

Immunization Requirements: The policy, implementation, guidelines, and the chart of required immunizations can be found at http://www.usg.edu/student_affairs/immun/.

Undergraduate Application and Document Deadline Dates

University Admission Standards

It is recommended that prospective applicants to West Georgia contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for specific requirements well in advance of their entrance date. Admission standards are subject to review and change.

Beginning Freshman

A freshman applicant is one who has not previously attended a regionally accredited college or university and/or has not yet graduated from high school. Freshman admission is based on standardized test scores, such as the SAT or ACT, high school grade point average (HSGPA) in college preparatory subjects, College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC)/Required High School Curriculum (RHSC) courses only, and Freshman Index (FI).

Students must have completed CPC/RHSC requirements as outlined in the second item in the following list.

1. High school graduation with a college preparatory/required high school curriculum diploma is required for admission as a beginning freshman. Both completion of the University System’s College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC)/Required High School Curriculum (RHSC) and graduation must be from a high school accredited by (a) a regional accrediting association such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), (b) The Georgia Accrediting Commission, (c) Georgia Private School Accrediting Council, or (d) a public school regulated by a school system and state department of education. A student applying while in high school should have a transcript of work through the junior year sent to the Admissions Office at the time of application.
2. The University System of Georgia requires completion of a College Preparatory Curriculum/Required High School Curriculum for admission. Freshmen and transfer freshmen applicants must complete the following coursework to be admitted to the University:

*Students graduating earlier than 2012 only need 3 units of science. For more details regarding the Required High School Curriculum (RHSC), visit: http://www.westga.edu/rhsc/

3. Each freshman applicant must submit scores earned on the SAT or ACT. Information regarding these tests may be obtained from any high school guidance office or any institution in the University System of Georgia. A freshman applicant cannot be accepted until the scores are received.
4. Minimum SAT/ACT score requirements for freshman or transfer freshman admission

It is the policy of the Office of Admissions to take a student’s best Critical Reading/Reading/English and best Math score should the student take the SAT or ACT more than once; however, SAT scores and ACT scores cannot be “mixed” in determining admission eligibility.

  5.   In addition to the minimum test score requirement, a minimum Freshman Index of 2120 is required for any level of freshman or transfer freshman admission.

  6.   Students whose index falls between 2000-2119 may be eligible for conditional admission and attendance in Ignite, UWG’s Summer Transition Program.

  7.   A high school senior who is earning college credit in a joint enrollment program while completing the senior year should apply to West Georgia as a beginning freshman but should indicate enrollment in a joint enrollment program on the application for admission. West Georgia will grant transfer credit for this work under the following conditions: (1) Work must be earned through an accredited college. (2) Individual courses must meet the normal guidelines for acceptability (see Transfer Student section).

Transfer Student

A transfer applicant is one who has been enrolled in any regionally accredited college or university. All previous college attendance must be reported at the time of application. Those who have earned fewer than 45 quarter hours/30 semester hours of transferable work or the equivalent will be asked to comply with both freshman and transfer requirements for admission (see freshman requirements for additional details).

A transfer applicant should request the registrar of each college or university he or she has attended to send a transcript to the Office of Admissions. Credits from one former institution appearing on the transcript of another institution can neither be officially evaluated for admission nor accepted for credit until a transcript has been received from the institution originating the credit.

Transfer students will be considered for admission on the basis of their previous college records:

1. They must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in all transferable college work attempted (non-traditional transfer students with greater than 45 quarter hours/30 semester hours of transferable work may be considered with a lower GPA on a case-by-case basis in order to determine their ability to be successful).
2. Students not meeting the minimum GPA requirement may be admitted if they hold an associate degree in a college transfer program from an accredited college and if they have not attempted any college coursework since completing the associate degree.
3. Students must be in good social and academic standing at their former institutions. Students who have been away from high school for less than five years must have completed all RHSC deficiencies and/or Learning Support requirements prior to being admissible and show both English and math proficiency through course credit. Students who have been away from high school for greater than five years may prove proficiency in English, Reading, and Math either through placement testing, valid SAT/ACT scores (less than seven years old), or completion of college coursework. Transfer students from an out-of-state institution may also prove proficiency via the placement test on a case by case basis. Please contact the Admissions Office for further policy details.
4. Admission acceptance by the Office of Admission does not guarantee admission to a specific program or department.

Transfer credit is normally awarded for all college work earned through any college or university approved by its regional accrediting association, so long as similar credit is offered at West Georgia. Credit earned at a post-secondary institution that is not regionally accredited may be accepted at West Georgia if the course work is similar to course work in the student’s degree program at West Georgia and if the course work is deemed to be collegiate level work. Credit earned at proprietary schools and technical institutions that are not Commission of Colleges (COC) accredited is not reviewed for transfer credit. The following stipulations on the transfer of credit are upheld:

The amount of academic credit that the University will allow for work done in another institution within a given period of time may not exceed the normal amount of credit that could have been earned at the University during that time. The maximum number of academic hours accepted is 90 from all institutions. Not more than a combined total of 30 hours of extension, correspondence work and military education/training will be accepted.

1. The amount of academic credit that the University will allow for work done in another institution within a given period of time may not exceed the normal amount of credit that could have been earned at the University during that time. The maximum number of academic hours accepted is 90 from all institutions. Not more than a combined total of 30 hours of extension, correspondence work and military education/training will be accepted
2. According to Board of Regents policy, if a student transfers to West Georgia with an A.A. or A.S. degree from an institution within the University System of Georgia, he/she will receive full credit for having completed Core Areas A - F. If the major differs between the A.A. or A.S. degree program and the major the student decides to pursue at West Georgia, there may be additional courses required at the 1000 or 2000 level that are specific to that degree major and/or are prerequisite for higher level courses that the student would have to take (example: Some majors require the student to have had Precalculus or Calculus I in order to enroll in some higher level courses in the program of study. If the student had College Algebra as a part of his/her A.A. or A.S. program, he/she would still receive credit for having completed the Math section of Area A of the Core, but he/she would still be required to take Precalculus or Calculus I to complete the requirements of the major.). The Core credit policy does not apply to career degrees (A.A.S. and A.S.); in those cases, each course is evaluated individually and credit is given in areas where comparable courses are offered at West Georgia, including some courses that may be counted as Core or electives.
3. Dual/Joint Enrollment Credit: College credit earned at an accredited institution prior to high school graduation will be considered as transfer credit if the student was enrolled as a joint enrollment/early admission student.
4. Transfers from Technical College System of Georgia Colleges
   The Board of Regents and the Technical College System of Georgia have entered into an agreement referred to as the “Mini-Core Project.” The agreement states that course credits for basic skills courses in English and mathematics with common course content will be transferable between schools in the University System of Georgia and COC-accredited institutions in the Technical College System of Georgia. Comparable placement and exit test results will be honored between the two systems as well.
   The transfer agreement is effective for students from COC-accredited Technical College System of Georgia institutions who have taken ENG 191 and/or MAT 190 or 191 since January 2002, and who meet the minimum test score requirements for exemption from developmental studies, or successfully complete and meet the minimum test score requirements for exit from developmental studies English and/or mathematics. Courses other than those approved for the mini-core agreement will be evaluated on an individual basis for possible transfer credit.
   In order to be eligible for mini-core transfer credit, students must have earned satisfactory scores on either placement or exit tests.
   Students with minimum old SAT Critical Reading 430; RSAT Reading Section 24 (ACT 17) + SAT Math 410; RSAT Math 450 (ACT 17) + high school diploma/GED and four years of college prep English, Algebra I and II, and Geometry, and a college prep math higher than Algebra II will be exempt from placement testing.
   Exit from Learning Support at a COC-accredited TCSG institution will be honored if the student has a record of meeting the TCSG minimum test score requirement for exit at UWG within the past year.
5. Students who apply for undergraduate admission and have attended a non-accredited institution will be requested to provide an official transcript from that institution. For the purposes of the evaluation of credit, the Admissions Office will request the student provide a catalog, course syllabi, and the names and credentials of the faculty who taught their courses. The student may be able to obtain this information from the institution’s Website. The Admissions Office will forward all materials received to the Registrar’s Office for review of credit. Lower division courses will be evaluated by the Registrar’s Office and credit awarded based upon the materials provided by the student. The decision to award credit may be referred to the appropriate department in some cases. Upper division courses will be evaluated by the appropriate academic department. Departmental decisions on UWG equivalents are final. There is no appeal beyond the departmental level.
6. Provided all other stipulations regarding transfer credits are met, West Georgia will grant transfer credit for the following:
   All courses with grades of “C” or better
   All Core Curriculum courses earned at University System institutions with grades of “D” or better, with the exception noted in #7 below
   Other courses with grades of “D” provided the average for all academic courses being transferred does not fall below “C”
7. A grade of “D” in English composition is not acceptable.
8. Credit for specific courses designated as major courses will not be allowed unless grades are “C” or above.
9. A grade of “C” or above is required for all professional sequence courses in education and those courses listed under content field. None of the professional education sequence may be completed by extension or correspondence.
10. Students who experience problems with transfer of credit should contact the Registrar’s Office to determine the nature of the problem. If the problem is not resolved, students should contact the University Chief Transfer Officer to seek resolution to the problem.
11. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents authorizes the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs to make decisions about exceptions on a case-by-case basis when questions arise about course substitutions in the Core curriculum.

Transfer course equivalencies may be viewed at http://westga.edu/transfer. Courses listed reflect results from previously reviewed transcripts and in no case should this list be considered a final and/or a complete listing.

Admission of Home Schooled Students

Applicants Who Have Completed an Accredited Home School Program

Applicants completing an approved, accredited home school program need only meet traditional freshman admission requirements.

Applicants Who Have Not Completed an Accredited Home School Program

Home educated applicants who have not completed an accredited home school program must submit the following:

• Application for Undergraduate Admission
• $40 non-refundable application processing fee
• Official SAT or ACT scores* (sent directly to UWG by the testing agency)
• Completed Home School Curriculum Evaluation Form, which provides satisfactory documentation of equivalent competence in each of the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC)/Required High School Curriculum (RHSC) areas.
• Copy of current Declaration of Intent to Home School as filed with the state.

*University System of Georgia requires Home Schooled students who have not completed an accredited home school program to take the SAT or the ACT and to meet the minimum total score of the average combined score of the preceding year’s enrolled Freshman Class.

The standard for home schooled applicants is the average combined critical reading and math scores of the preceding Fall class (minimum subsection scores are 430 Critical Reading and 410 Math) or the ACT Composite equivalent (minimum sub section scores are ACT English 17 and 17 Math).

Home Schooled Applicants Applying as Transfer Students

Transfer applicants who graduated from a non-accredited home school program, and who have earned less than 30 credit transferable, semester hours at the time of the UWG admission application, must meet Freshman admission requirements, including submission of the Declaration of Intent to Utilize a Home Study Program Form or a print out of your online submission. Transfer applicants completing an approved, accredited home school program need only meet traditional Freshman requirements.

Adult, Non-Traditional Applicants

Non-Traditional Freshmen

Non-traditional freshmen are defined as individuals who meet all of the following criteria

1. Have been out of high school at least five years and whose high school class graduated at least five years ago.
2. Hold a high