Learning Support Policies
The Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs administers the Learning Support Program. The College of Sciences offers college preparatory courses in mathematics, and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts offers courses in reading comprehension and English composition for students who need further preparation before taking credit courses in English, mathematics, and related skills’ courses.
Students who are required by the Institute to take courses in the Learning Support Program will be notified in writing. They must then either test out of the program or register for the required course(s) before they can register for any credit courses that require Learning Support (LS) courses as prerequisites. Until Learning Support requirements have been satisfied, students will not be permitted to take credit core courses that require the content or skills of the prerequisite courses. The Chair of the School teaching the credit core course must certify that the course being taken by the student does not contain the content or skills of the Learning Support course.
Students can test out of taking LS courses by passing the appropriate Georgia Collegiate Placement Exams (GCPEs) administered before the beginning of each semester through the Office of the Senior Vice Provost. Students who do not pass the appropriate examinations prior to their first semester in residence must register for the required LS courses. These students must pass all required LS courses and the appropriate GCPEs within their first three semesters in residence or be suspended for three years, and re-apply for admission. No more than twenty hours of degree credit work may be earned prior to exiting Learning Support.
Students who are mandated to take a Learning Support class must enroll in the course, pass it, and then pass an exit test (GCPE) provided to the LS instructor by the Office of the Senior Vice Provost. If the student fails the test, the student must re-take the course before re-taking the exit exam unless the student fails the test by one or two points. In which case, a re-take of the test may be given prior to the next semester (during the break prior to the first day of class).
In addition to those students who are required by the Institute to take LS courses, any student who desires further preparation may register for one or more courses. LS courses are not prerequisites to credit courses when taken on this elective basis.
LS courses are offered on a pass/fail basis and may not be counted as hours toward graduation.