Academic Policies

Unit of Credit
One unit of credit is assigned for successful completion of one fifty-minute class session per week for one semester or its equivalent. For example, completion of a course meeting three periods a week earns three credits (with the exception of designated courses).
Academic Advisement
Academic advisement is to assist students in dealing with an educational concern, solve an academic problem, or decide upon an educational course of action. The advisor draws upon information and experience available to him/her to determine the best course of action the advised ought to take. The advisement staff fulfills their responsibilities by understanding course and sequential registration (prerequisites) requirements necessary for successful preparation in obtaining a degree at Gateway College. Faculty advise the students in those academic areas dealing with curriculum, electives, academic conflicts, and course load. Advisement is a continuous process, which begins with registration and continues throughout the semester. Scheduling of courses is ultimately the responsibility of the student. Students should maintain their own record file with copies of all official correspondence with the college. Students should check academic advice against the official policy of the College as it is found in published documents.
Academic Dishonesty
Plagiarism, cheating, and dishonesty are in direct opposition to a Christian life and the goals of Gateway College. It is assumed that all students enrolled at Gateway College have done so for the primary purpose of learning. Students are expected to refrain from those actions that contradict this purpose and which would jeopardize their Christian character and testimony. Cheating is considered a serious offense against a student’s Christian character and testimony.  Cheating includes copying from another person’s test paper, using concealed information during examinations, falsifying reports, giving reports to other students, giving information to another person during examinations, obtaining information from a student who has already taken the examination, using another student’s work and submitting the same research paper in more than one course.  Cheating also includes plagiarism, which is defined as copying any part of a book or paper without identifying the author. This also includes taking another person’s ideas and presenting them as your own. Students should feel responsible to assist in the maintenance of Christian standards by personally dealing with anyone known to be cheating. Covering up such dishonorable practices is detrimental to the best spiritual atmosphere among college family. In the event of academic dishonesty, the following will be enforced: the first offense in a course will result in a failing grade for the item connected with the dishonesty. The second offense in the course will result in failing the course. Repeated offenses during the student’s academic program will result in further disciplinary action. Any breach of academic integrity is grounds for dismissal from Gateway College.
Academic Due Process
Students unsatisfied with classroom or academic procedures should use the following due process: Students will attempt to settle differences with a teacher conference within two weeks of receiving the disputed grade. The time for settling the difference is extended to four weeks in the case of a disputed final grade. If students are unsatisfied with the teacher conference or a decision made, they then will file a written complaint with the Academic Dean within one week of the teacher conference. The written document should fully describe the issue in dispute and steps taken to resolve the conflict. The Academic Dean will consult with the teacher before any decision is made. The Academic Dean will make a decision within two weeks. If the student is unsatisfied with the Academic Dean’s decision, they will then file a written complaint with the Administrative Committee within one week of the Academic Dean’s decision. The written document will be given to the Vice President for processing. The Administrative Committee will review the steps taken by the student, teacher, and academic dean prior to making a decision. The Administrative Committee will make its decision within two weeks. The decision of the Administrative Committee is final.
Academic Evaluation
To record the level of student achievement and to stimulate quality work, the college’s system of evaluating work performed is expressed in terms of letter grades with plus and minus and numerical grade points.
Grade Significance Grade Points %         A Outstanding 4 93-100% A-     90-92% B+     87-89% B Above Average 3 83-86% B-     80-82% C+     77-79% C Average 2 73-76% D+     70-72% D Below Average 1 65-69% F Failing 0 Below 65% P Pass 1 Does not affect GPA W/P Withdraw/Pass NC   W/F Withdraw/Fail 0   I 0   AU Audit NC
Incomplete
An “incomplete” as a grade is allowed only upon approval of the academic dean for work that is incomplete at the end of the semester due to factors beyond a student’s control. This mark is temporary and may be changed to any other mark upon completion of the course requirements. This mark automatically becomes an “F” if it has not been cleared within three weeks after the end of the semester for which it has been given.
Grade Point Average
Students grade point averages are a measure of academic achievement.  To compute grade point average, multiply the semester hours for each course by the grade point equivalent for the grade.  Add the grade points of all courses taken.  Then divide the sum of these grade points by the total semester hours.  (Do not add in hours for which no grades are given.) The grade point average is computed only on courses taken at Gateway College.
Scholastic Honors
Gateway College strives to create an atmosphere conducive to scholarship and to provide incentive for academic growth. Maximum achievement is encouraged by giving recognition to those who excel. Students in Gateway College are eligible to receive honors as outlined below:
Dean's List
The dean’s list is published at the end of each semester. To qualify, students must be enrolled for 12 hours or more. The dean’s list consists of students earning a grade point average of 3.5 or above. Students taking less than 12 hours of credit at Gateway and enrolled at another institution which would give the student a total of 12 or more hours of credit may be included on the Dean’s List, if students have the other institutions send the grade (s) for the hours taken there to the Registrar’s Office of Gateway.  The two sets of grades will be combined and calculated to determine the GPA.  If the GPA is sufficient, students will be placed on the Dean’s List.  An asterisk will indicate inclusion by this calculation.  To qualify for the Dean’s List, the student must be enrolled in a degree program from Gateway.  Requesting grades from other institutions is the responsibility of the student.  Students do not have to obtain a transcript, just the grades for the classes taken during the current semester.  If the other institution fails to respond to the request, students will not be considered for the Dean’s List at Gateway.
Academic Graduate Honors
To qualify for academic honors, a student must have earned at least a 3.5 grade point average for his entire academic record, have completed at least 64 hours at Gateway College and have completed all graduation requirements for a Bachelor’s degree. The academic honors are as follows:   Cum Laude 3.5 Cumulative GPA Magna Cum Laude 3.6 Cumulative GPA Summa Cum Laude 3.8 Cumulative GPA
Spirit of St Louis Award
Each year approximately ten percent of those receiving a Bachelor’s degree may be chosen for this elite honor. Those students with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and an outstanding campus citizenship record may be named by the faculty as recipients of the Spirit of St. Louis award. This honor is based on the Christian ideals of: S     cholarship T     rustworthiness   L     oyalty and Leadership 0     bedience U     nselfishness I      nvolvement S     pirituality
Student Classification
For the purpose of determining student status and class identification, the following categories are used:
Freshman Satisfaction of entrance requirements; less than 24 earned semester hours of credit Sophomore 25-48 earned semester hours of credit Junior 49-72 earned semester hours of credit Senior 73+ earned semester hours of credit Part-Time Any student carrying less than twelve hours
Academic Load
The academic load must average 16 credit hours per semester in order to earn an Associate in two years and a Bachelor in four years. Students who carry an academic load of 12 or more hours are considered full-time. All students must adjust their academic load in reference to their ability, extent of extracurricular activity and the amount of outside employment so as to maintain a high academic standard. The academic load of any student is subject to reduction or limitation by the administration for low scholarship, excessive outside employment and other influences, which may adversely affect a student's academic progress in college.  A student carrying more than 18 hours may do so only by permission of the academic dean.
Class And Chapel Attendance
All students are expected to attend each class session unless ill or prevented by some emergency. Students are responsible for making up all missed work; make up of exams and quizzes are at the discretion of the instructor.   Faculty members will take roll in each class session and keep an attendance record. A student’s grade will be dropped one step in a course if he accumulates absences greater than:
4 hour class 8 absences 3 hour class 6 absences 2 hour class 4 absences 1 hour class 2 absences Note:  3 tardies = one absence
For example, after a student misses six classes in a three-credit class, his grade will drop one letter grade on the seventh and each successive absence. An A would become a B on the seventh absence, C on the eighth, D on the ninth and F on the tenth. Absences are counted regardless of the reason. Students shall be considered tardy if they arrive to class after the designated starting time for the class. Students shall be counted absent if they arrive later than 15 minutes after the designated starting time for the class. Students are required to remain in the class for 15 minutes to await the arrival of the instructor unless otherwise requested to remain. Students leaving class without permission will be counted absent. Students who fail to return to class within a reasonable length of time after having received permission to leave will also be counted absent.   The Academic Dean and the Administrative Committee will take compassion absences into consideration according to individual circumstances.    All students are expected to attend official convocations of the college and to participate regularly in chapel services and student assemblies.    The administration of Gateway College feels that the chapel service is a very important part of student life. Students who are consistently absent from chapel without a legitimate reason will be deemed to have lost interest in the spiritual aspect of their personal life and are subject to dismissal.
Academic Probation
New students without a high school diploma or equivalent are accepted for enrollment at Gateway College on a probationary basis. If their academic performance in the first semester does not meet the required norm of the school, they will be asked to withdraw from school. Students are placed on academic probation if their cumulative grade point average drops below 1.50 after the first semester, 1.75 after the second semester, 2.0 after the third semester. If students on probation fail to show marked improvement in all aspects of their college, academic, social, and/or spiritual life, they will be subject to dismissal from the college by action of the administration. At the conclusion of each semester, the administration will review those who are on probationary status for the previous semester.  In each case, an individual determination will be made regarding continuation as a student of Gateway College.
Independent Study
Student Requirements The student must have at least a 3.25 CGPA. Junior/ Senior status is required. Independent studies may be taken as elective credits only; the total hours of independent study should equal no more than 25% of all electives taken. The subjects covered in the independent studies should be specialized areas of study not reflected in offered courses.  At the discretion of the academic dean, exceptions could be made in the case of scheduling conflicts caused by the college where the graduation in the planned major is in jeopardy. Recommended workload. 500 pages reading per credit. Required writing: 5 pages of reflection and 5 pages of research (not book reports) per credit Work must be completed prior to the last day of final exams if taken during the semester. Independent studies attempted during the summer must be completed by September 15. The student will submit a proposal for independent study to the academic dean. The proposal, already signed by the student and the instructor, will include a course description, course objectives, a reading schedule, and project assignments. The 28 academic dean will approve, make recommendations, or reject the proposal. Then the independent study can begin. Copies of the approved independent study will be given to the student, instructor, advisor, academic dean, and registrar (for the permanent file). Independent study credits will be billed as regular classroom credits. There will beno extra charge unless the independent study puts the student over 18 credit hours for the semester. If taken over the summer, the credits will be billed as an external study course. Instructor Requirements The administration strongly recommends all independent study be contracted with full-time faculty members. The instructor will not receive additional remuneration for guiding independent study. However, independent studies will count toward faculty load per Faculty Handbook. Course Numbering All courses numbered 496, 497, or 498 are independent study courses. For example, OT 496 is an independent study in Old Testament; OT 497 would indicate a second Old Testament independent study. The letter prefix indicates the area of study (NT=New Testament, MU=Music, etc).
Graduation Requirements
Gateway College seeks to develop in students a mature understanding of Christian faith and skill in carrying their faith into the world. Gateway College believes in the Bible as the inspired and authoritative Word of God. In keeping with its goal of providing a balanced Christian education, the college requires a core of courses in Bible, Theology, General Education, and Professional Studies.