CO-ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT GERMANNA COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON 

The University of Mary Washington (UMW) and Germanna Community College (GCC), recognizing the need to facilitate the transfer of students from GCC to UMW, hereby resolve to adopt a co-enrollment agreement. The purpose of this agreement is to enable GCC students qualified under the terms of this agreement to take a limited number of courses at UMW while the student is simultaneously enrolled at GCC. 

Under this agreement, a GCC student, once accepted into co-enrollment, could take five (5) classes at UMW while the student was also enrolled at GCC. The UMW courses would transfer back to GCC and be part of the student's completion of an Associate Degree. 

Background 

As part of Virginia's Higher Education Restructuring Act, four-year institutions are charged with creating “co-enrollment” agreements with community colleges. Such agreements enable community college students to be simultaneously enrolled in a community college and a four year institution and to transfer credits from the four-year school back to the community college in order to complete the Associate Degree at the community college. This agreement takes several steps toward realizing several of the Commonwealth's strategic objectives for higher education, including (1) enhancing community college transfer programs, (2) increasing degree production in Virginia, and (3) increasing completion of degrees by Virginia residents who have partial credit toward completion of a degree. 

Eligibility, Procedures, and Guidelines 

1. To be eligible, the student must have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours of coursework with a minimum 2.75 GPA prior to the time of applying to be a co-enrolled student at UMW. 

2. The student must be degree seeking at GCC and the courses must apply toward the Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Arts and Sciences degree at GCC. 

3. The GCC student wishing to become a co-enrolled student must complete the Co-Enrollment Agreement “Letter of Intent” and submit it with requirement attachments to the UMW Office of Admissions. The letter of intent deadlines are May 1 (for fall semester enrollment) and December 1 (for spring semester enrollment). The "Letter of Intent” signifies the student's acknowledgement of permission that UMW and GCC may release information to one another concerning academic performance as well as to report behavioral, judicial, or honor violations. IC 

4. Once approved as a co-enrolled student, the GCC student may take up to five courses at UMW that will be transferred back to GCC. GCC students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in each UMW course in order for the credits to transfer back to the student's associate degree program at GCC. 

5. UMW will bill and collect the tuition and fees from the student, at the GCC rates for the current semester. Co-enrolled students will be issued a UMW ID card providing access to UMW facilities (such as the Library). Co-enrolled students will need to purchase a UMW parking decal at the prevailing rate for student parking. 

6. Approved co-enrollment students will receive academic advising assistance from a staff member in the UMW Office of Academic Services. Students will be registered for classes by staff in the UMW Office of the Registrar. Co-enrolled students will be registered once the period of “schedule adjustment” registration begins (immediately following the close of the “advance registration” period). Co-enrolled students will complete the Application for Virginia In State Tuition and the UMW Biographic/Demographic form as part of the course registration process. 

7. While the co-enrollment courses taken will not establish a GPA at UMW should the co enrolled student in the future become an admitted degree seeking UMW student, earned grades in UMW courses will be taken into consideration for any degree programs that have a separate admission to the major process (e.g. Education and Business) requiring that students complete certain UMW courses with a certain GPA in order to be admitted. A record of co-enrolled student's grades in UMW courses will appear on the student's unofficial (internal) transcript. 

8. Co-enrollment courses will count toward the UMW residency requirements as they apply to the credits in the major that must be taken at UMW. 

9. To remain eligible for the co-enrollment agreement, the student must be continuously enrolled at GCC following the date at which the student is admitted as a co-enrolled UMW student. GCC's requirements regarding "continuous enrollment” will apply. 

10. A GCC student who successfully completes the necessary associate degree at GCC with a minimum 2.75 GPA will be admitted to UMW starting in the semester indicated on the co enrollment “Letter of Intent.” If the student is unable to begin at UMW in this semester, he/she must notify the authorized officer at GCC at least one semester in advance of the stated UMW matriculation date. Acceptance in some degree programs at UMW is competitive; admission into UMW through the co-enrollment agreement does not imply admission to these programs without further acceptance by the program or department offering the program. 

11. For students admitted following successful completion of the co-enrollment agreement, UMW guarantees the acceptance of up to 90 transferable credits earned. Completion of the lower-level UMW general education requirements is guaranteed. Unless transferrable courses were taken as a part of the associate degree program, students must fulfill these additional BA/BS/BSEd degree general education requirements: (a) language, (b) Digital Intensive, (c) Diverse and Global Perspectives, (d) Beyond the Classroom, and (e) After Mary Washington. Students must also satisfy the Writing Intensive and Speaking Intensive courses in their selected major. 

12. Students not meeting the terms of admission to UMW as outlined in the co-enrollment agreement may apply for admission to UMW through the normal transfer application process or the Guaranteed Admission Agreement. 

13. Co-enrollment students are subject to the academic, conduct, judicial, honor policies, and public safety at each institution and any violations will be subject to the respective institution's governing policies. 

Review of the Agreement 

The UMW Provost and the GCC Vice President for Academic Affairs and Workforce Development, or their designees, are responsible for oversight of this agreement. UMW and GCC will review the agreement as needed. Changes will not adversely affect students already enrolled under the provisions of the existing agreement. 

This agreement will remain in effect until terminated by either party upon written notice. Such notice should be given one year in advance of the date of termination; students who entered under the agreement may take advantage of its terms for two years after termination becomes effective.