New Minimum GPA Requirements
for Film & Video Majors

From: Carol Winkler, Chair
Department of Communication

Posted: October 16, 2002

Beginning in the Spring semester of 2003, all 3000 and 4000 level film/video courses will require students to have an overall GSU 2.5 grade point average (GPA) prior to enrollment. The GoSolar registration system will block access of all students that do not meet the minimum GPA requirement, either through normal registration or through overflows requests.

The student’s GPA will be the university’s calculation at the moment that the student attempts to register. The system will not round up the student’s GPA (e.g. students with a 2.49 GPA will need to raise their overall average to be eligible for upper level film/video courses).

We appreciate that this change may create hardships for students who have already begun to take their upper level film/video courses. To ease the transition as much as possible, we will implement the policy as follows:

Students with 18 or more semester hours in film/video at the 3000/4000 level by the beginning of Spring 2003 will have the 2.5 minimum GPA requirement waived. Working with the University prior to Phase I registration, the department will remove all GPA holds for students who have already completed six or seven upper level courses and allow them to complete their remaining courses for the film/video major.

Students with 15 semester hours in film/video at the 3000/4000 level will have the 2.5 minimum GPA requirement enforced and will be awarded a minor in film/video. Departmental requirements for a minor in film/video require 15 hours of upper level film/video coursework. If students wish to pursue the film/video major, they should take courses outside of the film/video area until their GPA improves to a 2.5 or higher. At that point, they will again be authorized to take film/video courses.

Students with fewer than 15 semester hours in film/video at the 3000/4000 level will have the 2.5 minimum GPA requirement enforced and can count their courses for credit as upper level electives. If students wish to pursue the film/video major or minor, they should take courses outside of film/video until their GPA improves to a 2.5 or higher. At that point, they will again be authorized to take film/video courses.

We appreciate your patience as we work to implement the new system. It is our hope that with the new requirement in place, we will be able to more effectively serve the students in our program.