Academics

Overview

Academic Advising supports students in their transition into college by creating educational plans consistent with their academic, career, and personal goals.

Academic Advising Goals

  • Guide students as they explore their values, interests, personality and skills.
  • Ensure that students have access to knowledgeable and informed advisors who demonstrate care and respect for cultural differences.
  • Communicate regularly with students and provide accurate information regarding policies and procedures.
  • Teach students to utilize their unique educational, career, and personal potential.
  • Continually assist students in understanding the relationship between university education, career success and lifelong learning.
  • Academic and Career advising includes:

  • Individual and group advising for new students
    • Mock interview
    • Academic planning meetings
    • Course registration
    • Interest and personality testing (i.e., Self-Directed Search and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)
    • Computerized career guidance programs
    • Assistance in selecting an academic major that best matches the student’s values, interests, personality, and skills

Information

Faculty

Jerri Dorminy

Director, Student Success

Lisa Parker

Administrative Support Specialist - Gallaudet

Cheryl Murgel

Academic and Career Success Advisor

Astrid Jones

Academic and Career Success Advisor

Erin Land Brown

Academic and Career Success Advisor

FAQs

Common Questions

The Academic Warning policy applies only to first-year students with a Grade Point Average (GPA) between 1.75 to 1.99. You will automatically receive an Academic Warning if your GPA falls within that range. Academic Warning can happen only once, after which you will be placed in Academic Probation if your cumulative GPA remains below 2.0 for the second time. First-year students who have a GPA below 1.75 automatically will receive Academic Probation. Academic Probation also applies to upperclassmen who have a GPA below 1.99.
You can add/drop classes for no charge before the semester begins. You can also add/drop during the Add/Drop Week, which occurs during the first week of the semester, but you will be charged $5 for each transaction during that period.
If you are facing any problems with the course or your professor, we encourage you to speak with your professor first. If you need further guidance, you can see your Academic Advisor.
A Four-Year Planner is a list of the course requirements for your General Studies, including your major course requirements, which demonstrates your Four-Year Plan. It is a tool designed to help you monitor your progress to ensure you are on track for graduation. You can develop a Four-Year Plan in Bison. If you need assistance with designing your Four-Year Plan, please see your Academic Advisor.

You can request overloading permission in a full class. However, there is no guarantee that the overloading permission will be approved. You can also contact the professor for overloading permission for the course.

You may also obtain a Change Slip form, which you can pick up at the Academic Advising Office. You will need to get a signature from the professor for the course you want to be enrolled in. If approved, you can contact your Academic Advisor for their signature.

No, you will be transferred to your new faculty advisor within your major department when you declare a major.
Yes, you can. But we advise you to first discuss your concerns with your Academic Advisor. If the problem is still not resolved, you can follow up with your Academic Advisor’s supervisor.
A pre-requisites is a course you are required to take prior to taking the next level or related courses. For example, you need to complete GSR 101 and GSR 102 before taking GSR 150. Co-requisites are courses you can take at the same time as pre-requisite courses. For example, you can be enrolled in EDU 323 as long as you take EDU 311 concurrently. Pre-requisites and co-requisites will be listed in the catalogue. You can also check with academic advising for a course plan.
It depends on the courses in question. Pre-requisites must be completed before enrolling in some courses. Some courses must be taken in sequence while others do not require a sequence to be taken in order. For example, you can take HIS 112 before HIS 111, but with other courses, you will need to follow course sequences such as ACC 201, which must be completed before ACC 202. Please contact us with questions or for more information.
The purpose of President’s Scholars is to recognize a student’s excellent academic performance at the end of the semester as well as at the time of graduation. To qualify, you need to have earned at least 15-degree credits and a qualifying GPA at Gallaudet to be recognized as a President’s Scholar. Qualifying GPAs are as follows:
  • Summa Cum Laude – GPA between 3.8 and 4.0
  • Magna Cum Laude – GPA between 3.6 and 3.79
  • Cum Laude – GPA between 3.4 and 3.59
You can start right away, but you may need to complete all pre-major courses in some majors before you can take courses in your intended major. You can check for more information on Gallaudet’s Undergraduate catalog online.
You can declare your major by following these steps:
  • Meet with your Academic Advisor to review the major requirements.
  • Schedule an appointment with the Academic Department Chair or Program Coordinator to discuss and review major requirements.
  • When you are accepted into the major department, the Academic Department Chair/Program Coordinator and a new Major Advisor will sign a major declaration form.
  • During the exit interview with your Academic Advisor, your Degree Audit Report will be reviewed, and the major declaration form will be signed.
  • The Academic Advising Office will submit the form to the Registrar’s Office for processing.
  • When the process is completed, you will be notified when you are officially a major in the major department.
You and your Academic Advisor can discuss your major interests to identify a major offered by Gallaudet that may be a good fit for you. However, if there are no majors you are interested in, you may want to consider the Self-Directed Major (SDM) program offered at Gallaudet. You will be required to submit an essay and a proposed course plan, which needs to be approved by the Self-Directed Major Committee.
There are several ways to add classes to your Shopping Cart, however we recommend these steps:
  • Go to Bison
  • Once you logged in, click on Self-Service.
  • Click on Student Center.
  • Click on Enrollment Shopping Cart under your class schedule.
  • Pick the term in which you wish to add your new classes.
  • Click on My Planner or Class Search.
  • Click on the classes you want.
The selected classes will then show up in your shopping cart.
The responsibilities of Academic Advisors are:
  • Academic Tracking
  • Career Exploration
  • Course Selections
  • Four Year Plan (GSR and Major Requirements)
  • Major Interests/Declaration
  • Referrals

Policies and Information

No, Academic Advising falls under the purview of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Therefore, Academic Advisors are obligated by law to protect the privacy of your educational records.
There is no limit to the number of courses that you can take per semester. We do not look at the number of courses, but we do focus on the number of credits. To be a full-time student, you must have between 12 and 19 credits per semester.
The purpose of the Dean’s List is to recognize a student’s excellent academic performance at the end of the semester. You must have earned at least 12 degree credit hours and should not have received a failing or incomplete grade in any course taken in that semester to be eligible for the Dean’s List. For freshman and sophomore class standing, you need a 3.25 GPA or above to qualify for the Dean’s List. For junior and senior class standing, you must have 3.5 GPA or above to be eligible for the Dean’s List.

Services and Support

You can find the name of your Academic Advisor on Bison by following these steps:
  • Log into bison.gallaudet.edu
  • Click on Self-Service.
  • Click on Student Center.
  • You will see the name of your Academic Advisor on the lower right-hand side of the screen.
Yes, you are required to have an Academic Advisor.

Contact Us

Academic Advising

Monday - Friday
9 - 5

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