AGS - Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are SWU school colors?

A. Blue and Gold.

Q. What is the SWU mascot?

A. The "warrior".

Q. How many Learning Centers are there in South Carolina?

A. Seven. They are Central, Greenville, Greenwood, Spartanburg, Columbia, North Augusta, Charleston.

Q. What is the minimum number of students required to start a cohort?

A. 16 students.

Q. What is the maximum number of students allowed in a cohort?

A. 22 students.

Q. How many general education credits must be satisfied to receive a degree with SWU?

A. 25 hours.

Q. How many credits must be earned to receive an Associate's degree?

A. 64 hours (25 hours General Education, 28 hours CORE in Step II, 11 hours electives).

Q. How many credits must be earned to receive a Bachelor's degree?

A. 128 hours (25 hours General Education, 49 hours Core, 54 hours electives).

Q. Must I establish competency in reading (12.4), college level algebra, and writing (P) in order to graduate from SWU?

A. Yes. (See Abstract, competency policy fact sheet, academic counseling checklist, AGS Student Handbook)

Q. How many credits must a student have on transcript to be qualified to enter the bachelor's core program?

A. 60 hours. No exceptions.

Q. If I have 60 hours on transcript and am eligible to transfer to the bachelor's core, whom do I contact to complete the necessary paperwork?

A. Contact the Student Services Coordinator in your area. Student Services Coordinator will guide you through all the required steps and assist you in completing the transfer paperwork. This paperwork must be completed before any student is allowed to begin a core program.

Q. Is attendance required?

A. Yes. A student may not miss more than 25% of a course - (ex: for a five-week course, a student may miss one workshop for emergency purposes). The student may be penalized for missing this workshop, depending on the instructor's grading format.

Q. How do I officially withdraw from a course or permanently withdraw from the program?

A. For temporary withdrawal from a course, simply complete the temporary withdrawal form and submit it to the Student Services Coordinator at your learning center. This form can be obtained from your Student Services Coordinator, downloaded from the SWU web page, picked up from the roto-rack located at each learning center, or requested directly from the Academic Records office at 1-800-289-1292 ext. 5530. This form must be completed and submitted prior to the class start date for a full tuition refund. For permanent withdrawal from the AGS program, you would need to contact the Student Services Coordinator at your learning centerto complete the necessary paperwork.

Q. Should I contact Financial Aid if I temporarily withdraw from a course?

A. Yes. You must contact Financial Aid prior to withdrawing to ensure that you are aware of any adverse affect that might result in your financial aid when you need to withdraw from a course, contact your financial aid counselor - Cami Miller if your last name begins with A-F, Jackie Holcombe, if your last name begins with G-M or Wanda Marshall if your last name begins with N-Z.

Q. If I have to temporarily withdraw prior to the beginning of a class, whom do I contact to return the book?

A. You may return the unused book(s) to the Site Assistant or Student Services Coordinator at your learning center. The book(s) must be accompanied by a completed Book Return Form.

Q. Are study groups required for Saturday courses?

A. Most definitely.

Q. Is there a Dean's List for AGS students?

A. No. However, AGS students may qualify for graduation honors. Refer to your pre-enrollment counseling packet. There is a form called "Grade Report and Graduation Honors."

Q. If a student has a problem or concern regarding an instructor, whom should he/she contact?

A. Director of Faculty Services at 1-800-289-1292 ext 5334.

Q. How long does it take for grade reports to be mailed out?

A. Two weeks, on average. The instructor has one week to turn in the grades in following the last workshop of the course and the records office has one week to process these grades and mail them to students. If an instructor is late submitting the grades, the time frame would obviously be longer.

Q. Whom do I contact to re-enter the program?

A. You may contact the Student Services Coordinator in your area to secure the proper form or you may download the Request to Re-Enter form from the SWU web page.

Q. Should I have questions regarding CLEP or DANTES exams, whom should I contact?

A. Judy Black in Academic Records at 1-800-289-1292 ext. 5532.

Q. Should I have a question regarding a course that did not transfer into SWU, whom do I contact?

A. Donna Pittman (Central, Greenville, Greenwood, Spartanburg, and North Augusta) or Joni Addis (Columbia and Charleston) in Academic Records at 1-800-289-1292 exts. 5536 or 5537.

Q. Whom do I contact if I have questions regarding directed study PE registration or documentation?

A. Lisa Dilworth in Academic Records at 1-800-289-1292 ext. 5530.

Q. Should I have questions regarding taking a course at another college or university, whom do I contact?

A. Judy Black in Academic Records at 1-800-289-1292 ext. 5532.

Q. If I plan to take a Saturday course, when do I need to turn my registration form in and to whom?

A. You must fax (fax # 864-639-4050) your registration form to the Accounting Service Office four weeks prior to the class start date.

Q. What is the SWU Academic Records fax number?

A. 1-864-644-5971.

Q. What is the SWU Accounting fax number?

A. 1-864-639-4050.

Q. What is the SWU Student Services fax number?

A. 1-864-644-5959.

Q. Must each student receive pre-enrollment counseling before starting the program?

A. Yes.

Q. When is transfer counseling scheduled for Step I students?

A. This is scheduled during the reading break of HIST 2203 - America in a Changing World.

Q. When is core counseling scheduled for bachelor's core students?

A. All core counseling will be conducted twice, first during MGMT 3553 (Marketing for Managers) and secondly, during MGMT 4203 (International Business) in the BSBA core; MGMT 3353 (Organizational Behavior) first, then in MGMT 4363 (Labor Relations) in the BSM core.

Q. Are any BSBA/BSM core credits allowed to be transferred into the core sequence other than ECON 2013?

A. No.

Q. Is my meeting night subject to change when transferring from Step I to Step II or Step I to the Core (BSM/BSBA), or Step II to the Core (BSBA/BSM)?

A. Yes.

Q. Are my study group team meeting location and meeting hours subject to change when transferring to a new core sequence?

A. Yes.

Q. If I started the program with a group of 16 to 22 students, will I matriculate and graduate with that same group?

A. No.

Q. Should I have an academic counseling question, who should I contact?

A. Your Student Services Coordinator. Columbia 1-803-744-7982 / Charleston 1-843-266-7981ext. 102 / Greenville 1-864-672-7981 ext. 102 / North Augusta 1-803-426-7981ext. 2 / Central 1-864-644-5330.

Q. How many semester credits hours is the Step I program?

A. 29 semester credits.

Q. How many semester credit hours is the Step II program?

A. 34 semester credits.

Q. How many semester credit hours is the Core (BSM/BSBA/) program?

A. 49 semester credits.

Q. How many members should a study group consist of?

A. Three to five. No exceptions.

Q. How many hours do study groups meet per week?

A. Four hours.

Q. Must my study group location be approved, and if so, by whom?

A. Yes, by the instructor.