Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Hello all Bates students,

Welcome to the Fall 2024 semester! 

I hope you all had a good break, and I hope you are excited to start a new Fall semester at Bates. I write with some important information that will assist you in getting situated and started in this new semester.

I recognize that this is a long email. It is meant to provide you with a strong foundation for the academic year. Please read it.

All of the information and links in this communication are available at the Student Advising Portal. This email highlights important information and provides links as well. I highly encourage you to explore the Student Advising Portal to utilize its various resources.

To access the Student Advising Portal, you can click on the link above or go to www.bates.edu; then, click on the 3 horizontal lines next to the “Menu” at the upper left corner; then click on “Academics.” And, finally click on the big red button labeled “Student Advising Portal.”  Alternatively, you can go to the Quad, scroll down to “Useful Links,” and click on the Student Advising Portal.

Your Course Schedule for Fall 2024

The Add/Drop period opens today, Tuesday, September 3, at 7 AM. You can adjust your course schedule over the next couple of weeks as you explore what classes work best for your academic exploration and meet your remaining requirements. To review the general education requirements, you can go review this summary.

The deadlines for the last day to add a class and the last day to drop a class can be found at the Important Dates and Deadlines Calendar at the Student Advising Portal. Here are the basics:

• Last day to add a class without permission of instructor (unless the instructor already requires permission): Tuesday, September 10, 2024 (after this date, you will need permission of instructor)
• Last day to add a class (with instructor permission): Tuesday, September 17, 2024
• Last day to select pass/fail as a grading option for a Fall 2024 course: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
• Last day to drop a class: Friday, October 25, 2024
• Last day to select letter grade (A through F) as a grading option for a Fall 2024 course: Friday, October 25, 2024

Minimum Academic Progress and Standard Academic Progress Requirements

Standard academic progress is 4.0 credits per semester. Minimum academic progress is 3.0 credits per semester. Students may not take fewer than 3.0 credits per semester. Students are permitted to take up to 5.5 credits per semester. Taking more than 5.5 credits requires permission from the Academic Standing Committee.

Off-Campus Study from Bates and Returning to Bates after Off-Campus Study

If you are considering off-campus study, please be sure to be in touch with the Center for Global Education to learn how to set up your Global Bobcats Portal. If you are a current sophomore and thinking about off-campus study for Fall 2025 or Winter 2026, you should connect with Global Education during this current semester. You can get started at this webpage and then make an appointment on BatesReach with Associate Dean and Director of Global Education Darren Gallant or Global Education Advisor Jennifer Hyde to get more information.

If you are a current sophomore intending to study off-campus at any point next year (2025-26), you must declare your major no later than February 1, 2025. Full information on the Global Education exploration process can be found here. More information on declaring your major is below under the Class of 2026 section.

If you are now returning from a semester or a year abroad, please be aware that the credit transfer from your experience away from Bates is NOT automatic. There are various steps you must take, and they are outlined in 3 places (all places have the exact same information): (1) the Global Bobcats Portal, (2) the Center for Global Education website (mouse over “Off Campus Study,” then “Welcome Back”, then click on “Applying Credit at Bates” or simply click here, or (3) the Student Advising Portal (under General Academic Resources (scroll down to Global Education).

To apply general credit toward your Bates degree, i.e., 4 credits, you must: 1) complete the Bates Off-Campus Study Evaluation. The evaluation is very important to the college and to future Bates students and is available online at  Garnet Gateway (go to the Evaluation Menu), and 2) you should ensure that the Center for Global Education receives an official transcript from your program or university directly. This second part usually happens automatically.

To apply credit to your major, you should complete this form and review it with the chair of your major field of study. To apply credit to your minor, you should complete this form and review it with the chair of that field of study. To apply credit to your GEC, you should complete this form and review it with the GEC coordinator. Information on GEC coordinators can be found at the Bates Catalog here.

Class of 2025 (Seniors) – Please read this section and take any needed action

If you are a senior, please review your Degree Audit to ensure all of your degree requirements are either already fulfilled or that you can work with your academic advisor to ensure completion by the Winter 2025 semester. Your Degree Audit is accessible via Garnet Gateway. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to www.bates.edu/g or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Class of 2026 (Juniors) – Please read this section and taken any needed action

Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major + 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to www.bates.edu/g or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this semester or next.

Class of 2027 (Sophomores) – Please read this section and take any needed action

If you are a sophomore, please remember that you must declare your Major Plus 1 by March 1, 2025. If you are intending to study abroad during 2025-26, you must declare at least your Major by February 1, 2025 to meet study abroad deadlines. 

All students must have 1 major at Bates. The “+ 1” can be fulfilled either by a second major, a minor, or a General Education Concentration (GEC). GECs are course clusters that are often transdisciplinary. GECs require 4 courses or 4 credits (depending on the GEC). A full list of GECs is in the Bates Catalog.

Declaring the major or a minor is a multi-step process that starts with you indicating an intention to declare a major on Garnet Gateway (simply click on the link labeled “Declaring Majors, Minors, and General Education Concentrations”). The declaration process usually involves meeting with faculty in your major or minor field of study before the declaration is finalized, and this can take a couple of weeks. Please factor that into your scheduling and deadlines. For example, if you need to be fully declared by February 1, 2025, you should register your intention to declare on Garnet Gateway no later than January 15, 2025.

Unlike majors and minors, GECs are self-administered by the students. Once declared on Garnet Gateway, students do not need to meet with anyone to finalize their GEC declaration. Each GEC does have a coordinator and questions can be addressed to the GEC coordinator.

Please review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing all degree requirements: 5 MOIs, 3 Ws, and Major Plus 1. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to www.bates.edu/g or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Please note that it is recommended that all students complete their MOI requirements before the end of their sophomore year, so if you have any MOIs left to complete, please consider taking courses that are tagged with MOIs either this Fall semester or next Winter semester.

Please reach out to your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor for additional guidance.

Class of 2028 (First-Years) – Please read this section and take any needed action

Welcome to your first semester at Bates! You should have met with your FYS instructor, who is also your pre-major academic advisor, during the first meeting of your First-Year Seminar on Friday, August 30, 2024. It is recommended that all students complete their MOIs before the end of their sophomore year. Please be sure to review your Degree Audit to ensure that you are on track with completing degree requirements. You can get to Garnet Gateway by going to www.bates.edu/g or simply going to the Garnet Gateway link at the Student Advising Portal.

Continue to work with your pre-major academic advisor/FYS instructor to explore the curriculum to identify possible majors, minors, and/or GECs that you are interested in pursuing.

Planning for Summer 2025

Please consider working with the Center of Purposeful Work to identify summer internship and job opportunities. Please consider working with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships to identify summer opportunities (as well as opportunities during the Winter 2023 semester).

Resources for Research Experiences

The Dean of Faculty office as well as other offices and centers around campus offer a range of resources to support student-led research. This page provides details on these resources. You can also find a full list of student grant and fellow opportunities that are administered by Bates here.

Please be in touch with your academic advisor should you have questions. Thank you.

Steve Engel
Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Politics