ANNE ARUNDEL COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND
ST. MARY'S COLLEGE
OF MARYLAND
GUARANTEED ADMISSIONS PROGRAM
AGREEMENT

PREFACE

St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) welcomes students from Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) into our community of learners. The Guaranteed Admission Program is designed to facilitate AACC students' ease of transfer to SMCM. This Agreement supersedes any other general admissions agreement signed between AACC and SMCM.

Under this Agreement, AACC students graduating with any AACC Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), Associates of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T), Associates of Science in Engineering (A.S.E.) or Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree program will be eligible for the Guaranteed Admissions Program.

Students who meet the criteria below are guaranteed admission to SMCM. If at any point in time the number of AACC Guaranteed Admission Program students exceeds the number of students that SMCM is able to accommodate, AACC will be notified in writing and all parties will conduct a full review of the terms of this agreement within 60 days of the written notice. Any Guaranteed Admission Program students who are unable to matriculate during their desired semester due to space limitations, will be notified and offered admission to SMCM the subsequent semester.

Students must:

1. Submit the SMCM Application for Admission by the published priority deadline prior to the start of the semester he/she wishes to transfer to St. Mary's College of Maryland.
2. Satisfy all other SMCM admissions requirements, which are available on the College website at http://www.smcm.edu or by contacting an admissions counselor at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
3. Graduate from AACC with a minimum cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0.
4. Recognize that grades of "D" or better will transfer.
5. Understand that there is no residential living requirement for incoming students, though transfer students may request on-campus housing if they wish.
6. Understand that SMCM will accept up to 70 transferable credits.
7. Understand that students with at least 56 transferable credits will enter with Junior-level status.
8. Understand that if they were previously enrolled at SMCM, they are not eligible for this agreement.
9. Submit AACC transcripts along with transcripts from any other colleges they may have attended prior to attending CSM.

To benefit from the Guaranteed Admissions Program, students must enroll in SMCM within one year of graduating from AACC without attending another institution of higher education.

SMCM welcomes International Students to apply to the College. Additional admission materials will include the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and WES transcript evaluations if applicable. Please check the College website at http://www.smcm.edu for details.

The Guaranteed Admission Program is also available for part-time students.

Students who meet the criteria are guaranteed admission to SMCM. If at any point in time the number of AACC Guaranteed Admission Program students exceeds the number of students that SMCM is able to accommodate, AACC will be notified in writing and all parties will conduct a full review of the terms of this agreement within 60 days of the written notice. Any Guaranteed Admission Program students who are unable to matriculate during their desired semester due to space limitations, will be notified and offered admission to SMCM the following semester.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR THIS AGREEMENT

Students interested in the Guaranteed Admission Program are encouraged to consult with a Transfer Advisor at AACC and the Transfer Coordinator at SMCM to assist in choosing courses which will meet the requirements in the declared major. Transcripts will be evaluated on a preliminary basis by a representative from the SMCM Admissions Office prior to application upon request.

OBLIGATIONS OF ST. MARY'S COLLEGE OF MARYLAND

To facilitate the transfer of AACC graduates to SMCM in accordance with the foregoing, SMCM agrees to the following:

1. To attend regularly scheduled "transfer" programs at AACC.
2. To invite AACC students to information/advising meetings with SMCM faculty and staff on a regular basis at both AACC and SMCM in order to facilitate smooth curricular and co-curricular integration to St. Mary's College of Maryland.
3. Those students entering fulltime study at SMCM are eligible to be awarded academic scholarships and/or grants as any other student entering the College within the same semester. In addition, SMCM will give an extra $500 to students that participate in the Guaranteed Admissions Program.
4. Scholarships are renewable on an annual basis and sh1dents must meet with a Financial Aid advisor from SMCM for additional information. SMCM offers a variety of scholarships and grant awards. These opportunities include merit-based and need-based aid and grants. Sources of these awards include SMCM, private donors, as well as federal and state programs.
5. To ensure that incoming students will be provided with SMCM financial aid information and receive full consideration for SMCM financial aid, in addition to appropriate scholarships and grants listed above, upon matriculation at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
6. To ensure AACC graduates entering SMCM under the terms of this Agreement go through SMCM's normal transfer admissions process, including meeting all applicable SMCM requirements and deadlines pertaining to application for admission, orientation and registration, and payment of tuition and fees. They will abide by the policies and procedures, and any revisions thereof that apply to all SMCM students. Incoming matriculated students will have all the rights and privileges of other SMCM students.
7. To continue working with AACC on program-to-program curriculum articulation agreements that specify for AACC transfer students the AACC courses that satisfy major requirements required for degree completion at SMCM.

OBLIGATION OF ANNE ARUNDEL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

AACC agrees to publicize this agreement to prospective and current AACC students in its promotional literature, and make arrangements for SMCM recruiters and advisors to visit AACC.

JOINT OBLIGATIONS

1. To consult with each other through appropriate channels prior to implementing major changes in policy or curricula that directly affect students transferring under the terms of this Agreement, and keep each other informed of any changes of policy or curricula that affect those students. Both SMCM and AACC will review this Agreement on an annual basis and make any changes upon mutual agreement, as needed. Such changes will be effective when both AACC and SMCM sign the revised document.
2. Students are required to graduate from AACC with a minimum GPA of a 3.0. Courses with grades of "D" or better will be brought into SMCM as transfer credits. However, many majors require a minimum GPA of C or C- for courses that fulfill major requirements.
3. To collaborate in providing students with information and academic advising both from SMCM and AACC. SMCM will make available contact information for questions about St. Mary's College of Maryland's academic requirements, core curriculum requirements, degree requirements, and the process of transferring to SMCM.
4. To jointly agree to promote benefits of Guaranteed Admission transfer.
5. This Agreement may be updated (by means of addenda), upon mutual agreement by appropriate officials of the two institutions, to allow for additional curriculum articulation sheets accommodating course equivalencies for specific major(s)/minor(s)/certificate program(s). This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior understandings, memos, writings or agreements of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. Any wavier by a party of any of its rights or of the other party's obligations must be in writing.
6. To provide, when available, direct links between the SMCM and AACC websites when applicable.
7. For additional information regarding this articulation agreement please contact:
   Jeb Barber
   Transfer Coordinator
   240-895-5000
   jbbarber@smcm.edu
   www.smcm.edu

REVISIONS, RENEWAL AND TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT

The SMCM Vice President for Academic Affairs and the appropriate officers at AACC are responsible for identifying and communicating to each other changes in the policies or requirements of their respective institutions that affect this Agreement.

This Agreement will be in effect, as of the date of its signing, for students entering SMCM fall semester 2015. It will be reviewed on a regular basis by the appropriate parties at each institution and will be renewed automatically until superseded by new Agreements or formally terminated. Either institution may terminate this Agreement at any time by written notice at least one year in advance of the effect date of termination. Should this Agreement be terminated, it is understood that the termination will not apply to students already accepted to SMCM under the terms of this Agreement.

The willingness of both institutions to enter this Agreement in order to facilitate the transfer of students from AACC to St. Mary's College of Maryland, and to expand their opp01tunities for academic success there, is indicated by the following signatures. The undersigned representatives of the patties, Anne Arundel Community College and St. Mary's College of Maryland, have executed this Agreement on the dates indicated:

Anne Arundel Community College

Dr. Dawn Lindsay
President
9/8/15

Karen Hays, Ph.D.
Vice President for Learning
9/2/15

St. Mary's College of Maryland

Tuajuanda C. Jordan
President
8-3-15

Laraine Glidden, Ph.D.
Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs
8-14-15

Gary Sherman
Vice President for Enrollment Management
6-17-15