Limitation on Attempting Gateway Courses

Many UTSA majors have designated certain courses as Gateway Courses. Gateway Courses are generally courses that are necessary for students to progress through their chosen major and are usually those courses which contain material in which a student needs a clear-cut comprehension in order to be successful in completing other course requirements for the major. That is, Gateway Courses often determine whether a student is a suitable candidate to pursue the indicated major.  

In order to promote student success and to help ensure that students are choosing majors that are appropriate for their aptitudes and skills, a UTSA student may attempt a Gateway Course for their major at most twice. If the student does not successfully complete a Gateway course in two attempts, then the student is required to change their major to a different major. Successfully completing a Gateway Course means achieving a grade in the course required by the major. For instance, if the major requires that all of the courses required for the major must be completed with a grade of “C-” or above, then successful completion of a Gateway Course for that major means receiving a grade of “C-” or higher in the course. However, receiving a grade of “CR” through the “Challenging a UTSA Course” process or the “UTSA Competency Examination” process will be regarded as successfully completing a Gateway Course. For the purpose of this policy, dropping a course with a grade of “W” or taking an equivalent course at another institution of higher education counts as an attempt at taking the course. In extremely rare and extenuating circumstances as approved by the Associate Dean of the college a student may petition to attempt a gateway course a third time because of circumstances beyond the student's control that prevented the student from successfully completing the course on prior attempts. However, the petition must be approved prior to the third attempt.  A petition for an additional attempt at a Gateway Course may be approved only once.

A student may petition to attempt a gateway course a third time because of circumstances beyond the student’s control that prevented the student from successfully completing the course on prior attempts. The circumstances must have been severe, ongoing, and must have directly affected the student, such as but not limited to hospitalization of the student. In addition to a letter describing the circumstances, the student must also submit a DegreeWorks Degree Audit, an unofficial transcript from myUTSA showing all grades of courses attempted and documentation of the circumstances, such as a physician’s statement on letterhead or stationery, with the petition form. Students should consult their academic advisor for information on gateway appeals.

A student should consult the UTSA Undergraduate Catalog or contact their assigned academic advisor for a list of the Gateway Courses designated for the major.