JMU has a state-wide guaranteed admission agreement with the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and Richard Bland College. If you do not meet all of the requirements in the GAA, you may still apply to JMU, though your admission is not guaranteed.
Students participating in a JMU Guaranteed Admission Agreement (GAA) program are required to submit:
- An application for admission to JMU, and;
- A completed Letter of Intent to a JMU Transfer Advisor. The Letter of Intent outlines the requirements for guaranteed admission.
Download the Letter of Intent (PDF)
Admission to JMU is guaranteed to a student who completes an approved transferable associate degree, has a cumulative GPA of 3.0, and meets additional admission requirements as outlined in the agreement. Students must meet GAA criteria at every college attended. Guaranteed admission is to the university; students may be required to fulfill or complete additional admission or progression standards for particular majors. Fine arts and nursing majors have special admission requirements.
Degree exceptions: The following degrees do not qualify for the GAA or the General Education waiver:
- Associate of Science (A.S.) in General Studies from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA)
- Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A) from any VCCS
- Associate of Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) from any VCCS
Out-of-State Community Colleges with GAA Program
JMU has Guaranteed Admission Agreements with the following Community Colleges. Please review the Agreement and complete the Letter of Intent with your Community College counselor. Letters of Intent may be submitted at any point while you are a student at your Community College, but must be sent to JMU before the application deadline. If you do not meet all of the requirements in the GAA, you may still apply to JMU though your admission is not guaranteed.
Guaranteed admission to JMU does not guarantee admission to a specific major. Fine arts and nursing majors have special admission requirements.
Please note that while your admission to JMU will be guaranteed, the General Education program is not waived.
- Mercer County Community College - New Jersey
Copy of Agreement | Letter of Intent - Montgomery College - Maryland
Copy of Agreement | Letter of Intent
Pass+ grades & GAA Impact for Spring 2020 courses
JMU will still allow students to be considered under the GAA with Pass+ grades on their transcript. However, a few conditions will still apply:
- The cumulative GPA at the time of application still needs to be a 3.0. Since the Pass+ grade doesn't reflect in your GPA, this could impact your ability to participate.
- Students are reviewed for courses they have taken in four different core areas: language (English, speech communications, or foreign language), lab science, math (must be beyond the developmental/remedial level), and social sciences. Similar to how JMU treats students with credit awarded for AP/IB scores and CLEP credit, students will not be able to use Pass+ grades to complete one of those four areas entirely. At least one college-level transferable course must be completed in each of those areas with a grade.
- For students that were retaking courses during the Spring 2020 semester to replace a grade lower than a C from a previous semester, the Pass+ grade earned will still be considered as replacing the lower grade for a higher grade. While the Pass+ grade can be seen as a replaced grade, it does not factor into the GPA awarded by the Community College.
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