Get Involved
Partnerships with local organizations provide service to the community and experiential learning opportunities for students. To learn more about teaching, learning, or partnering, contact Marilyn Moedinger, Practice Dept.
Welcome to Gateway!
Here you'll find policies, resources, and information for all things Gateway. If you'd like more information on Gateway in general, please visit our main page, or our FAQ page.
Attendance Policy
Assessment
Code of Conduct
Eligibility for Participation in Gateway Projects
Faculty
Federal Work Study for Gateway Projects
Final Submission Requirements and Deliverables
Forms
FTP Access
Laptops/Projectors
Leave of Absence Policy
Leaving a Gateway Project
Licensure and Gateway
Printing
Teaching Assistants
Timesheets
Reporting Hours
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend all project meetings. Practice faculty may lower the number of hours a student will receive for his/her participation if the student has more than one unexcused absence from a project meeting. An unexcused absence is defined as an absence in which the student has not notified faculty at least 48 hours in advance and has not given faculty a reasonable explanation for the absence. It is at the discretion of faculty to determine whether or not the absence is excused. Per BAC policy, work and academic-related obligations and/or deadlines are not considered appropriate excuses for absence from class. Students are expected to arrange both their Practice and Academic schedules so that neither compromises the other. If a student has more than two unexcused absences over the course of the project, they may be dismissed from the project. Students will be required to meet with a member of the Practice Department to discuss the specific situation and the consequences.
If a student's absences or poor performance on the project are jeopardizing the success of the project and the ability of the other students to complete the project on-schedule, it is the responsibility of faculty to notify the Practice Department so that a meeting can be arranged between the student and the department.
All students who register for a Gateway project commit to working on the project for a minimum of 12-15 hours per week, unless prior arrangements have been made with their faculty supervisor. Students may work more than 20 hours a week with the understanding that their academic coursework should not be compromised. Students should discuss their schedule and any time management concerns with their Academic Advisor and with their faculty supervisor.
Assessment
Monitoring and facilitating student learning is one of the most important goals of Gateway projects. The Student Learning Contract and Skill Assessment documents should be used to help students and faculty determine learning outcomes and skills that may be acquired over the course of the project. Faculty should be clear about learning goals at the outset of the project and have an ongoing conversation with their students about their learning goals. Over the course of the project, students will participate in a minimum of two evaluations, outlined in their project schedule/syllabus, to occur near the middle of the project and at the end of the project.
Assessments are based on the Gateway Projects Rubric, found here. The Rubric addresses five categories:
- Professional Development
- Communication
- Technical Skill Development and Application
- Student Learning
- Overall Project Performance
The Rubric should be used as a guide by both the student and the instructor to set goals for the semester, and to assess progress over the semester. The rubric is not a "score" or "grade," but a tool to help students and instructors to reflect on students' progress.
Mid-Project Evaluation
The mid-project evaluation gives faculty and students the opportunity to discuss the student's work to-date and helps them focus on the student's development and areas of improvement for the remainder of the project.
Students should prepare and bring the following to their meeting:
- Work completed for project (presented according to faculty requirements)
- Timesheets and/or documentation of hours worked on the project
- Completed Self Evaluation Form
- Students should come prepared to talk reflectively about what they have learned from their work on the project to-date and their goals for the remainder of the project
This mid-project evaluation serves as the beginning of the conversation that will help faculty identify areas of challenge and opportunity with each student. Faculty should notify the Director of Gateway of any students with specific concerns or problem areas.
End-of-Project Evaluation
The end-of-project evaluation provides faculty and students with the opportunity to discuss the student's overall performance and progress on the project. This meeting also allows the faculty and student to have a conversation about the number of Practice hours the student will receive for the project.
Students should prepare and bring the following to their meeting:
- Work completed for project (presented according to faculty requirements)
- All timesheets and/or documentation of hours worked for entire project
- Completed Self Evaluation FormPractice Report
- Students should come prepared to talk reflectively about what they have learned
During this meeting, faculty and students will discuss the overall performance and progress of the student and together will agree upon the number of hours the student will receive for the project.
Code of Conduct
Gateway requires that students, faculty, clients, and other participants all work together to create a professional and educational environment. This can only occur when all stakeholders take an active role in respecting the integrity of everyone involved.
Examples of inappropriate behavior which violate the Gateway Code of Conduct include but are not limited to:
- Failure to attend or arrive on time to team and/or client meetings
- Failure to complete work in a timely and appropriate manner
- Disruptive and/or disrespectful behavior during meetings and in communication with team members, clients, and faculty
- Failure to maintain a professional and respectful attitude
- Any violation of the BAC Campus Compact
Probation
The first time a student exhibits any behavior that is in violation of the Gateway Code of Conduct, he/she will receive a verbal warning from their faculty supervisor. If a second violation occurs, faculty should notify the Director of Gateway. The student will then be required to attend a meeting with Practice staff as well as with their faculty supervisor. If there is a third violation, the student will attend another meeting with Practice staff and their faculty supervisor and/or may be asked to leave the project, depending upon the severity of the violation.
Any behavior that negatively impacts the project and those involved in the project may be considered grounds for the student to be dismissed immediately from the project and/or may prevent the student from being able to participate in Gateway at a future date.
Eligibility
A number of factors impact a student's eligibility for Gateway.
Leave of Absence: If you are on leave of absence from the BAC, you may still be eligible to participate in a Gateway project. You must set up a meeting with the Director of Practice to determine if you're eligible, before applying for a Gateway project.
Academic Standing: If you are not in good academic standing, have been advised by Education Review Board procedings that you need to focus on academics, are failing studio, are not maintaining an adequate GPA, or are on academic probation, you may not be eligible for participation in Gateway. Decisions about your eligibility in relationship to your academic standing are made between the Director of Gateway and the Dean of Students, Advising, and Head of School.
Number of Semesters in Gateway: Each student is limited to three semesters of participation in Gateway. This is to get you involved in other, design-related work in a firm environment, and also allow the maximum number of students at the BAC to participate in Gateway. It is not mathematically possible, nor is it permissable, to earn all of your Practice hours through Gateway projects.
Continuation in multi-semester project: Some projects last for more than one semester; generally students may continue into the next semester without reapplying to the program, as long as they are in good academic standing, have not met the maximum number of Gateway projects allowed, and have completed and submitted the required paperwork [including a signature from their instructor].
Experience level: Students of all skill levels and experience are encouraged to apply to Gateway, however, generally, first semester undergraduate students are not accepted into the program - it helps for new students to get acclimated and acquainted with the BAC and design culture before diving into a Gateway.
Faculty
Please see our Practice Faculty page for more information.
Federal Work Study for Gateway Projects
Qualified BAC students working on Community Service Projects and who receive Federal Work Study (FWS) awards for the semester or the academic school year are eligible to receive payment for their work. Eligibility for FWS is determined by the Financial Aid Office based strictly upon financial need. Students are typically notified of their FWS award within the first 3-4 weeks of the semester (after the Add/Drop Deadline). The Practice Department notifies any students who are granted FWS awards and who are involved in Community Service Projects of their award and of the paperwork they need to complete in order to receive their FWS funds. Students who receive FWS awards and who are interested in but not currently involved in projects are also encouraged to contact the Practice Department.
Most students are compensated $10/hour for their work on Gateway Projects, although in certain circumstance students who have a higher skill level or who take on a higher level of responsibility may receive a higher hourly rate. This should be discussed with the Practice Department and faculty supervisor prior to beginning the project. Students are responsible for tracking their FWS award to ensure they do not run out of funds prior to the end of the project, semester, or school year (depending upon their plan for the use of the funds).
Students receiving FWS funds are paid through the biweekly BAC payroll, which is administered by BAC Staff. It is the responsibility of the student to track his or her hours, complete a Federal Work Study timesheet, have it signed by the Gateway faculty supervisor, and submit it to the Practice Department by the established deadline each payroll period. Students who are reporting zero hours for the week must still notify the Practice Department and submit a timesheet by the established deadline.
Faculty will be expected to sign off on Federal Work Study timesheets for any students they are supervising who are receiving FWS funds for their work on the project. Not all students receive FWS funds, but those who do are responsible for making sure their timesheets are submitted according to established payroll deadlines.
Please note that the reporting of false hours to the Federal Work Study Program is a federal offense, punishable by heavy fines and jail time. The submission of false hours will result in the immediate termination of a student's ability to participate in the Federal Work Study Program. Additional disciplinary actions will also be considered from the Boston Architectural College and the Practice Department.
The Practice Department has a 3 Strikes Policy which states that any student who submits a timesheet after the established deadline three times over the course of the semester can no longer earn payment for their work on a Gateway Project. Students who submit one late timesheet will receive a written warning, students who submit a second late timesheet will receive a second warning and will be instructed to meet with the Head of Practice, and students who submit a late timesheet three times will no longer be eligible to receive payment for their work on a Gateway project. This 3 Strikes Policy has been established to meet federal requirements for the FWS Program and must be strictly enforced so that the BAC does not lose its entire FWS program.
Students who have additional questions about FWS and their eligibility for a FWS award should contact the Financial Aid office directly.
Final Submission Requirements + Deliverables
All deliverables must be submitted to the Practice Department and to the Community Client at the end of the semester before Practice hours are approved for anyone on the Gateway team. Just like in professional design practice, if one member of the team doesn't participate or pull their weight, the whole team is held responsible.
Project-specific deliverables can be found on your Gateway project syllabus. In every Gateway Project, clients sign a contract with the Practice Department, which outlines what they expect to receive at the end of the semester. Each project must provide these deliverables, just as if students were working in a firm providing services to clients. This is a real contract, with real expectations, real deliverables, and a real client.
Final deliverables must be:
1. Posted to Gateway FTP site, or sent via www.wetransfer.com to the Director of Gateway, or brought on CD to the Director of Gateway, by the deadline indicated in your project-specific syllabus.
2. Must be sent via www.wetransfer.com or brought on CD to the Community Client representative, by the deadline indicated in your project-specific syllabus.. The Gateway team must alert their instructor and Director of Gateway when those files are sent to the Community Client.
3. Must be in PDF format.
4. Must include an InDesign packaged file of the PDF.
5. Must include images of students working during the semester, site visits, client meetings/presentations, etc.
Any submission that does not follow these requirements will not be eligible to recieve Practice hours.
Forms
See our Forms and Publications page for all Gateway and Practice related forms.
FTP Access
The Gateway FTP Site gives faculty and students a communal space for depositing and storing digital work. Faculty and students are able to access the site using their BAC Outlook accounts (described above). Each Gateway project will have a project folder on the FTP Site where students and faculty can upload and download files related to their project. At the beginning of the project, each team will be assigned a username and password for accessing the FTP.
Onsite Access:
If you are logged onto the BAC network, go to the "Start" menu, then go to "Run," and enter the following directory: \\exeter\GatewayFTP.
Offsite Access:
If you are not logged onto the BAC network, please follow these directions.
1. Download an FTP client. We recommend using Filezilla, which is free and easy-to-use. Download FileZilla Client.
2. Open FileZilla. Click Edit and select Settings... from the drop-down menu.
3. Select FTP [located immediately under "Connection"], and select Active as the option under Transfer Mode [it is set to Passive by default].
4. Enter the following URL next to Host: ftp://gatewayftp.the-bac.edu.
5. Enter your group Username and Password [given to you by your instructor]. Leave the "Port" field can be left blank.
6. Click on Quickconnect.
7. Navigate to to your project folder using the navigation pane on the right side of FileZilla.
8. You're in!
If you have questions about accessing or using the FTP Site, please contact practice@the-bac.edu.
Laptops/Projectors
Many BAC classrooms are equipped with projectors already. If you need a laptop and/or projector for class, or a presentation, you can check one out from IT. Please email IT for further assistance.
Leave of Absence Policy
If you are on leave of absence from the BAC, you may still be eligible to participate in a Gateway project. You must set up a meeting with the Director of Practice to determine if you're eligible, before applying for a Gateway project.
Leaving a Gateway Project
If a student must leave a Gateway Project because they have secured work in a design field, or their work situation has changed, they must do the following:
- Give two weeks' notice, in writing, to team, instructor, and Director of Gateway
- Turn over all communal work and files to team and instructor, whether the work is complete or incomplete
- Conduct an exit interview with Director of Gateway
- Agree with Instructor on how many hours will be approved for the student's work on the project. Any disputes over the number of hours will be settled by the Head of Practice.
Failure to complete these steps will result in student not receiving Practice hours for their work on the project. Students who leave a project mid-semester are welcome to reapply to Gateway again the next semester, though a student who leaves two Gateway projects mid-semester will not be allowed to apply for Gateway projects in the future.
Licensure and Gateway
At this time, students pursuing licensure through NCARB/IDP [architecture] and NCIDQ/IDEP [interior design] may be able to count the hours they work on their Gateway projects toward licensure. Please contact the Practice Department for more information.
Printing
The Practice Department is able to give each project a modest amount of money for printing. Students can access this money by printing from a computer logged in under their group username and password. Group usernames and passwords are distributed at the beginning of the semester. Students can add to this account by visiting the IT Help Desk on the 4th floor of 320 Newbury St.
Some clients require extensive printing, which the clients will provide funds for. This is arranged at the beginning of the project between the client and the Practice Department. Students should not assume that they have extra money for printing unless they are told by the Director of Gateway.
Teaching Assistants
Any student who is interested in working as a Teaching Assistant for a Gateway project is encouraged to contact the Practice Department for more information about opportunities that may be available.
Timesheets
Students are required to keep copies of their own timesheets to help them document the hours they spend on the project and accurately report the number of Practice hours worked on their Practice Report at the end of the project.Faculty or the Practice Department may ask to see a record of student hours at any time over the course of the project. A timesheet workbook is provided here, for students' use.
Students working on Gateway projects may be required to submit weekly timesheets to their Project Manager, Team Leader, or faculty supervisor (this will be established by each faculty supervisor at the start of the project). Failure to keep track of hours and follow faculty and project-specific requirements for tracking hours may result in students being denied credit for hours that are improperly reported.
Reporting Hours
All BAC students, regardless of employment status, must report their Practice hours and employment status twice each academic year, in compliance with the Practice reporting periods. The fall Practice reporting period begins the first week of July and continues through the second week of November, while the spring/summer Practice reporting period starts the third week of November and continues through the last week of June. Please note that the specific dates for each reporting period are found at the top of both the Practice Report and Practice Registration forms.
At the end of each Practice reporting period, students submit both a Practice Registration form and Practice Report using the online reporting system. The Practice Registration form allows students to inform us of their anticipated employment for the upcoming reporting period, while the Practice Report provides students the opportunity to register the actual hours worked from the previous reporting period. The submittal of these forms also provides clearance for academic class registration.
Students may not submit their Practice Report to the Practice Department prior to the final day of the Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter reporting period. For specific dates, please contact the Practice Department.
For Gateway projects, students must follow these procedures, and have their instructor sign off on their hours. Students must keep accurate records of their time using timesheets, and be prepared to show this evidence to their instructor at least twice a year, and at the instructor's request.
Gateway students may report up to 600 hours a semester for their Gateway projects; this averages to about 40 hours/week. Students who report more than 20 hours per week on their Gateway project must present compelling evidence of having put that many hours into the project, and not be compromising their other academic work.
Signing off on hours are at the discretion of the instructor. In the event of a conflict between a student and the instructor, the Head of Practice or Director of Gateway will make a final determination. Final decisions regarding the awarding of Practice hours are at the discretion of the Head of Practice.
PLEASE NOTE: Students will not be approved for their Practice hours until the following are complete:
1. Completed hours reporting form, signed off by instructor, and handed in to Practice.
2. All materials submitted [for entire team] to Practice and Community Client, via required submission process.
No team member is approved for practice hours until work from ENTIRE TEAM is submitted. See Final Submission Requirements, above, for information on how to properly make final submission.