Effective Date for Graduation Requirements

CONTENTS

University policy on major requirements
University policy on general education requirements
Arts and Sciences policy on general education requirements
    Students admitted to the University at any time before 1969
    All students admitted to the University in 1969 or later
    Students whose first enrollment in college was before autumn 1985
Diploma and transcript notations


University policy on major requirements		The following revision of Volume IV, Chapter 14, Section 2 of the University Handbook was approved April 8, 1994, as an administrative clarification to reflect the current policy of the University: E. Effective date for graduation requirements: If fewer than ten years have elapsed since a student's admission into her or his major program, she or he may choose to graduate under the major-program requirements in effect at the time of admission, or under any subsequent requirements. The choice shall be subject to approval of the student's departmental chairperson and dean, according to the procedures established in Section 23-48 of the Faculty Code. If a student wishes to obtain a degree after a lapse of more than ten years from the date of admission to the major program, she or he must meet the requirements in effect at the time of graduation unless permission to use earlier requirements is granted, either as a general policy or expressly for the individual student, by the academic unit (department, school, or college) whose requirements are in question. These provisions do not apply to the requirements for teaching certificates, which are prescribed by the College of Education at the time the certificate is to be granted. [S-B 60, March 1953; S-B 79, May 1958; both with Presidential approval; AI, May 1993] In other words, in most cases a student may graduate under the major requirements in effect when the student declared the major. If more than 10 years have passed since the student declared the major, the student usually must meet the current requirements of the major. Permission to use department requirements that are more than ten years old can be granted at the department level, without petition to the College, and the year of the requirements being used should be noted in the "Remarks" section of the graduation application.


University policy on general education requirements		University general education and basic skills requirements, established with an effective date of autumn 1994, are guidelines that must be (and are) met by the current requirements of all colleges of the University. A student has the right to follow current requirements or any set of requirements instituted since the student was admitted to a college, so long as no more than ten years have elapsed. The general education requirements for students who began their college careers before autumn 1985, when the first University-wide requirements were established, are determined by each college.


Arts and Sciences policy on general education requirements		The current policy of the College of Arts and Sciences regarding general education requirements is as follows: Students admitted to the University at any time before autumn 1969 may use the general-education requirements (including proficiency requirements) in effect at the time of their admission, or they may use any subsequent requirements. In almost all cases, the student will choose to use the current Areas of Knowledge requirement and the pre-1985 15-credit proficiency requirement. All students admitted to the University in autumn 1969 or later use the current 75-credit Areas of Knowledge requirement structure and course designations to complete their breadth (distribution) requirement (and may include up to 15 credits with their major-department prefix). Students who were formerly on the "white-list" or "green-list" requirements may count courses from their former list if taken before autumn 1994. See Previous General Education Requirements for more information. Students whose first enrollment in college was before autumn 1985 may use the 15-credit white/green-list proficiency requirement instead of the current English composition, foreign language, additional writing, and quantitative/symbolic reasoning requirements, without regard to time elapsed. See Previous General Education Requirements for more information.


Diploma and transcript notations		If a student has petitioned to be allowed to graduate under an older catalog, the diploma includes the line, "Degree awarded based upon [year] requirements" and the following comment is posted on the transcript: "Student allowed to graduate under [year] requirements."