DRAFT. Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's (ABM) Program. University of West Florida Graduate School

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1 DRAFT Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's (ABM) Program University of West Florida Graduate School Authority: Dean of the Graduate School History: First Issued: Summer 2010 Additional References: Graduate Administrative Handbook Contact Info: Dean of the Graduate School (850) Introduction The Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's (ABM) program allows highperforming undergraduate students at the University of West Florida an opportunity to complete the requirements for both the Bachelor's and Master's degrees at an accelerated pace. Undergraduate students in this program may apply up to 12 graduate ( level) credit hours towards the completion of both the bachelor s and master s degree requirements. 2. Establishing an ABM Program 2.1 Process Prior to admission of any student into the ABM program, the program must be developed by the department/program and college and approved by the Graduate Council, the Dean of the Graduate School, Faculty Senate, and Provost, via the CCR process. The CCR should document how the undergraduate student learning outcomes (SLO s) from the regular bachelor s program will be met in the ABM program.

2 2.2 Sponsorship Typically, the same department or program that awards the Bachelor's degree must sponsor the Master's degree. This does not preclude the development of accelerated Bachelor s/master s degrees between departments in related disciplines. In such cases, the admission guidelines must specify that the department granting the graduate degree recommend admission of the student to the program. 3. Criteria for Admission to the ABM Program 3.1 Admission to the ABM program, which allows undergraduate students to begin taking approved graduate courses, is contingent on meeting the following eligibility requirements at the time of entering the ABM program: Students must have completed a minimum of seventy-five (75) credit hours in their undergraduate programs, including credits earned from advanced placement, prior to submitting the ABM Program Application Transfer students must have completed a minimum of 24 semester hours and at least two semesters at the University of West Florida Students must have a minimum overall undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.25/4.0 and a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 in their major at the University of West Florida Admission to an ABM program does not guarantee admission to the Graduate School. In addition, students must apply directly to the master s program. Students who are a part of the ABM program cannot be provisionally or conditionally admitted into the graduate program; they must be fully admitted into the graduate program.

3 4. Application to the ABM Program There are two separate application processes (see attached timeline): (a) submission/approval of ABM Program Application (allows undergraduate student to begin taking pre-approved graduate-level courses) and (b) submission/approval of graduate admission application (officially admits student into the master s program). 4.1 A prospective student who meets the eligibility requirements (see Criteria for Admission to an ABM Program) must schedule a meeting with his/her undergraduate advisor and graduate advisor to develop a degree plan for his/her Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. The degree plans must clearly indicate the courses (a maximum of 12 graduate semester hours at either the 5000 or 6000 level) that will be applied to both the Bachelor s and Master s degrees. Undergraduate courses cannot be used to meet Graduate degree requirements. 4.2 The prospective student must be given a copy of these guidelines. 4.3 The prospective student must submit an ABM Program Application. The application must be approved by the department chair(s) and a copy must be submitted to the Graduate School. 4.4 Before the student can persist to the Master s degree, during the semester prior to undergraduate graduation, students must submit the standard graduate application for admission to the Graduate School including: a graduate admission application (or express admission application) application processing fee (unless submitting the express admission application) an official copy of all non-uwf transcripts an acceptable graduate admission test score

4 4.4.5 departmental admission requirements (unless submitting the express admission application) 5. Requirements for Participation and Graduation 5.1 Students must complete the Bachelor's degree prior to entering the Master's program. Students in the ABM may not elect to by-pass the Bachelor's degree. 5.2 Students must meet all Graduate School and department regular admission requirements. 5.3 Students must receive a grade of B (3.0/4.0) or better in each of the graduate level courses that are being applied to both degrees. Courses with a grade of B- or below cannot be applied to the Master s degree. 5.4 No more than twelve (12) hours of graduate work ( level) may be counted towards the bachelor s degree. 5.5 Students in non-thesis programs must complete all Master s degree requirements and obtain the Master s degree within 18 months of completing the Bachelor s degree. Students in thesis or extended hour programs (36 s.h. or more) must complete all Master s degree requirements and obtain the Master s degree within 24 months of completing the Bachelor s degree. If the Master s program is not completed within this time limit, the student is no longer eligible to apply the credit hours towards both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the credit hours either towards completion of the bachelor s degree or to include in a future master s degree) and is automatically terminated from the ABM program. 6. Continuing Eligibility 6.1 It is the responsibility of the student to recognize his/her eligibility status.

5 6.2 If a student completes the Bachelor's degree requirements with an accumulated GPA of less than 3.25/4.0, then he/she is no longer eligible to apply the credit hours towards both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the credit hours either towards completion of the bachelor s degree or to include in a future master s degree) and is automatically terminated from the ABM program. Individual departments may have higher requirements and failure to meet these requirements will make a student ineligible to participate in the ABM program. 6.3 A student who does not follow the approved degree plan (see 4.1) may become ineligible to participate in the ABM program. 6.4 A student who is ineligible to continue participating in or withdraws from the ABM program cannot apply any courses towards both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the 12 graduate-level credit hours either towards completion of the bachelor s degree or to include in a future master s degree). 6.5 If a student becomes ineligible to participate in the ABM program, the graduate advisor must inform the student in writing of his/her ineligibility. A copy of this letter to the student must be sent to the Graduate School. 7. Withdrawal A student may at any time withdraw from an approved ABM program by informing the undergraduate and graduate advisor(s) in writing. A student who withdraws from the ABM program without finishing can not use any completed graduate courses in future Master s degrees at the University of West Florida if the courses are used towards the completion of the undergraduate degree.

6 8. Graduate Assistantship Eligibility Students who are enrolled in the ABM program are not eligible for graduate assistantship positions until they complete the bachelor s degree. 9. Exceptions There are two exceptions to our current UWF policies: Current Policy: Juniors and seniors may enroll for 5000-level courses that will be included in their undergraduate program if they indicate this designation at the time of registration. Except in unusual cases, undergraduate students are restricted to 5000-level courses. Exception: We allow students who are enrolled in the ABM program to enroll in 5000 or 6000-level courses Current Policy: Undergraduate students may register for up to 10 semester hours in graduate courses for graduate credit Exception: We allow students who are enrolled in the ABM program to complete 12 semester hours of graduate coursework.

7 Accelerated Bachelor s to Master s Timeline