FORM H -- OTHER CATALOG CHANGES AND/OR ADDITIONS DEPT/SCHOOL: COLLEGE: FORM H-A: CHANGES WHICH ARE CURRICULAR IN NATURE Included in this section are: program enrollment management policies, admission requirements, exit requirements, minimum grade/grade point policies, and similar types of curriculum change. 1. Nature of Proposal: restatement, or new statement Enrollment management policy Admission and/or exit requirements Minimum grade/grade point policy _X_ Other (specify) Change to concurrent degree policy 2. Proposed statement or restatement as it is to appear in the Catalog (changes should appear in bold type). 1
The wording under J Two Concurrent Degrees Should be changed to the following: J. Two Concurrent Degrees (New words underlined) A student may pursue two different baccalaureate degrees concurrently. To earn two different degrees concurrently (e.g., B.A and B.S., B.A.and B.Music), a student must meet all the requirements for both degrees, including at least 36 weeks in residence and all general education requirements for each degree. Students cannot earn two different degrees from the a single department except when earning a BA- Teaching degree and a BS degree (e.g. B.A.- Chemistry Teaching/B.S. Biochemistry). The university does not grant two of the same degrees concurrently, including the Bachelor of Arts degree- Liberal Arts and the Bachelor of Arts degree-teaching program. A student may have a double major, one in Teaching and one in Liberal Arts, but the Teaching major must be declared as the first major and the B.A. Teaching degree will be the degree conferred, since the teaching degree has the higher grade index requirement. --- For reference, the current wording is this: The current wording is this: Two Concurrent Degrees (New words underlined) A student may pursue two different baccalaureate degrees concurrently. To receive two different degrees concurrently (i.e., B.A/B.S., B.A./B.Music), a student must meet all the requirements for both degrees, including at least 36 weeks in residence and earning not less than 32 hours of credit beyond the hours required for the degree the student chooses to declare as the first degree. For example: The Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree requires minimum of 120 hours and the Bachelor of Science degree requires minimum 126 hours to graduate. If declared first degree Bachelor of Liberal Arts/second degree Bachelor of Science, requires minimum 152 hours to graduate with these concurrent degrees (120 hours + 32 hours). If declared first degree Bachelor of Science/second degree Bachelor of Liberal Arts, requires minimum 158 hours to graduate with these concurrent degrees (126 hours + 32 hours). The university does not grant two of the same degrees concurrently, including the Bachelor of Arts degree- Liberal Arts and the Bachelor of Arts degree-teaching program. A student may have a double major, one in Teaching and one in Liberal Arts, but the Teaching major must be declared as the first major and the B.A. Teaching degree will be the degree conferred, since the teaching degree has the higher grade index requirement. 3. Explain how the policy will be implemented and controlled. The policy will be implemented by changes to the course catalog and controlled by the registrar s office. 4. Estimate the impact of this change on departmental enrollment in courses and programs. 2
This change should increase the opportunities for students to undertake two different concurrent degrees. For example, the removal of the 32 additional hours would facilitate students pursuing a BS degree in a science to consider also earning a BA degree in any other field, which could increase the overall number of majors in some programs as well as the enrollment in upper level classes. 5. Estimate the impact of this change on other departments or university services. See #4. 6. Justification. Currently, to earn two different concurrent degrees such as a BS and BA, students must complete an additional 32 credit hours beyond that mandated by either degree alone. These extra 32 credit hours discourages students from declaring a major even though they may complete the course work due to the additional credits that could prolong their graduation. In some programs, students could be required to take 20+ hours of university electives just to attain a second degree pursued concurrently. This method would treat two concurrent degrees more like double majors (e.g. B.A. in Biology and Geography or B.S. in Chemistry and Physics), requiring students to complete the requirements for each degree but only requiring the minimum 120 or 126 credit hours for the B.A. and B.S. respectively. This change would make the process more fair and less onerous and allow both degrees to be conferred as a matter of record. Currently a student can have the completion of the requirements for a second degree noted on the transcript; however, the second department cannot count this student as a graduate nor can a quick degree check confirm the second degree since it was never conferred. This change will also bring UNI s policy in line with that of the University of Iowa. For example, see: http://clas.uiowa.edu/students/handbook/earning-multiple-undergraduate-degrees 3
7. Consultation summary: check [ ] appropriate response(s). [Must consult with all those identified in #6 above]. NOTE: For any proposed change that would have an impact on teacher education, the Council on Teacher Education must be consulted (use form J-T Ed.). Any proposed change that has an impact on the Liberal Arts Core must be reviewed by the LACC (use Form J). For Department and LACC (Form J) consultations: Departments Contacted For Consultation No Impact Has Impact - No Objections Has Impact -Has Objections Requests Further Consultation Resolution Not Possible No Response For Library (Form J-L) Consultations: No further consultation needed No further immediate consultation needed Further Consultation needed. FORM H-A: CHANGES WHICH ARE CURRICULAR IN NATURE, continued For Teacher Ed. (Form J-T Ed.) Consultations: No further consultation needed Further consultation needed with Office of Teacher Ed. Further consultation needed with Elementary and/or Secondary Teacher Education Senate(s) After further consultation, it appears there can be no resolution of this concern at this time 8. Will this proposal increase the total budgetary requirements of the Department? No Yes a. If NO, explain why not. enter text here b. If YES, identify the total costs. (1) Staff $ (2) Additional facilities $ 4
(3) Equipment $ (4) Support personnel $ (5) Library requirements $ (6) Computer service $ (7) Educational technology $ (8) Other services (identify) $ TOTAL COSTS $ 5