Friday's (Feb.7, 2003) editorial addressing academic standards errs on two counts: notification of the need to select a major and rate of credit hour completion.
- Students who have completed 60 credit hours but have not yet been accepted in a major will be alerted, will be asked to consult an advisor and will be encouraged to apply for a major. Not placing students on probation because they have completed 60 credit hours of courses but have not selected a major does not mean they will not be alerted to the need to select a major. Probation is not the only basis for advisors contacting students.
- The standards for progress toward a degree do not require students to complete 24 credit hours every year. The standards can be satisfied over five years if a student completes 24 credit hours each year. The standards require very low levels of total credit hours completed in the first two semesters of study - three after the first and nine after the second, but then - if a student is barely meeting them - require 12 more credits completed in each of the third, fourth and fifth semesters and 15 in each of the sixth and subsequent semesters, for a minimum of 120 credit hours completed after 10 semesters. Dividing 120 by five years gives the 24 credits per year average. Note also that a student who seeks to graduate after four years has to average 15 credits per semester, 30 per year.
These standards were adopted by the Faculty Senate at its meeting on Feb. 4, 2003, and are to be included in UB's 2003-04 Undergraduate Catalogue.
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Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
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