Policy 6-101: Undergraduate Study and Degrees

Purpose and Scope
Definitions
Policy
Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources
References
Contacts
History

Purpose and Scope‌
1. Purpose. [reserved]
2. Scope. [reserved]
‌Definitions‌

The following definitions apply for the limited purposes of this policy and any associated regulations.
1. “Catalog Year” means the set of requirements in place at the beginning of fall semester and running through the end of the following summer semester.
2. “Portfolio-based Assessment of Prior Learning” includes any credit awarded by the appropriate faculty for evidence of prior content mastery not based on a Special Examination.
3. “Special Examination” means nationally recognized examinations; College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams, military credit, and University of Utah administered course-specific challenge exams and language exams .
‌Policy‌
1. ‌Academic Advising Center‌
  1. Academic Advising Center is an administrative unit with responsibility for increasing student retention and timely admission to the major. It assists new students in making a successful transition to the University and continuing students in building solid foundations for academic success. Specific activities that contribute to student retention and academic success are advising students in understanding and completing general education requirements and prerequisite course work for advancement to the major; assisting undecided and exploring students in researching fields of study and in selecting a major commensurate with their abilities and interests; advising students in academic difficulty; providing administrative functions of a college until the student is admitted to a major; and monitoring students' academic progress toward admission to the major. Academic Advising Center also has those responsibilities which are more fully described in Policy 6-100 and Policy 6-404, including responsibilities regarding any undergraduate student subject to academic probation, suspension or dismissal on grounds of academic non-performance, and any undergraduate student seeking academic renewal.
  2. All new undergraduate students admitted to the University will be enrolled in Academic Advising Center until they are accepted into a specific degree granting department or college of the University.
  3. Academic Advising Center has no dean or faculty and does not offer any degrees. It is the college of record for students prior to their admission to a degree-granting program. Once the student is admitted to the major, the student will be enrolled in that department or college.
  4. Academic Advising Center students are expected to be admitted to a major by the time they complete their sophomore year or their first year at the University, whichever comes later. A hold shall be placed on the registration of students who are still enrolled in the Academic Advising Center after these timelines. A registration hold imposed for this reason may be removed by an academic advisor in the Academic Advising Center after meeting with the student to assess the student's academic progress.
  5. Academic Advising Center is administered by the Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Undergraduate Studies. A report on the state of Academic Advising Center will be submitted annually to the Undergraduate Council and the Academic Senate.
  6. Academic Advising Center collaborates with advisors, faculty, advising coordinators, assistant deans, associate deans, and directors from across the campus to address the state of advising and the impact advising has on the undergraduate experience.
2. ‌Awarding of Diplomas and Degrees‌
  1. Undergraduate certificates, diplomas, and degrees may be earned and awarded at the conclusion of each semester, and regular commencement exercises may be held at the end of each semester. However, the regular annual commencement exercises shall occur at the conclusion of the spring semester.
3. ‌Semester Credit Hours & Residency Requirements‌
  1. To receive a baccalaureate degree from the University of Utah, a student must complete at least 122 semester credit hours and any additional hours required by a department or college. Of these hours, at least 40 credit hours must be upper division work (students pursuing a Bachelor of University Studies Degree must complete at least 56), and at least 30 semester credit hours must be earned from the University of Utah, regardless of the number of semester credit hours transferred or earned elsewhere. In addition, at least 20 of the last 30 semester credit hours earned toward the degree must be earned from the University of Utah. Additional credit hours or residency requirements may be established by a department or college, with the approval of the appropriate college council. Any requirements greater than 130 hours or any change to residency requirements will require approval of the Academic Senate.
4. ‌Academic Average Required‌
  1. Each candidate for a baccalaureate degree must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above for the total number of semester credit hours earned at the University of Utah. Accepted transfer work shall not be considered in computing the cumulative grade point average.
  2. A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 will constitute the university minimum standard for all course work required by the student's major department. A department or college, with the approval of the appropriate college council and the Undergraduate Council, may establish higher minimum grade criteria or other measures of aptitude or achievement to be used as relevant criteria for admission, retention or graduation in that department or college. The higher criteria must be reported to the Academic Senate.
5. ‌Catalog Rights‌
  1. Each candidate for a baccalaureate degree may elect to satisfy the set of requirements for Majors, minors, and certificate programs in effect at the time of declaration or any more recent set of requirements. However, in no case may a student select a set of requirements that was in effect more than four years prior to the catalog year in effect at the time of graduation.
  2. Colleges and departments can make changes to majors, minors, and certificates once a year. Such changes must be communicated to the Office of Curriculum Administration in the manner and by the date established by the University Curriculum Policy Review Board (See Policy 6-003). Such changes will take effect the following fall semester, which is the start of the new catalog year.
6. ‌General Education and Baccalaureate Degree Requirements for Graduation‌
  1. General Education Requirements. All students shall meet general education requirements as required by state law, approved by the Academic Senate, and administered by the Undergraduate Council. Current lists of the requirements, approved courses for meeting them, criteria for course selection, and Undergraduate Council members are available through the Office of Undergraduate Studies. Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R470 discusses state policies regarding general education.
  2. Transfer students who have completed courses in the institution of their previous registration that are deemed equivalent, by either statewide or institutional articulation agreements, to courses in the general education program of the University of Utah will have those courses applied to the requirements. Transfer students who enter the university from an institution in the Utah System of Higher Education will be considered to have completed the general education program of the University of Utah if they have completed the general education program of the college of their previous registration, as evidenced by proper documentation. Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R470-discusses state policies regarding general education.
  3. Baccalaureate Degree Requirements. All students graduating from the University of Utah shall meet the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements as approved by the Academic Senate and administered by the Undergraduate Council. Current lists of the requirements, approved courses for meeting them, criteria for course selection, and Undergraduate Council members are available through the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
7. ‌Majors and Minors‌
  1. Majors and Minors
    1. Majors and minors shall be designated as follows: department majors, interdisciplinary majors, teaching majors, composite teaching majors, department minors, interdisciplinary minors, and teaching minors. Upon selecting a major and/or minor students, must contact the appropriate departments for official declaration.
    2. A department major or teaching major is a course of study within a department or in a subject totaling not fewer than 30 semester credit hours. A teaching major is designed to prepare students to teach this subject at the secondary school level. The requirements shall rest with the department concerned. Minimum grade requirements are governed by Part III-D of this Policy.
    3. An interdisciplinary major or interdepartmental composite teaching major is a course of study within one or more departments and may be offered either (1) when the major department offers regularly fewer than 30 semester credit hours, or (2) when such a combination of courses is desirable. The requirements shall rest with the departments concerned. Minimum grade requirements are governed by Part III-D of this Policy.
    4. A department minor may be offered by a department with enough undergraduate courses in its curriculum from which to structure a list of courses totaling not less than 16 semester credit hours, including a minimum of 6 upper division semester credit hours.
    5. An interdisciplinary minor of not less than 16 semester credit hours, including a minimum of 6 upper division semester credit hours, may be offered by two or more cooperating departments. If the cooperating departments all belong to the same college, that college shall be responsible for the organization and administration of the interdisciplinary minor. If the cooperating departments belong to two or more colleges, the Academic Senate shall be responsible for approving a plan for the organization and administration of the interdisciplinary minor.
    6. A teaching minor is a course of study within a department or in a subject designed to prepare students to teach this subject at the secondary school level. This minor shall comprise not less than 18 semester credit hours. The requirements shall rest with the department concerned. In order to be awarded a teaching minor, a student must be awarded a teaching major or composite teaching major at the same time. Teaching majors, composite teaching majors, and teaching minors are governed by the University Advisory Council on Teacher Education, in conjunction with the Academic Senate.
    7. Any student seeking a baccalaureate degree may take one or more structured minors. A department minor must be outside a student's major department. An interdisciplinary minor may include a student's major
      
      department. Completion of a minor shall not be a requirement for graduation. A minor is an attribute of an undergraduate degree, not an entity by itself; therefore, it can only be received at the same time a student graduates with a major.
    8. Departments shall specify the requirements of all their majors and minors in the department section of the printed and online catalogs, and in the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS). The requirements a student completes are governed by the catalog rights policy as outlined in Part III- E of this Policy.
  2. Department and College Admission Criteria
    1. Admission to the University as an undergraduate student is not to be construed as assuring acceptance into a specific department or college of the University. Departments or colleges may establish special major admission criteria that differ from the existing general requirements for admission and/or maintenance of good standing for the University at large. All such criteria must be approved in advance by the appropriate college council and shall be reported to the Academic Senate for its information. All special criteria for admission as a major in any department or college shall be published in the General Catalog and in any applicable materials made available for student information.
8. ‌Application for Graduation‌
  1. Each candidate for a baccalaureate degree should consult a departmental advisor regarding the graduation application process and deadline dates. The Registrar’s Office is responsible for establishing graduation application requirements and deadlines. Filing an application for graduation by the deadline is required to ensure that a detailed analysis of each candidate’s transcript can be completed in time for graduation.
9. ‌Special Examinations and Portfolio-based Assessment of Prior Learning‌
  1. A maximum of 32 semester credit hours in areas other than foreign languages and in addition a maximum of 16 credit hours in foreign languages may be allowed by special examination toward a bachelor’s degree to a resident student, provided the student has shown proficiency in the subject to the satisfaction of the Credits and Admissions Committee, established in Policy 6-404, and the appropriate dean or chairperson of the department concerned.
  2. In addition, 12 semester credit hours, with a maximum of six upper division credit hours, may be allowed by Portfolio-based Assessment of Prior Learning toward a bachelor’s degree to a resident student, provided the student has shown proficiency in the subject to the satisfaction of the faculty and appropriate chairperson of the department concerned, under the general responsibility of the Curriculum Policy Review Board, established in Policy 6- 500, for credit for prior learning.
  3. Special examinations for college credit shall not be given in courses not offered by the University or in courses which the student has attended as an auditor or for which credit has been received.
10. ‌Comprehensive Examinations‌
  1. At the discretion of the department, each candidate for graduation with a baccalaureate degree may be required to pass a comprehensive examination (written, oral, or both) in the candidate’s field of concentration. This examination shall not excuse the candidate from any regular examination.
    
    Sections IV- VII are for user information and are not subject to the approval of the Academic Senate or the Board of Trustees. The Institutional Policy Committee, the Policy Owner, or the Policy Officer may update these sections at any time.
‌Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources‌
1. Policies/ Rules. [ reserved ]
2. Procedures, Guidelines, and Forms.
  1. Multiple Emphases Guidelines
3. Other Related Resources.
  1. Exception for the Department of Language and Literature
  2. Exemption for Art and Art History
‌References‌
1. Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R470: General Education, Common Course Numbering, Lower-Division Pre-Major Requirements, Transfer of Credits, and Credit by Examination.
2. Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R472: Credit for Prior Learning
3. Policy 6-003: College Councils and University Curriculum Policy Review Board
4. Policy 6-404: Undergraduate Admission
5. Policy 6-500: Curriculum Management and Administration
‌Contacts‌

The designated contact officials for this Regulation are:
1. Policy Owner(s) (primary contact person for questions and advice): Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
2. Policy Officer(s): Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
  
  See Rule 1-001 for information about the roles and authority of policy owners and policy officers.
‌History‌

Revision History.
1. Current version. Revision 14.
  1. Approved by -- Academic Senate April 29, 2024, and Board of Trustees May 14, 2024, with effective date of May 14, 2024.
  2. Legislative History
2. Previous versions.
  1. Revision 13. Effective Date October 8, 2013
  2. Revision 12. Effective Date. February 12, 2013
  3. Revision 11. Effective Date. July 1, 2011
  4. Revision 10. Effective Date. February 12, 2007.
  5. Revision 9. Effective Date. March 17, 1997
3. Renumbering
  1. Renumbered from PPM 9-8 and formerly as Faculty Regulations Chapter VIII Section 1 to 7A.

Revision 14. Effective date: May 14, 2024

View PDF