Graduation Requirements and University Core Curriculum

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• General Degree Requirements
• General Education
• General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree
  • System General Education Requirements (SGRs): 30 Credits  

    System Goal #1 System Goal #2

    System Goal #3 System Goal #4

    System Goal #5     System Goal #6

    System Goal #7

  • SDSU Institutional Graduation Requirements (IGRs): 5 Credits
    
    • IGR Goal #1 
    • IGR Goal #2
  • Globalization Requirement
  • Advanced Writing Requirement
• General Education Requirements for Associate Degree
  • System General Education Requirements (SGRs)
• Policies Applicable to System General Education Requirements (SGRs)
  • Guidelines for Baccalaureate and Associate Degrees
  • Additional Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degrees
  • Additional Guidelines for Associate Degrees
• Fraction of Credits for Transfer Students
• College and Major Field Requirements

Academic advisors assist with proper course selection to meet curricular requirements and help to avoid errors in scheduling. However, students have the final responsibility for satisfying the degree requirements for the curriculum chosen and for the university general education requirements.

The General Degree Requirements

1. Completion of at least 120 semester credit hours for the baccalaureate degree (see individual professional college requirements) and 60 semester credit hours for the associate degree. Remedial course credits are not counted as meeting degree requirements.
2. A Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.00. The CGPA is based on all courses attempted within the Regental system, transfer or at SDSU. If a course is repeated, F95 or later, only the last grade received will be included in the calculation of the CGPA. 
3. Institutional requirement. An institutional credit is a course offered by SDSU at any of its approved sites using any approved method of delivery. Courses that are a part of a formal collaborative agreement among Regental institutions are considered to be institutional. The minimum number of credit hours that must be earned from the institution granting the degree are 30 credits for the baccalaureate degree and 15 credits for the associate degree. The number of the last credit hours earned preceding completion of the degree that must be earned from the institution granting the degree are 15 of the last 30 credits for the baccalaureate degree and 8 of the last 15 credits for the associate degree. The minimum number of credit hours specified in the major or minor requirements that must be completed from the institution granting the degree is 50 percent. Credits earned by examination are not counted as resident credit unless an exception has been made because of special program features. A student must have 20 upper division level credits, 14 of which need to be at SDSU.
4. Completion of University general education requirements as described below.
5. Completion of all college and major field requirements.
6. Demonstration of satisfactory performance in writing, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning as evidenced by receiving a passing score on all sections of the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) exam or alternative assessment. This requirement must be met by both associate and baccalaureate degree-seeking students.
7. Demonstration of proficiency in Information Literacy (IL) by receiving a satisfactory on the system IL examination.
8. Degree seeking students may complete requirements for a minor at any Regental university that has been approved to grant that minor. This minor will be recorded on the transcript in conjunction with a degree/major at that university or a degree/ major at any other Regental university. A minor will only be recorded on the transcript in conjunction with a degree and major.

The required General Education Curriculum for all undergraduate students is further explained in the Graduation Requirements section of the Catalog. The System General Education Requirements (SGRs) are designed to achieve these seven goals.

System Goal #1: Written Communication 
Students will write effectively and responsibly and will understand and interpret the written expression of others.

System Goal #2: Oral Communication 
Students will communicate effectively and responsibly through listening and speaking.

System Goal #3: Social Sciences/Diversity 
Students will understand the organization, potential, and diversity of the human community through study of the social sciences.

System Goal #4: Humanities and Arts/Diversity 
Students will understand the diversity and complexity of the human experience through study of the arts and humanities.

System Goal #5: Mathematics 
Students will understand and apply fundamental mathematical processes and reasoning.

System Goal #6: Natural Sciences 
Students will understand the fundamental principles of the natural sciences and apply scientific methods of inquiry to investigate the natural world.

System Goal #7: Information Literacy 
Students will recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, organize, critically evaluate, and effectively use information from a variety of sources with intellectual integrity.

In addition to the System General Education Requirements, SDSU has Institutional Graduation Requirements (IGRs) designed to achieve two major goals.

IGR Goal #1: First Year Seminar 
Students will understand their emerging role and responsibilities as educated persons through a common intellectual experience.

IGR Goal #2: Cultural Awareness and Social and Environmental Responsibility 
Students will acquire knowledge about the world’s peoples - their cultures, arts, and environments - that prepares them for further study, deepens their understanding of the human condition, and strengthens their commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

NOTES:

• The course used to meet IGR Goal #2 must have a different prefix than the courses used to meet System Goals #3, 4, and 6.
• Other than for System General Education Goal #7, no given course may satisfy more than one of these requirements, unless the minimum number of credits is exceeded. Credits in excess of the minimum credits needed may be applied in another area.

Globalization:  Globalization is defined as a process of interaction and integration among different people, organizations, and governments that takes place outside of and above the level of national boundaries. The primary result of this process is the interdependence of capital, technology, information, and people across national borders. This interdependence of economic and cultural activities has implications for a variety of issues around the world, including, but not limited to, political systems, economic systems, the environment, agriculture, public health, health care, information technology, social networking, communications, transportation, education, governance, and prosperity. Through the process of globalization, people and organizations communicate, conduct business, and address challenges, across and irrespective of national borders.

Students will be able to identify global issues and how they impact their lives and discipline.

Advanced Writing:  Advanced writing courses are discipline based and require students to build upon concepts learned in courses addressing System General Education Goal #1. Students will refine their writing skills appropriate to the discipline. These courses will have a scholarly focus.

Students will build upon concepts learned in courses covering System General Education Goal #1 and refine their skills through research and writing in a discipline specific context.

(Effective for new degree-seeking students Fall 2005 and later)

1. System General Education Requirements: 30 credits
   Goal #1: Written Communication  (6 credits)
   Goal #2: Oral Communication  (3 credits)
   Goal #3: Social Sciences/Diversity  (6 credits)
   Goal #4: Humanities and Arts/Diversity  (6 credits)
   Goal #5: Mathematics  (3 credits)
   Goal #6: Natural Sciences  (6 credits)
   Goal #7: Information Literacy  (0 credits)
2. Institutional Graduation Requirements: 5 credits
   Goal #1: First Year Seminar  (2 credits)
   Goal #2: Cultural Awareness and Social and Environmental Responsibility  (3 credits)
3. Globalization Requirement 
   Each program area/major specifies how to meet the globalization goal and student learning outcomes.
4. Advanced Writing Requirement 
   Each program area/major specifies how to meet the additional writing requirement goal and student learning outcomes.

(These Requirements are common across the entire South Dakota Regental System.)

Written Communication

Students will write effectively and responsibly and will understand and interpret the written expression of others.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Write using standard American English, including correct punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure;
2. Write logically;
3. Write persuasively, with a variety of rhetorical strategies (e.g., expository, argumentative, descriptive);
4. Incorporate formal research and documentation into their writing, including research obtained through modern, technology-based research tools.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2, #3, and #4

Credit Hours: 6

Click here for courses meeting SGR #1 

Oral Communication

Students will communicate effectively and responsibly through listening and speaking.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Prepare and deliver speeches for a variety of audiences and settings;
2. Demonstrate speaking competencies including choice and use of topic, supporting materials, organizational pattern, language usage, presentational aids, and delivery;
3. Demonstrate listening competencies by summarizing, analyzing, and paraphrasing ideas, perspectives and emotional content.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2, and #3

Credit Hours: 3

Click here for courses meeting SGR #2 

Social Sciences/Diversity

Students will understand the organization, potential, and diversity of the human community through study of the social sciences.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Identify and explain basic concepts, terminology and theories of the selected social science disciplines from different spatial, temporal, cultural and/or institutional contexts;
2. Apply selected social science concepts and theories to contemporary issues;
3. Identify and explain the social or aesthetic values of different cultures.
   
   In addition, as a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of at least one of the following:
4. The origin and evolution of human institutions;
5. The allocation of human or natural resources within societies;
6. The impact of diverse philosophical, ethical or religious views.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2 and #3 At least one of the following: #4, #5, or #6

Credit Hours: 6 (in 2 disciplines)

Click here for courses meeting SGR #3 

Humanities and Arts/Diversity

Students will understand the diversity and complexity of the human experience through study of the arts and humanities.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the diversity of values, beliefs, and ideas embodied in the human experience;
2. Identify and explain basic concepts of the selected disciplines within the arts and humanities. In addition, as a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will be able to do at least one of the following:
3. Identify and explain the contributions of other cultures from the perspective of the selected disciplines within the arts and humanities;
4. Demonstrate creative and aesthetic understanding;
5. Explain and interpret formal and stylistic elements of the literary or fine arts;
6. Demonstrate foundational competency in reading, writing, and speaking a non-English language.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2
At least one of the following: #3, #4, #5, or #6

Credit Hours: 6 (in 2 disciplines or a sequence of foreign language courses)
_{Students must complete a course from another subject if they are using one from either ART or ARTH.}

Click here for courses meeting SGR #4 

Mathematics

Students will understand and apply fundamental mathematical processes and reasoning.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Use mathematical symbols and mathematical structure to model and solve real world problems;
2. Demonstrate appropriate communication skills related to mathematical terms and concepts;
3. Demonstrate the correct use of quantifiable measurements of
   real world situations.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2 and #3

Credit Hours: 3

Click here for courses meeting SGR #5 

NOTE: Student enrollment in the initial Mathematics course is determined by the Board of Regents placement policy (2:7.6).

Natural Sciences

Students will understand the fundamental principles of the natural sciences and apply scientific methods of inquiry to investigate the natural world.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Demonstrate the scientific method in a laboratory experience;
2. Gather and critically evaluate data using the scientific method;
3. Identify and explain the basic concepts, terminology and theories of the selected natural sciences;
4. Apply selected natural science concepts and theories to contemporary issues.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2, #3 and #4

Credit Hours: 6

Click here for courses meeting SGR #6 

Information Literacy

Students will recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, organize, critically evaluate, and effectively use information from a variety of sources with intellectual integrity.

Student Learning Outcomes: Students will:

1. Determine the extent of information needed;
2. Access the needed information effectively and efficiently;
3. Evaluate information and its sources critically;
4. Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose;
5. Use information in an ethical and legal manner.

Assessment: Students fulfill this requirement by demonstrating competency through an assessment designated by the Regental universities.

Credit hours: 0

Click here for courses meeting SGR #7 

(These requirements are unique to SDSU.)

First Year Seminar

Students will understand their emerging role and responsibilities as educated persons through a common intellectual experience.

Student Learning Outcomes
As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Identify areas of self-responsibility that contribute to personal and professional goals and success.
2. Design a plan and identify appropriate strategies that will guide engagement in their education, community, and world.
3. Explain how to achieve and maintain personal and professional wellness.
4. Articulate how knowledge of contemporary issues and exposure to diversity impacts personal and professional life.
5. Explain how South Dakota State University is defined by the Land Grant Mission (Morrill Act).

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5

Credit Hours: 2

Click here for courses meeting IGR #1 

Cultural Awareness and Social and Environmental Responsibility

Students will acquire knowledge about the world’s peoples - their cultures, arts, and environments - that prepares them for further study, deepens their understanding of the human condition, and strengthens their commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

Student Learning Outcomes:
As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

1. Articulate the ways in which different peoples express an understanding of the human condition and respond to environmental opportunities and constraints.
2. Describe how personal choices derive from and affect social, cultural, and environmental contexts.
3. Engage in aesthetic experience in order to understand artistic expression and to learn how meaning emerges from the cultural contexts of both artist and audience.
4. Explain the ethical consequences of decisions and actions concerning the environment to strengthen commitment to local, national, and global citizenship.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes:

Required: #1, #2, and #3, or #1, #2, and #4

Credit Hours: 3

Click here for courses meeting IGR #2 

Note: The course used to meet this goal must have a different prefix than the courses used to meet System Goals #3, 4, and 6.

Clarification of “Educational Experiences” Alternative
Educational Experiences (EdEx) are an option to meet SDSU’s IGRs. The Educational Experiences will parallel the guidelines for credit, requiring 45 hours of experiential learning per credit hour earned. Departments will present proposals describing Educational Experiences for approval to the SDSU Academic Affairs subcommittee who will forward a recommendation to the full Academic Affairs Committee for approval to assure that the student learning outcomes of the specific IGR has been achieved. This Educational Experiences Alternative is not to be designed to meet the needs of an individual student, but rather to meet the needs of groups of students within a department/major, throughout the University.

Globalization is defined as a process of interaction and integration among different people, organizations, and governments that takes place outside of and above the level of national boundaries. The primary result of this process is the interdependence of capital, technology, information, and people across national borders. This interdependence of economic and cultural activities has implications for a variety of issues around the world, including, but not limited to, political systems, economic systems, the environment, agriculture, public health, health care, information technology, social networking, communications, transportation, education, governance, and prosperity. Through the process of globalization, people and organizations communicate, conduct business, and address challenges, across and irrespective of national borders.

Students will be able to identify global issues and how they impact their lives and discipline.

Student Learning Outcomes:
The primary objective of this requirement is to offer courses that present meaningful global content of contemporary relevance (i.e., content based on trends, events or interactions from the post-WWII era to the present). Each course that fulfills this requirement must include ONE of the following two student learning outcomes.

Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a basic understanding of modern-day globalization, including outlining the benefits and cost implications of globalization, and interpret consequences of global issues through various forms of analysis.
   or
2. Express knowledge of the customs and cultures of a particular country or a specific region outside of one’s own national borders. (The emphasis in this SLO is the more in-depth study of one particular country or region.)

Credit Hours: Students can select a course to meet the globalization requirement which also meets one of the SGR/IGR requirements or a major requirement. Selected courses do not add to the total number of credits required for the major.

Courses listed below have been approved to meet this goal. Each program area/major determines how to best address the globalization goal and student learning outcomes; therefore, you should consult your department regarding how this goal and its expectations are accomplished within your specific program of study.

Click here for courses meeting the Globalization Requirement 

Advanced writing courses are discipline based and require students to build upon concepts learned in courses addressing System General Education Goal #1. Students will refine their writing skills appropriate to the discipline. These courses will have a scholarly focus. Students will build upon concepts learned in courses covering System General Education Goal #1 and refine their skills through research and writing in a discipline specific context.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will:

1. Read extensively and respond critically in the written discourse of a discipline; formulate research questions, refine topics, develop a plan for research and organize what is known about the topic; articulate a position through a thesis statement and advance it using evidence from primary and secondary sources, examples, and counterarguments that are relevant to the audience or issues at hand.
2. Use a style manual and other writing conventions specific to a discipline; avoid plagiarism by adhering to the rules for paraphrasing, summarizing, and the use of quotations, as well as the conventions for incorporating information from Internet-based resources.
3. Evaluate sources critically, both print and electronic, discern the strength of evidence and arguments, determine credibility, and identify potential bias and overall quality.
4. Present the results of research or project, either collaboratively or individually, to the class, department, faculty, community members, or at a student research or professional conference.

Each course meeting this goal includes the following student learning outcomes.

Required: #1, #2, #3, #4

Credit Hours: Integrated in the major or may select a specific advanced course (i.e., ENGL 379, Technical Communication) which addresses the advanced writing goal and student learning outcomes. Selected course(s) do not add to the total number of credits required for the major.

Each program area/major determines how to best address the advanced writing goal and student learning outcomes; therefore, you should consult your department regarding how this goal and its expectations are accomplished within your specific program of study. Courses used across the various programs at SDSU include the following:

 Click here for courses meeting the Advanced Writing Requirement 

(Effective for new degree-seeking students Fall 2005 and later)

System General Education Requirements for Associate Degree Programs

1. Associate of Arts Degree
This program requires the same 30 credits of System General Education as required in the Baccalaureate Degree.

2. Associate of Science Degree
The general education component of all Associate of Science programs shall consist of a minimum of 18 credit hours as specified in Board of Regents policy 2:7(3).

Required Courses from the System General Education List for Associate of Science degrees:

Goal #1: Written Communication  (3 credits)
Goal #2: Oral Communication  (3 credits)
Goal #3: Social Sciences/Diversity  (3 credits)
Goal #4: Humanities and Arts/Diversity  (3 credits)
Goal #5: Mathematics  (3 credits)
Goal #6: Natural Sciences  (3 credits; 6 recommended)

Institutional Graduation Requirements NOT Required for Associate Degree Programs

The SDSU Institutional Graduation Requirements (IGRs) do not apply to either the Associate of Arts degree or the Associate of Science degree programs.

Guidelines for Baccalaureate and Associate Degrees

1. The System General Education Requirements will be effective for students entering in Fall 2005.
2. Only 100/200 level courses will be included. Exceptions based on student background may be made utilizing the established university academic appeal process.
3. Honors courses equivalent to identified System General Education courses will meet the System requirements.
4. System General Education Requirements successfully completed at the sending South Dakota Regental institution will be accepted towards meeting these requirements at the receiving South Dakota Regental institution.
5. Under common course practices, a course that counts toward a General Education System Requirement at one of the Regental campuses will count toward the same General Education requirement at another campus regardless of whether or not the campus offered the course.

Additional Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degrees

1. The following 18 credit hours of the System General Education Requirements must be completed in the first 48 hours.

2. Transfer students with more than 18 credit hours entering from outside the Regental system must complete the above specified 18 credit hours of general education within the first 30 credit hours taken at  a  Regental institution.

3. All 30 credits of the System General Education Requirements must be completed within the first 64 hours. A list of program exceptions at SDSU are:

4. Students transferring from non-Regental institutions must enroll in pre-general education courses during the first 30 attempted Regental credit hours. These students may enroll in other courses concurrently with the pre-general education courses. If the student does not complete the pre-general education courses during the first 30 Regental credit hours attempted, during the next 12 credit hours attempted, the student must enroll in and complete the pre-general education course(s). If the student does not successfully complete the pre-general education course(s) within 42 attempted Regental credit hours, the only course(s) in which a student may enroll is the pre-general education course(s); and the student’s status is changed from degree seeking to non-degree seeking. The Vice President for Academic Affairs may grant an exception.

5. Student who are placed into pre-general education MATH are expected to successfully complete MATH 095 or both MATH 021 and MATH 101 before enrolling in MATH 102. However, a student who performs exceptionally well in MATH 021 may petition the Vice President for Academic Affairs to bypass MATH 101 and enroll in MATH 102 as their next mathematics course. These students must sit for the Math placement exam and earn scores that meet or exceeds the placement score necessary for enrolling in MATH 102.

Additional Guidelines for Associate Degrees

1. The 18 hours of System General Education Requirements specified below must be completed within the first 32 hours as preparation for the Proficiency Examination:

Course Requirements	Credit Hours
Goal #1: Written Communication  Goal #2: Oral Communication  Goal #3: Social Sciences/Diversity  Goal #4: Humanities and Arts/Diversity  Goal #5: Mathematics  Goal #6: Natural Sciences  Total	3 3 3 3 3 3 18

2. Each student enrolled in an Associate of Science degree program must take the Proficiency Examination after the completion of 32 passed credit hours or prior to graduation. The student must have completed, or be enrolled in courses required to complete, the 18 credit hours specified above. Students who do not complete the proficiency exam requirements cannot continue registration at the university.

Fraction of Credits for Transfer Students

Transfer credits applied to a general education goal meet the credit requirement if .33 credits (or fewer) remain for that goal. If .34 credits or greater remain to meet the minimum required credits for the goal, the student must take additional credits from the approved list of courses in the University Catalog. For example, a student who transferred in 5.67 credits towards the SGR #3 Social Science 6 credit requirement has met the goal.

1. The catalog of graduation begins with the summer term and ends with the subsequent spring term.
2. Every student is required to have a catalog of graduation. New and transfer students are assigned the catalog in effect at the time of their initial enrollment at the university from which they are seeking a degree. Students may elect a catalog of graduation that is later than their initial catalog but may not elect a catalog of graduation that is earlier than their initial catalog.
3. In order to receive a degree, a student must meet the program requirements listed in his/her catalog of graduation.
4. Students who discontinue enrollment at any Regental university for more than two consecutive semesters are assigned the catalog in effect at the time of their re-enrollment as their catalog of graduation.
5. Students are considered to be in continuous enrollment for purposes of the catalog of graduation so long as any break in enrollment at any Regental university is for two or fewer consecutive semesters (excluding summer) and students maintain their degree seeking status at the same Regental university.
6. Student who change their degree seeking status from one Regental university to another Regental university are assigned the catalog of graduation that corresponds to the term they are admitted to their new degree granting university.