The Undergraduate Experience - Academics

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• Academics
  • Degrees
  • Majors/Minors
  • Degree Requirements
  • Graduation Application
• Alternative Methods for Earning University Credit
  • Alternative Credit Options
  • CLEP Credit
  • Advanced Placement Credit
  • Prior Learning Assessment
• Academic Advising Services
  • Academic Advising Center
  • College Advising Center
    

Basic undergraduate degrees conferred by the Board of Regents on recommendation of the president and faculty are the bachelor of science (B.S.) and the bachelor of arts (B.A.) degrees, described fully in the introduction to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Bachelor’s degrees are also awarded in fine arts (B.F.A.) and art education (B.A.E.) - see Department of Art, College of Arts and Sciences; business administration (B.B.A.) - see College of Business; bachelor of business administration and bachelor of arts in language and world business (B.B.A./B.A.) - see College of Business or Department of World Languages, College of Arts and Sciences; business education (B.B.E.) - see School of Technology Studies, College of Technology; music education (B.M.E.), music-performance (B.M.U.), and music therapy (B.M.T.) - see Department of Music and Dance, College of Arts and Sciences; nursing (B.S.N.) - see School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Services.

Many students also select preprofessional fields of study such as medicine, dentistry and forestry (listed in departments) or seek certification and/or licensing in teaching, medical technology and similar fields (listed at the end of this section). These preprofessional fields of study do not culminate in an EMU degree.

Graduate degrees offered by this University are master of arts (M.A.), master of science (M.S.), master of fine arts (M.F.A.), master of business administration (M.B.A.), master of public administration (M.P.A.), master of business education (M.B.E.), master of individualized studies (M.I.S.), master of social work (M.S.W.), master of nursing (M.N.), master of occupational therapy (M.O.T.) and master of liberal studies (M.L.S.). In addition, there is a specialist in arts degree (S.A.) and doctorates in educational leadership (Ed.D.), psychology (Psy.D.) and technology (Th.D.). All are listed in the graduate catalog.

Bachelor’s degree programs require students to take courses in various subject areas as specified both in the general education requirements and in departmental majors and minors.

Each student must complete a major subject of at least 30 credit hours and a minor subject of at least 20 credit hours with the following exceptions:

1. A student in the elementary teaching curriculum may present three minors of at least 20 credit hours - each of which is a subject field taught in the elementary grades.
2. A student who completes a self-contained curriculum of 50-60 hours will automatically satisfy major/minor requirements.

Hours of credit counted toward a minor may not be applied to a major or another minor or vice versa. General education courses may be applied toward a major or a minor where appropriate.

Professional education courses do not count toward majors and minors except in cases in which such courses are specifically required or indicated as permissible as part of a major or minor.

All students, including transfer students, must complete at Eastern Michigan University the following minimum requirements in advanced courses numbered 300 or above in their majors and minors, unless specifically exempted by the department concerned:

1. At least nine hours in majors.
2. At least six hours in minors.
3. At least 15 additional hours in curricula that encompass both major and minor requirements.

Residency: Candidates for the bachelor’s degree must earn at least 30 semester hours at Eastern Michigan University. These 30 hours may be taken on or off campus.

Of the last 30 semester hours prior to the granting of a bachelor’s degree, at least 10 hours must be taken in courses offered by Eastern Michigan University. These 10 hours may be taken either on or off campus.

A student with credit from a junior or community college must earn a minimum of 60 semester hours exclusive of junior or community college credit. This rule is waived if a specially designated program-to-program articulation agreement is involved and if that agreement is approved by the appropriate Eastern Michigan University departmental faculty, department head, college dean and a Provost’s Office representative.

Subject limitation: No more than 60 hours in any one academic subject may be applied toward the minimum of 124 hours required for a bachelor’s degree.

Distance Education/Independent Learning credit: No more than 15 credit hours of correspondence course credit may be applied toward a bachelor’s degree, or used to meet any of the residence requirements. There is no restriction on other types of distance learning or independent learning course formats which may be applied toward a bachelor’s degree, residency and grade point average.

Minimum GPA: Students will not be graduated if their grade point average in their degree program (major and minor) is less than 2.0. Credit earned at EMU must average at least 2.0.

Students majoring in physical education or dance may apply only the minimum number of hours in activity courses required for their respective majors to the minimum of 124 credit hours required for graduation.

All grades received in physical education activity courses, including those which exceed the credit-hour limits prescribed above, are used in computing a student’s GPA.

Military Service/Science: Students who have been in military service will be granted credit in Military Science and Leadership as follows:

1. Those who have served for one year in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard (including attendance at service academies) will be given credit for the first two years of Military Science and Leadership; those who have served for six months in service will be given credit for the first year of Military Science and Leadership.
2. Students who have completed the final two years of Army JROTC (junior and senior level) may receive credit for EMU Military Science and Leadership courses MSL101 and 102, after conducting an interview with the Professor of Military Science and Leadership. Students completing all four years may receive credit for not only MSL100-level but also 200-level courses, after an interview and assessment of JROTC performance by the Professor of Military Science and Leadership.

Veterans who are awarded credit for Military Science and Leadership under the terms described above are, nevertheless, eligible to enter the advanced course voluntarily, if qualified, and should consult the Department of Military Science and Leadership on special opportunities that are available (see Department of Military Science and Leadership Advanced Program).

Military Science and Leadership courses are credited in the 124 minimum credit-hour requirement for the bachelor’s degree.

Candidates for degrees and/or certificates must make formal application for graduation during the first two weeks of the final semester or session. (The application should be made after final registration is complete but not later than the last day of program adjustment for the semester or session in which the student expects to graduate.)

Application forms, obtained in the Office of Records and Registration, 303 Pierce Hall, must be submitted with the $95 graduation fee to the Cashier’s Office, 201 Pierce Hall, or the fee may be charged to the student’s account.

Failure to meet the application deadline will result in the candidate’s graduation being delayed until the following graduation period. Failure to satisfy degree requirements, including the removal of incompletes in required courses or providing official transcripts for course work taken at other colleges or universities, will necessitate filing a new application for graduation for the subsequent graduation period. Only one application fee is required.

Financial obligations must be met before students may receive their diplomas.

Eastern Michigan University offers students the opportunity to earn academic credit by examination and/or by portfolio. In some instances, students may enroll immediately in advanced courses through alternative programs. Especially high test scores may warrant additional academic credit and/or higher placement.

These programs include:

1. Advanced Placement (AP). Students who have taken Advanced Placement high school courses, and earn at least a three on the corresponding Advanced Placement tests, will be granted at least two hours of credit in each subject area in which they have earned that score. The Advanced Placement Credit Available by Departments table lists departments and courses for which credit can be earned.
2. International Baccalaureate (IB). Students who submit their IB scores to Eastern Michigan University will receive at least two hours of academic credit for a score of four or higher on the higher-level IB exam. The International Baccalaureate Diploma does not equate automatically with sophomore standing, nor does it automatically waive general education requirements.
3. College Level Examination Program (CLEP). Students may receive academic credit for certain EMU courses by achieving a minimum score on a test available through the College Level Examination Program. The courses for which CLEP tests are available, and the minimum score needed to receive credit, are listed in the CLEP Credit Available by Departments table.

Academic credit earned by means of AP, IB or CLEP test scores may not be duplicated for separate tests. Also, AP, IB or CLEP credit will not be awarded when EMU credit has already been earned or transfer credit awarded for courses covering the same subject matter.

4. Credit by Examination. Students may also receive academic credit for certain courses where CLEP tests are not available by achieving a minimum score on a departmentally administered examination. Credit by Examination is subject to the following limitations:

• Students must have been admitted to Eastern Michigan University.
• Credit normally will not be awarded for any course for which a student has credit or in which the student is currently enrolled.
• Credit by Examination is not available for workshops, special topics courses, seminars and directed studies, or any other course excluded by an academic department.

5. Validation. Validation may be required to earn transfer credit for courses, taken at a two-year college, whose content is sufficiently similar to that of 300- and 400-level EMU courses. Validation will be considered only after all other transfer credit earned at accredited two-year colleges has been awarded and recorded on the student’s official EMU record. Validation may be achieved in either of two ways:

• Satisfactory completion of the next more advanced course as designated by the head of the appropriate department or school.
• Passing a comprehensive examination or equivalent activity in the course for which EMU validation is requested.

The following procedures must be followed to earn Credit by Examination or to validate a course by examination:

1. The student must obtain an Application for Credit by Examination/Validation at the Office of Records and Registration, 303 Pierce Hall.
2. The student should submit the application to the head of the department/school in which the course is offered. The department head will evaluate the request and determine whether to grant or deny permission for Credit by Examination/Validation, or to hold the request for further investigation.
3. Once permission has been granted, the student will make arrangements with the department for a time and place for the examination or equivalent activity, and a supervising faculty evaluator.
4. Prior to the agreed-upon time, the student will validate the permission form by paying the fee to the EMU Cashier’s Office. The fee will be equivalent to one credit hour of tuition for each undergraduate examination attempted.
5. The student will present the validated permission form to the faculty evaluator prior to the examination or equivalent activity.
6. After the faculty member evaluates the student’s performance and indicates P/F on the permission form, a copy of the written examination or explanation of the activity as well as the instructors’s total evaluation will be placed on file in the office of the department head. The department head will sign the permission form indicating receipt of the faculty member’s evaluation.
7. The department head will forward the permission form to the Office of Records and Registration for posting to the student’s record.

6. Portfolio-assisted Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). Portfolio-assisted Prior Learning Assessment is available through participating academic departments when CLEP, Credit by Examination and Validation are not appropriate for assessing a student’s previous learning. Credit may be awarded for general education or for courses in majors, minor sor concentrations. Departments or schools may choose to participate on a case-by-case basis or may designate selected courses available via PLA. Additional information is available through the Office of Prior Learning Assessment at 734.487.9801 or 800.777.3521.

* essay required

Academic standards for portfolio-assisted Prior Learning Assessment:

• Credit is given only for learning and not for experience.
• College credit is awarded only for college-level learning.
• Credit is awarded only for learning that has a balance, appropriate to the subject, between theory and practical application.
• The determination of competence levels and credit awards is made by academic experts in the appropriate subject matter.
• Credit is appropriate to the academic context in which it is accepted.

Procedures for portfolio-assisted Prior Learning Assessment:

1. The student contacts the PLA Office for information about the PLA process.
2. The student must be admitted to Eastern Michigan University.
3. The student must complete a free workshop and review syllabi to determine whether to attempt earning credit through the PLA process.
4. The student compiles portfolios to present for assessment within one year of completion of the workshop. Each portfolio to be presented to a faculty assessor contains all portfolio elements including appropriate documentation. The master portfolio contains each portfolio element including all learning statements and all documentation lists but no copies of documentation.
5. The student must present the master portfolio and departmental portfolios to the Office of Prior Learning Assessment for review. Upon successful review, the PLA office issues appropriate portfolio registration forms.
6. The student pays the required assessment fee to Eastern Michigan University as part of portfolio registration.
7. The Office of Prior Learning Assessment distributes portfolios to heads of departments or schools for assignment to faculty assessors.
8. Faculty assessors evaluate the portfolios; faculty assessors may request additional demonstrations of competence.
9. Faculty assessors return portfolios and assessments to the Office of Prior Learning Assessment.
10. The Office of Prior Learning Assessment notifies the student of credit award or denial and also notifies the Office of Records and Registration of awarded credit for posting to the student’s record.

Interim Director: Sarah Kersey-Otto
Address: 301 Pierce Hall
Phone: 734.487.2170
Web site: www.emich.edu/aac

The Academic Advising Center (AAC) provides help and guidance to students and faculty through a variety of activities. It has four major areas of responsibility: academic advising, retention support, academic actions and academic services. Each of these is concerned with the student’s total welfare.

The AAC is the central coordinating service for academic advising activities for all new and currently enrolled students and faculty and staff. It is the first formal academic advising contact on campus for most new students. Advisers in the center assist students as they evaluate academic goals and objectives, design programs and select major/minor choices. The AAC coordinates advising training for new faculty and professional advising staff and provides a resource to answer general advising questions. The center also coordinates and administers the second bachelor’s degree program, the individualized studies program and the three-year accelerated baccalaureate program.

Retention support includes the following: administration of the Promote Academic Survival and Success (PASS) program; administration of the FIG (First-Year Interest Group) program; the General Education Review program for all new freshmen; assistance to students in the Summer Incentive Program (SIP); and assistance to students on academic probation.

Academic actions involves the central administration and enforcement of the academic probation, dismissal and readmission policies established by the Academic Standards Committee and the University.

The AAC provides the following academic services: (1) CLEP (College Level Examination Program) testing; (2) Pass/Fail grade options; (3) administrative and retroactive withdrawal requests; (4) general education requirement waivers for English and mathematics; and (5) application of transfer credit to the general education requirements.

Initial advising for all new undergraduate students (except new music majors and new transfer art majors) is provided by the Academic Advising Center. Continuing undergraduate students who have not declared a major should also seek their academic advising in the AAC. Students can declare or change their major and minor through the Academic Advising Center.

Students with declared majors should seek academic advising with a faculty adviser in the department of their major. Supplemental academic advising for students with declared majors can be found in the following centers:

College Advising Centers

College of Business Advising Center
Address: 401 Owen Building
Phone: 734.487.2344

College of Education Advising Center
Address: 206 Porter Building
Phone: 734.487.3415

College of Health and Human Services Advising Center
Address: 302 Marshall Building
Phone: 734.487.0918

College of Technology Advising Center
Address: 150 Sill Hall
Phone: 734.487.8659