Preparing for Graduation

For students who entered in Fall 2000 or later

Please review this document and the other materials in the online senior packet and contact Dean Brown (202 North College, x2758, lsbrown@wesleyan.edu), if there is anything that you do not understand or if you foresee anything that could prevent your graduation in May 2009. Graduation does not happen by accident; it requires your time and attention to a number of details. You must fulfill all graduation requirements to participate in the May commencement ceremony. If you do not intend to graduate in May 2009, contact Dean Brown immediately to clarify your class standing.

Graduation Requirements http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/AR.html

As you review your academic history and credit analysis and finalize your course selections for the Fall, you should keep Wesleyan’s graduation requirements in mind:

1. Concentration. Satisfactory completion of a major is required for graduation. Consult with your major advisor about specific departmental or program requirements and use the Senior Concentration form to list all courses required for your major, including completed courses, courses in progress, and courses that still need to be taken.
2. Credit. A minimum of 32.00 credits (without oversubscription) is required for graduation. At least 16.00 of these credits must be earned at Wesleyan or in Wesleyan-sponsored programs. (More information on oversubscription is provided below.)
3. GPA. A cumulative average of at least 74.00 percent is required for graduation.
4. Residency. At least six semesters in residency at Wesleyan as a full-time student for students entering in their first year is required. (For students entering as sophomore transfers, at least five semesters in residency at Wesleyan as a full-time student; for students entering as midyear sophomores or junior transfers, at least four semesters in residency at Wesleyan as a full-time student is required.) Any semester in which a grade is given is counted as a Wesleyan semester for purposes of graduation.

Senior Concentration Form http://www.wesleyan.edu/deans/forms/concentration.pdf

To satisfy the concentration requirement, a student must complete a departmental major, an interdepartmental major, or a collegiate program (COL or CSS). It is your responsibility to know the requirements for your major(s) and what you have yet to fulfill. As a senior expecting to graduate in May 2009, you must now formalize your progress toward completion of the concentration requirement with your major advisor. (Note: A student in COL or CSS does not need to submit a Senior Concentration form unless he or she is a double major, in which case a Senior Concentration Form must be submitted for the additional major.)

1. Meet with your major advisor or department/program chair (whoever is authorized to approve your Senior Concentration form). The Senior Concentration form functions as your “contract” with your department, so you need to list all those courses you have taken and will take to fulfill major requirements. Other courses taken but not required for completion of the major need not be listed. The form must list the major courses that you have already completed as well as those courses that you expect to take during the 2008-09 academic year to satisfy major requirements. Use your academic history for exact course numbers and titles. Courses in other departments and courses transferred from other institutions that have been approved by your major department as fulfilling major requirements also should be listed on the form.
2. The completed Senior Concentration form, approved and signed by your department, must be submitted to my office (202 North College) by the end of the Drop/Add period (Monday, September 15, 2008). Please make sure that you complete the form legibly and accurately.
3. A Senior Concentration form must be completed for each major you intend to complete.
4. At any time during the year, if you modify the courses listed on your Senior Concentration form, you must submit to the Dean’s Office a new, revised form that has been approved by your department. It is essential that your Senior Concentration form accurately and exactly reflects the courses you have taken or that are pending, because you will be held to these in the Senior Review in May as the courses needed to fulfill your major requirements.
5. No senior will be allowed to register for the Spring 2009 semester unless a completed Senior Concentration form has been submitted.

Credit Analysis

The credit analysis is a review of your academic record that shows your progress towards meeting graduation requirements with regard to credits and other academic regulations. It monitors oversubscription and flags potential problems that may affect completion of graduation requirements. It does not address major requirements. The credit analysis is comprised of two parts, the summary (first page) and the credit detail (remaining pages).

The summary page is divided into three sections:

1. Total semesters at Wesleyan and total semesters in residence, as well as total credits earned and potential credits at the end of the semester. (Note that the Fall 2009 semester is included in the total semester counts.)
2. “Categories with Credit Limits,” which monitors oversubscription in credit-limit categories.
3. “Credit Limits within Departments,” which indicates oversubscription within a department.

The credit detail in the remaining pages lists credits by department and program. If a given course appears in more than one department or program—i.e., is cross-listed—it will be counted for purposes of oversubscription in all departments in which it is listed.

Courses for which you are pre-registered are included in the credit analysis. However, if you studied abroad in the spring, your credits may not yet be posted, even though the semester has been counted in the semester totals. Also, if you took courses this summer, it is possible that the credits have not been posted yet. As you review your credit analysis, keep a copy of your academic history on hand and be ready to consult Wesleyan’s academic regulations at http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/AR.html. Your credit analysis is available through your e-portfolio and is updated every night.

Oversubscription

The oversubscription rule is designed to prevent a student from building a program of study that is too narrow. Any credit in excess of the department or category limits will not count towards the 32.00 credits required to graduate (although the credits will be recorded on the transcript and will be factored into grade point average calculations). More specifically, the oversubscription rule stipulates:

• Of the total 32.00 credits required for graduation, a student can count no more than 14.00 course credits in any one department (15.00 with a senior project and 16.00 with a two‑credit senior honors thesis).
• Among the 14.00 course credits in any one department (15.00 or 16.00 with project or thesis) that can count towards graduation, no more than 12.00 credits numbered 201 or higher (13.00 or 14.00 with project or thesis) can be included, and no more than 4.00 course credits numbered 101 to 200.
• If a course is cross-listed, it counts towards oversubscription in every department in which it is listed, regardless of the cross-listing that the student chose during course registration.
• The oversubscription rule applies to all credit that is part of a student’s academic history, including pre-matriculant credit, Advanced Placement and other test credit, and transfer credit.
• The following interdisciplinary programs are exempt from oversubscription: African American Studies, American Studies, Archaeological Studies, East Asian Studies, Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Latin American Studies, Medieval Studies, Russian and East European Studies, and Science in Society.

In addition, the oversubscription rule limits the number of credits that can count toward the 32.00 required for graduation in the following categories:

1. Physical Education and Student Forum:

· no more than 1.00 Physical Education credits

· no more than 2.00 Student Forum (419, 420) credits

· no more than 2.00 credits in Physical Education and Student Forums combined

2. Teaching Apprenticeships (491, 492): no more than 2.00 credits.

3. Individual (401, 402, 403, 404) and Group Tutorials (411, 412): no more than 4.00 credits combined

· some LANG courses are considered individual tutorials

· honors thesis tutorial credits (409, 410) are not considered individual or group tutorials

4. Independent Study (467, 468, 470) and Education-in-the-Field (465, 466, 469): no more than 4.00 credits combined

5. Summer credits: no more than 2.00 credits during any given summer

6. Pre-matriculant credits (including AP, IB and other test and transfer credit): no more than 2.00 credits

Oversubscription will not jeopardize graduation as long as the student has enough useable credit to meet the 32.00 credits required for graduation. If you have any concerns about oversubscription, contact Dean Brown immediately.

December Completion

Some members of the Class of 2009 who have taken a semester’s leave of absence or who transferred to Wesleyan as second-semester sophomores may complete graduation requirements at the end of the Fall 2008 semester. All students who will have completed their eight Wesleyan semesters at the end of the Fall semester, or who are expecting to complete their degrees in December, should see Dean Brown as soon as possible.

While one may complete one’s degree in December, no one graduates in December. Degrees are only granted once a year in May.

Seniors on Financial Aid Who Will Complete in December

Banks and schools are experiencing difficulties in the follow-up and collection of student loans used to pay educational costs. Since most difficulties result from students not understanding their responsibilities after the completion of their educational program, schools are required to conduct exit interviews with any student completing in December.

Exit interviews are required by the federal government, and failure to conduct them could cause the loss of Wesleyan’s eligibility for federal student aid funding. Therefore, we will withhold the diploma of any student who fails to appear for an interview. Please contact the Financial Aid Office directly to arrange for an exit interview.

Honors

Please read carefully the memo from Beth Labriola, Honors Coordinator, if you plan to be a candidate for Honors. Also, a few points to remember: If you are enrolled on a per credit basis in your last semester (either fall or spring) for only the second half of your honors thesis in order to complete your thesis, then that semester does not count as a Wesleyan semester for residency purposes, since you would not be a full-time student. This may result in problems with the residency requirement. In addition, if you discontinue your thesis and your honors tutorial (409, 410) is downgraded to a 407 or 408, you may find yourself oversubscribed in a department.

Other Things to Do

1. Make sure that all outstanding transfer credit, test credit, or any other academic credit you expect to apply toward your record is processed immediately. Remember that only 2.00 pre-matriculant credits may count toward your degree. A delay in posting additional credits toward your record will result in an incomplete and inaccurate review of your graduation record that could leave you with potentially serious complications.

1. Open a credential file. The Career Resource Center (Butterfield A) coordinates a credential service for Wesleyan students. The service maintains an active file of all references and recommendations needed in the process of applying for jobs or graduate and professional schools, and forwards the information at your request.
2. Do not miss the Senior Meeting organized by the Career Resource Center. Go to one of the two meetings offered on September 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. in SCI150 to hear about employment after graduation, fellowships, and other programs and opportunities. Get on top of early deadlines and your plans for life post-Wes, and check out http://www.wesleyan.edu/crc .
3. Come to the senior-only “Senior Jazz and Dessert” on September 3 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Daniel Family Commons. Have dessert with Deans Whaley and Brown and greet friends to the tunes of Galen and the Argonauts (with special guest!).

A Final Word

Do not hesitate to contact Dean Brown (202 North College, lsbrown@wesleyan.edu, x2758) at any time, if you have any questions regarding the graduation process. While we will do everything we can to smooth the process, each student is responsible for his or her own graduation and for making sure that there are no surprises on May 24, 2009.