Associate Degree | Baccalaureate Degree | Graduation | Registration | Transfer

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

REQUIREMENTS

• Completion of all major and degree requirements.

• Completion of all GER requirements.

• Completion of a minimum of 124 semester hours.

• Minimum GPA of 2.5.

• Major requirements - a grade of C or better must be earned in all major courses.

• The completion of sixty (60) semester hours of courses at the 2000 level or higher with forty-eight (48) of the 60 semester hours numbered 3700 level or higher.

• A minimum of 50 percent (60 hours) of the total degree requirements must be taken in non-business courses. Up to nine hours of economics courses (excluding Economics 3780 and 3781) can be counted as non-business.

• Residency requirements. The WCBA requires that 50% of the business courses are to be completed at YSU, along with Management 4850, Strategic Management and Leadership, the business capstone course.

• Application for graduation.

GRADUATION EVALUATION
The Graduation Evaluation initiates the Degree Audit for graduation requirements. A Graduation Evaluation application must be filed with an academic advisor once a student has completed 40 semester hours for an associate degree or 94 semester hours for a baccalaureate degree toward their degree requirements and have a declared major. A copy of the finalized graduation evaluation will be mailed to the student indicating the remaining degree requirements.

GRADUATION APPLICATION
The Graduation Application must be filed at the Bursar’s Office by the published date in the Schedule of Classes (Bulletin). The Graduation Application will be mailed to graduating WCBA students the first week of their final semester. The graduation semester is determined by the date the student lists on the Graduation Evaluation application.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS, OPTIONS AND ACADEMIC STANDING

GRADES
The University uses the traditional grading system when assigning a final grade for a course completed (e.g., A, B, C, D, or F). This is the most prevalent option. Instructors should explain their grading policies on their syllabus. Other options are Audit (AU) and Credit/No Credit (CR/NC).

AUDIT
An AU signifies that the student has registered on an audit basis. There is no credit given for AU courses. Auditing a course does not count in the academic load except for fee purposes. You may change an audited course to credit only during the period to add a class.

CREDIT/NO CREDIT
Credit/No Credit implies that the student elected not to receive a traditional grade in a given course. Credit (CR) is given instead of grades of A, B, C, while No Credit (NC) is given instead of grades of D or F. To encourage students to experiment with courses outside their major field of concentration, a Credit/No Credit policy exists with the following guidelines:

Youngstown State University students who have completed at least 15 semester hours of credit and have a grade point average of 2.0 or better, or transfer students admitted unconditionally who have at least 30 semester hours of transfer credit, may elect to take a course for credit/no credit.

This option may be elected for a maximum of twelve (12) semester hours for the baccalaureate degree or six (6) semester hours for the associate degree. Students are restricted to taking one (1) course CR/NC in the fall and spring terms and one (1) course in each session of summer. Courses taken under the CR/NC option may not be counted toward the student’s MAJOR, MINOR, BUSINESS TOOL COURSES, BUSINESS CORE COURSES or ENGLISH 1550 and 1551.

Students must indicate their election of the CR/NC option at the time of registration or within the time limits established for adding classes. Students opting for CR/NC will not be identified as such on the class roster. CR/NC option will not be changed to the standard grading option beyond the last day to add the class. There are no exceptions to this policy.

INCOMPLETE GRADE

An incomplete grade of I may be given under the following conditions: 1) the student must request from the instructor that an incomplete grade be assigned, 2) the student’s previous work in the course must have been satisfactory, and 3) the reason(s) given must be beyond the student’s control and deemed justifiable by the instructor. Never may an incomplete be used to allow a deficient student extra time to avoid failing a course. If no formal grade change occurs within one year, the incomplete grade automatically converts to a grade of F. It is the student’s responsibility to request the I from the instructor.

ACADEMIC STANDING

There are four categories of academic standing: Good Standing, Warning, Probation and Suspension. These are intended to signify a student’s progress toward graduation and to provide an opportunity for making improvements and achieving academic success.

GOOD STANDING
“Good Standing” signifies that the cumulative GPA is 2.00 or better and the grade standards are satisfactory toward the progress of graduation requirements. However, some programs require a higher GPA for admission. The WCBA requires a 2.5 GPA for a declared major and graduation. Recognizing that the transition from high school to college may be a difficult one, the University has set aside minimum levels of academic achievement during the student’s first year. Therefore, a freshman with less than 32 semester hours and a GPA of 1.75 will be in Good Standing.

WARNING
“Warning” indicates that grade standards consistent with graduation requirements are not being met. An advisor’s approval of course load is mandatory prior to continuing studies at the University.

PROBATION
“Probation” indicates that grade standards have not been met for students who have been on ACADEMIC WARNING and have failed to bring their GPA up to the minimum (2.00) by the end of the term. PROBATIONARY students who have failed to bring their GPA up to the minimum by the end of the probationary term will be SUSPENDED. However, a student who makes substantial improvement during a probationary term and averages at least a 2.00 GPA for that term will be continued on PROBATION even though the student’s cumulative GPA does not reach the desired minimum. A student with an academic standing of WARNING or PROBATION is restricted to no more than 16 semester hours per term, although the student’s college may set a lower limit.

SUSPENSION
“Suspension” means that a student is separated from the University for a period of time.
A second suspension will have a duration of at least one full year before reinstatement on probation. Students should not expect to be reinstated after two suspensions.

Any student receiving a semester GPA of less than 2.00 is required to have mandatory advising for the succeeding semester.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE
A grade point average is calculated by adding the number of hours you attempted for the semester and the number of quality points (Q.P.) you earned for the semester. Divide the number of quality points by the number of hours attempted. This is your grade point average (GPA).

A letter grade of A = 4 quality points, B = 3 quality points, C = 2 quality points, D = 1 quality point, F = 0 quality points. To figure your cumulative grade point average, divide the total quality points for all semesters by the total number of credit hours attempted for all semesters.

RECALCULATION OF GRADE POINT AVERAGE (REPEAT PETITION)
A student may repeat a course only once in which a grade of D or F was earned, unless otherwise stipulated in the course description or unless an additional repetition is authorized by the student’s academic advisor. If the course is a prerequisite to another course, the repetition must be successfully completed before the other course is taken. A course may not be repeated if the student has received credit for a more advanced course in the same subject. Although courses are not deleted from the permanent record, the record is adjusted to reflect the inclusion of only the last grade in the computation of the point average. The hours credited toward the degree hours are those earned with the last grade. Only undergraduate students currently enrolled in the University may request this recalculation privilege. A post-baccalaureate student is not eligible to petition for a recalculation unless both the course and the repetition are completed subsequent to the conferring of the degree. A student holding a two-year associate degree may petition after receiving the associate degree only if currently pursuing a baccalaureate degree. All YSU grades will be counted in determining honors for graduation.

GRADUATION HONORS
Students graduating with a baccalaureate degree who rank scholastically are awarded special honors at the commencement exercise, as follows:

• Those who attain a quality point average of 3.8 or higher are granted their degrees Summa Cum Laude.
• Those who attain a quality point average of less than 3.8 but not less than 3.6 are granted their degrees Magna Cum Laude.
• Those who attain a quality point average of less than 3.6 but not less than 3.4 are granted their degrees Cum Laude.

Students graduating with any associate degree who rank high scholastically are awarded special honors at the commencement exercise, as follows:

• Those who attain a quality point average of 3.7 or higher are granted their degrees with High Honors.

All Youngstown State University grades will be counted in determining honors for graduation.

CREDIT BY EXAM

Credit by Examination is available to students who satisfactorily complete the appropriate subject examination. The following tests are currently available:

# Departmental Test (DT)
# Advanced Placement Program (APP)
# College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
# Proficiency Examination Program (PEP)
# Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

Students may not elect to take Credit by Examination tests for courses unsuccessfully completed or during their last year of course work. For further information, contact your academic advisor.