Please review this document and the other materials in the online senior packet and contact Dean Thornton (217 North College, 860.685.2764, rjohnson01@wesleyan.edu) if there is anything that you do not understand or if you foresee anything that could prevent your graduation in May.
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 2018, contact Dean Thornton immediately to clarify your class standing.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
As you review your academic history and credit analysis and finalize your course selections for the semester, you should keep Wesleyan’s graduation requirements in mind:
- Concentration. Satisfactory completion of a major is required for graduation. Consult with your major advisor about specific departmental or program requirements and use the Major Concentration form to list all courses required for your major, including completed courses, courses in progress, and courses that still need to be taken.
- 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.)
- GPA. A cumulative average of at least 74.00 percent is required.
- 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.) A semester in residence is defined as any semester in which a student attends classes on the Wesleyan campus, has attempted at least three credits and received at least one grade.
MAJOR CERTIFICATION
To satisfy the concentration requirement, a student must complete a departmental major, an interdepartmental major, or a collegiate program. It is your responsibility to know the requirements for your major. As a senior expecting to graduate in May 2018, you are required to formalize your progress toward completion of the concentration requirement with your major advisor by completing the Major Certification Form.
- The Major Certification Form functions as your “contract” with your department, so you need to list all those courses that you have completed or will be completing to fulfill major requirements. Other courses taken but not required for completion of the major need not be listed.
- The Major Certification Form can be accessed through the “Student Tools—Academics” bucket in your WesPortal.
- A Major Concentration Form must be completed for each major you intend to complete.
Click here for detailed information about how to submit the Major Certification Form
Click here for the Major Certification process FAQ.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Senior Packet and Graduation Requirements.
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:
- Total semesters at Wesleyan and total semesters in residence, as well as total credits earned and potential credits at the end of the semester.
- “Categories with Credit Limits,” which monitors oversubscription in credit limits within categories.
- “Credit Limits within Departments,” which indicates oversubscription within a subject.
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 last semester, your credits may not yet be posted, even though the semester has been counted in the semester totals. As you review your credit analysis, keep a copy of your academic history on hand and be ready to consult Wesleyan’s academic regulations. 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 the 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 16.00 course credits in any one subject.
- If a course is cross-listed, it counts towards oversubscription in every subject 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, Archaeological 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:
- 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
- Teaching Apprenticeships (491, 492): no more than 2.00 credits.
- Individual (401, 402, 403, 404, 421, 422) 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
- Independent Study (467, 468, 470) and Education-in-the-Field (465, 466, 469): no more than 4.00 credits combined
- Summer credits: no more than 2.00 credits during any given summer
- 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 you have enough useable credit to meet the 32.00 credits required for graduation. If you have any concerns about oversubscription, contact Dean Thornton immediately.
DECEMBER COMPLETION
Some members of the Class of 2018 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 2017 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 contact Dean Thornton as soon as possible if they have questions about their graduation status.
While one may complete one’s degree in December, no one graduates in December. Graduation takes place only once a year, in May.
HONORS
Click here, 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.
SENIORS ON FINANCIAL AID
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 the undergraduate degree.
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.
OTHER THINGS TO DO
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.
A FINAL WORD
Do not hesitate to contact Dean Thornton (217 North College, 860.685.2764; (rjohnson01@wesleyan.edu) at any time if you have any questions regarding the graduation process. While we will do everything we can to facilitate the process, each student is responsible for his or her own graduation and for making sure that there are no surprises in May 2018.