Description
Advisers will encounter requests for waivers of most (if not all) of the graduation requirements. Most often, judging these requirements will require extensive consultation with other advisers, community coordinators, or the Student Scholastic Standing Committee. In general, a student must demonstrate that the waiver requested addresses a serious educational disadvantage, rather than an inconvenience, and must provide a clear explanation of why that requirement has not been met in the course of the student’s enrollment.
Degree Requirements NOT petitionable:
- 120 credits
- 48 upper division credits
- 18 upper division credits outside the major
- Minimum 30 U of M residency credits
Petitionable Credit Requirements:
- 24 CLA residency credits
- Senior Year Rule
- Limit of 18 non-liberal arts credits
- 60 credit major declaration policy (MDR Override)
Petitionable Course requirements:
- Writing Intensive course approval for students on semester requirements
- Writing Intensive course approval for students on transition requirements
- Liberal Education course approval
- 1 credit waiver for the Liberal Education requirements
- Collegiate (Chambers) course approval
Petitionable Second Language Requirement:
- Modification of second language requirement and requests to use languages not taught at the University of Minnesota to satisfy the second language requirement
- Modification of second language requirement based on disability
24 CLA residency credits
Students are required to complete 24 credits in CLA courses after admission to CLA. This requirement can be waived under rare circumstances. Most commonly this waiver will occur with a student who has taken a substantial amount of CLA coursework while in a degree-seeking program through another UM-TC college or through CCE. Proximity to graduation and previous coursework done in CLA prior to admission are the largest considerations. The petition is routed to the coordinator. A summary of the petition is emailed to Ole Gram, Assistant to the Associate Dean, who will relay the decision back to the community coordinator who will then complete the petition response.
Senior Year Rule
The senior year rule states that 15 of the last 30 credits must be completed at the UM-TC campus. This rule can be petitioned if the student wishes to earn these 30 credits while studying abroad. College advisers can approve or reject these petitions. If the student wishes to earn these credits at another U.S. institution the petition should be rejected. IDL courses and Study abroad programs sponsored by the University of Minnesota will count as residency credits.
Requests to use non-UMTC coursework toward remaining degree requirements will be favorably considered, providing students are in good academic standing and have completed the following:
- A major or senior project when required;
- Minor requirements (optional)
- English composition, second language, and liberal education requirements (including themes)
- 33 credits at the 3-5xxx level credits while registered in CLA
- At least three-fourths of the total number of credits required for graduation while registered on the University’s Twin Cities campus (a minimum of 90 credits or, if a transfer student, at least 60 credits).
Limit of 18 non-liberal arts credits
Advisers should consult with their community coordinator.
Exceptions to the 60 credit major declaration policy (MDR override)
“All freshmen-admitting colleges shall have an undeclared student status. All students shall be required to declare a major or be accepted into a program before or upon the completion of 60 semester credits. Once 60 credits have been completed, a student will not be allowed to register until they declare a major. (The student will be required to declare a major at the end of the term in which they complete 60 or more credits.)”
If a student has not declared a major by the time they have completed 60 credits an MDR (major declaration required) hold is placed on their record. Advisers may provide pre-professional students with a One-Time-Only waiver of the MDR hold. Candidates for this waiver are pre-professional students who do not have a plan B major, and who plan to apply to a professional program during the following term. Advisers should continue to encourage students to declare legitimate plan B majors. This waiver policy is intended for students who cannot or, for reasons of their own, will not decide on a plan B major and should not be widely offered to all pre-professional students. Students must meet with an adviser to discuss getting a waiver.
If a waiver is approved, the adviser should make file notes which indicate this is a One-Time-Only waiver and that if students are not admitted to a professional program the next term, they must declare a plan B major and no further such exceptions will be granted. The adviser should also enter the student’s name, ID number, and intended professional program on the list maintained in their student community.
Writing Intensive course approval for students on semester requirements
Petitions for unapproved courses (transfer or U of M) to fulfill the writing intensive requirement for students on semester requirements should be submitted to the Office of Admissions in 240 Williamson Hall. These petitions take approximately one to two weeks to be processed. The student is notified of the petition decision by mail or phone.
The form used for those petitions submitted to the Office of Admissions is available at that office or in pdf format (scan). The undergraduate petition form is submitted to Laurel Carroll for U of M classes. These petitions are seldom approved unless the adviser has misadvised the student.
Accompanying the petition should be supplementary course materials for each course the student wishes to be considered. These should consist of, at minimum, a complete syllabus for the course (including detailed information about the content covered in the course) but can also include course notes, papers, exams, and/or textbooks (with applicable chapters or sections highlighted). The more information a student submits, the more informed an evaluation can be.
If the student does not have a course syllabus or other materials in their possession, they are responsible for obtaining a syllabus from the transfer institution where they took the course. If the course was taken many years ago and the college or department no longer has a copy of the syllabus from the term when the course was taken, then a copy of the current course syllabus along with a formal note from the college or department indicating the course content remained unchanged will suffice. Sometimes students submit letters of support written by the instructor who taught the course they are petitioning; this form of supplementary material may be helpful in many circumstances, but a copy of the course syllabus is still necessary.
Writing Intensive course approval for students on transition requirements
College advisers may review University or transfer courses to fulfill the Upper Division Writing Intensive requirement (classes at the 3-5xxx level) for students who are under the transition writing intensive requirement. These students are admitted to a UMTC degree program prior to fall 1999, or admitted as transfer students prior to fall 2001.
For approval, U of M courses must be 3xxx level or above, and must include:
- 10-15 pages (total) of finished writing (informal assignments such as personal journals do not qualify as finished writing);
- At least one assignment that is revised and resubmitted after receiving feedback from the instructor or TA (i.e., a draft and final paper);
- A final grade (minimum 30%) that depends in significant part on the student’s writing.
A copy of the syllabus should be included with the petition for the class to be considered for the Writing Intensive requirement.
UM-TC quarter courses will not be considered for WI because the above criteria were designed for the semester system only.
Transfer courses must be clearly designated as upper division, based either on the school’s numbering system, or on a reevaluation of the course content by the appropriate U of M department. Such courses may then be reviewed according to the above criteria.
In addition, transfer courses meeting a writing intensive requirement at the previous school will be approved. Students will be responsible for providing documentation of the school’s writing intensive requirement and that the course in question applied to that requirement.
Liberal Education Requirement substitution petitions
The following types of LE petitions should be submitted to Maggie Gardner in the Office of the Admissions in 240 Williamson Hall:
- Courses taken at another U.S. college or university.
- Courses taken at a coordinate U of M campus (Morris, Duluth, Crookston, or Waseca)
- UM-TC courses taken through College of Continuing Education (CCE) prior to fall 1994 by students not enrolled in degree programs at the time.
Petitions for UM-TC courses taken through Extension or Day School during or after fall 1994 should be submitted to Laurel Carroll in 160 Morrill Hall.
Petitions for courses taken at an international college or university should be submitted to Margaret Gardner in the Office of Admissions at 240 Williamson.
Petitions for courses taken through a study abroad program should be submitted to the Global Campus in 230 Heller Hall. A Global Campus adviser will assist the student with their petition and then route it on the student’s behalf, usually to admissions.
These petitions take approximately one to two weeks to be processed. The student is notified of the petition decision by mail or phone.
The form used for those petitions submitted to the Office of Admissions is available at that office or in pdf format. The form for petitions submitted to Laurel Carroll is the undergraduate petitions form.
Accompanying the petition should be supplementary course materials for each course the student wishes to be considered. These should consist of, at minimum, a complete syllabus for the course (including detailed information about the content covered in the course) but can also include course notes, papers, exams, and/or textbooks (with applicable chapters or sections highlighted). The more information a student submits, the more accurate an evaluation can be.
If the student does not have a course syllabus or other materials in their possession, they are responsible for obtaining a syllabus from the transfer institution where they took the course. If the course was taken many years ago and the college or department no longer has a copy of the syllabus from the term when the course was taken, then a copy of the current course syllabus along with a formal note from the college or department indicating the course content remained unchanged will suffice. Sometimes students submit letters of support written by the instructor who taught the course they are petitioning; this form of supplementary material may be helpful in many circumstances, but a copy of the course syllabus is still necessary.
One-credit waiver for Liberal Education Requirements
Advisers, on behalf of their students, may request a one-credit waiver for the diversified core requirements and a one-credit waver for the designated theme requirements. The waiver will reduce the credit requirement by one credit for one subgroup in the core requirements and will reduce the credit requirement of one theme. These waivers are automatic; students do not need to petition. If a one-credit waiver is needed, advisers should send an email to Lynn Jordan (mailto: l-dyks@umn.edu) in the Office of the Registrar asking her to change the student’s records.
Collegiate (Chambers) course approval
Transfer courses are evaluated for collegiate or Chambers requirements by college advisers. The course description should contain enough information to make an initial assessment about whether the course may fulfill the particular requirement.
Students should complete an Undergraduate Petition form indicating the course for which they are petitioning and the specific general education requirement to be considered. The petition should include a course syllabus, reading list, class notes, assignments, textbooks, or any other information available. Courses without at least a syllabus cannot be approved.
University of Minnesota courses not already approved for general education requirements may also be petitioned by following the above procedures. They are less likely to be approved, however, since much of the U of M curriculum has already been reviewed for appropriate general education requirements.
Modifications of second language requirement and requests to use languages not taught at the U of M to satisfy the second language requirement
The Committee for Appeals of the Second Language Requirement (CASL) considers appeals for students who:
- Have attempted the Graduation Proficiency Test (GPT) in one of the languages for which the University has such a test:
- A student who has passed all pass/fail portions of the GPT (usually the Writing and Speaking Exams) and are no more than one point short of the minimum composite score on the other exams (usually the Listening and Reading exams) can appeal directly.
- All other students must have attempted the failed portions of the test at least twice and must document sufficient preparation efforts for the second and later attempts, detailing the specific materials, methods and number of hours of study (usually number of hours per week and number of weeks);
- Can document that they have demonstrated the equivalent proficiency by other means (such as testing at a previous institution, the Defense Language Institute, or by completing significant coursework toward a major or minor in a language;
- Request to satisfy the requirement by demonstrating proficiency in a language for which there is no GPT offered at the University (students are responsible for locating-and paying, if necessary-a qualified instructor/examiner);
- Have moved out of state, are unable to return to Minnesota in the near future, and are seeking an alternative method of demonstrating proficiency.
CASL does NOT consider:
- Waiver of the second language requirement (usually coming from students who have not attempted a GPT)
- Exemption from the requirement based on bilingual or non-native speaker status (this should be initiated in an appointment with a college adviser, link to Second Language Requirement)
- Waiver of High School Preparation requirement in Second Language (this is handled by petition to the student’s college office.)
The Committee:
The committee consists of four members: one language department faculty member, two advising experts in Student Scholastic Standing Committee and degree clearance functions, and an executive secretary.
Meetings and submission of appeals:
The Committee meets every other month, usually during the third or fourth week of January, March, May, July, September, and November. Petitions should be submitted to the Executive Secretary in 560 Heller Hall by the 15th day of these months in order to ensure that they will be considered at the next meeting; petitions submitted after the deadline will be included if time permits for the preparation and distribution of information.
Procedure:
Use the standard petition form, although most students’ statements are usually attached on separate sheets. The petition may be submitted to the student’s college office, from where it should be forwarded along with the student’s file to the executive secretary in 560 Heller Hall, or the petition may be submitted directly to Ted Fitch in 560 Heller Hall (he will then request the student’s file from the college office). The petition should include:
- Documentation of preparation efforts or of testing from an alternative institution
- Current mailing address
- Student ID number
- Dates (or terms) of all attempts at the GPT (if applicable)
Disability-related language appeals
The Committee for Disability-Related Appeals of the Second Language Requirement (ComDS) consists of four members; one language department faculty member, the Assistant Dean for Student Services; a representative of Disability Services; and an Executive Secretary.
Appeals Considered:
- Modification of the Second Language requirement for students who have a documented learning disability (LD) or, more rarely, a physical disability or mental condition, that specifically prevents the student from effectively learning a foreign language
- Waiver or modification of the collegiate (Chambers) Group A Formal Language requirement for students who have a documented learning disability (LD) that specifically prevents the student from learning college-level mathematics.
Appeals Not Considered:
- Waiver of second language requirement on the basis of a learning disability, physical disability or mental condition. (If the appeal is approved, the requirement is modified; the most common modification is to combine successfully completed language courses in one language and related culture courses, for a total of six quarter or four semester courses.)
- Waiver or modification of the UMTCLE Mathematical Thinking requirement. (The Council on Liberal Education has a parallel process for such appeals, although few if any have reached the point of appeal because of the limitations on modifying this requirement. Contact Laurel Carroll, 624-1320.)
- Modification of or accommodations for the Graduation Proficiency Test (GPT). (Such requests are handled by the student’s Disability Services specialist in consultation with the Language Testing Center.)
Procedure:
The committee meets one time each semester, usually in week 9 or 10 to provide time for the student to make plans and seek appropriate accommodations after receiving the committee’s decision and before registration for the following semester begins. The deadline for submission of appeals is October 31(fall) and March 15 (spring).
Students considering this petition should be referred to the Student Disability Services office in 180 Gateway Center (626-1333). Students who have not undergone evaluation (or has documentation that is dated) will have to undergo evaluation before an appeal can be discussed. The Disability Services specialist works with students to prepare a statement and summarizes the evaluation; if applicable, the specialist will also request input about the student’s language learning experience from former instructors.
Students should use the standard undergraduate petition form, and attach their statement to that form. Students should submit all petition material to their Disability Services specialist by the deadline; if students submit the petition material and/or statement to the college office (CLA student community), please forward it along with the student file to the executive secretary in 560 Heller Hall. The student is informed of the committee’s decision by mail.
