Rule 3359-60-03.6 | Graduation.
(A) Graduation with honors.
(1) For a student who is being awarded a baccalaureate degree and who has completed sixty or more credits at the university of Akron, the degree:
| Will be designated | If the overall grade-point average is |
| cum laude | between 3.40 and 3.59 |
| magna cum laude | between 3.60 and 3.79 |
| summa cum laude | 3.80 or higher |
The grade-point average will be rounded to the nearest hundredth for the purposes of determining graduation with honors.
The number of credit hours used to determine graduation with honors for the commencement ceremony includes the total number of credit hours completed at the university of Akron plus the number of credit hours in progress at the university of Akron.
A student who holds a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution, including the university of Akron, and who earns a subsequent baccalaureate degree at the university of Akron per the academic policy requirements for second degrees, is eligible to graduate with honors.
(2) For a student who is being awarded an associate degree and who has completed thirty or more credits at the university, and for a student who is being awarded a baccalaureate degree and who has completed fewer than sixty credits at the university, the degree:
| Will be designated | If the overall grade-point average is |
| with distinction | between 3.40 and 3.59 |
| with high distinction | between 3.60 and 3.79 |
| with highest distinction | 3.80 and higher |
The grade-point average will be rounded to the nearest hundredth for the purposes of determining graduation with honors.
A student who holds an associate degree from an accredited institution, including the university of Akron, and who earns a subsequent associate degree at the university of Akron per the academic policy requirements for second degrees, is eligible to graduate with honors.
(3) Where deemed necessary, the chief academic officer may waive these requirements for rare and unique circumstances and report such waivers to the board of trustees for its information.
(B) Requirements for baccalaureate and associate degrees. A candidate for the baccalaureate or the associate degree must:
(1) File an application for graduation with the office of the university registrar.
(a) If the undergraduate or law candidate plans to complete degree requirements at the end of fall semester, submit an application by or before May fifteenth.
(b) If the undergraduate or law candidate plans to complete degree requirements at the end of spring semester, submit an application by or before September fifteenth.
(c) If the undergraduate candidate plans to complete degree requirements at the end of summer semester, submit an application by or before February fifteenth.
(d) If the graduate candidate plans to complete degree requirements by the end of spring, fall or summer semesters, submit an application by dates established by the graduate school.
(2) Earn a minimum 2.00 grade-point average as computed by the office of the university registrar for work attempted at the university of Akron consistent with the repeating courses policy. Some of the colleges may have by action of their faculties, adopted a higher grade-point average for graduation with a degree from that college. The grade-point average achieved at the time of completion of requirements for a degree will be used to calculate rank in class and if applicable honors.
(3) Meet all degree requirements including grade point requirements which are in force at the time a transfer is made to a degree-granting college. If the student should transfer to another major, then the requirements should be those in effect at the time of the transfer. For a student enrolled in an associate degree program, the requirements shall be those in effect upon entrance into the program.
(4) For purposes of meeting foreign language requirements, all foreign languages and "American Sign Language" can fulfill the foreign language requirement for those programs that have a non-specific foreign language requirement. However, for those majors or programs that specify specific language requirements, the applicable specific language requirement must be met to satisfy graduation requirements for that major or program.
(5) Be approved for graduation by the appropriate college faculty, faculty senate, and board of trustees.
(6) Complete the requirements for a degree in not more than five calendar years from the date of transfer, as defined below. In the event the student fails to complete the degree requirements within five calendar years from the date of transfer, the university reserves the right to make changes in the number of credits and/or courses required for a degree.
If a student who has transferred from another institution wishes to present for the student's major fewer than fourteen credits earned at the university of Akron written permission of both the dean and head of the department concerned is required.
The date of transfer for a student into a baccalaureate program will be the date that the student is accepted by the degree-granting college. For a student enrolled in an associate degree program, the date of transfer refers to the date of entrance into the program.
(7) Credit hour minimums.
(a) Earn at least one hundred twenty credits in the baccalaureate degree or sixty credits in the associate degree.
(b) Earn the last thirty credits in the baccalaureate degree total or fifteen credits in the associate degree total in residence at the university of Akron unless excused in writing by the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled.
(c) Earn a minimum of thirty credits in the baccalaureate degree total or fifteen credits in the associate degree total in residence at the university of Akron.
(8) Discharge of all other obligations to the university of Akron.
(C) Requirements for additional baccalaureate and associate degrees.
(1) Meet all the requirements listed in paragraph (B) of this rule.
(2) Earn a minimum of:
(a) Thirty credits which have not counted toward a baccalaureate degree, for an additional baccalaureate degree, or
(b) Fifteen credits which have not counted toward an associate degree, for an additional associate degree.
(3) These credits shall be earned in residence at the university of Akron.
(D) Change of requirements.
(1) To better accomplish its objectives, the university reserves the right to alter, amend or revoke any rule or regulation. The policy of the university is to give advance notice of such change, whenever feasible.
(2) Unless the change in a rule or regulation specifies otherwise, it shall become effective immediately with respect to the student who subsequently enters the university, whatever the date of matriculation.
(3) Without limiting the generality of its power to alter, amend or revoke rules and regulations, the university reserves the right to make changes in degree requirements of the student enrolled prior to the change by:
(a) Altering the number of credits and/or courses required in a major field of study.
(b) Deleting courses.
(c) Amending courses by increasing or decreasing the credits of specific courses, or by varying the content of specific courses.
(d) Offering substitute courses in the same or in cognate fields.
(4) The dean of the college, in consultation with the department or division head of the student's major field of study, may grant waivers in writing if a change in rules affecting degree requirements is unduly hard upon a student enrolled before the change was effective. The action of the dean of the college in the granting or refusing a waiver must be reviewed by the chief academic officer on motion by the dean concerned, or at the request of the dean of the college of the student affected or at the request of the student affected.
(E) Credit and grade point requirements for graduation as adopted by the college faculties are listed in the university's "Undergraduate Bulletin."
(F) When deemed necessary and only in rare and unique circumstances that do not undermine the overall integrity of the various graduation requirements, the chief academic officer in consultation with the president, may waive specific requirements contained in this rule and report such waivers to the board of trustees for its information.
(G) Posthumous conferral of degrees
A request for the posthumous conferral of a degree may be made to the chief academic officer by the faculty of the degree-granting college in which the deceased student was enrolled if the student was in good academic standing at the time of death. Ordinarily, the following criteria should be met:
(1) The student should have been enrolled at the time of death, or in a fall spring or summer term in the calendar year immediately preceding the date of death; and
(2) The student should have had a reasonable chance of degree completion within six months after the date of death.
Last updated May 1, 2023 at 8:39 AM
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: 3359
Prior Effective Dates: 11/4/1977, 8/30/1979, 1/30/1981, 5/15/1982, 1/30/1987, 5/22/1991, 10/28/2002, 2/22/2003, 1/30/2006, 6/25/2007, 2/11/2008, 5/5/2008, 12/31/2009, 5/23/2010, 7/5/2013, 2/1/2015, 6/20/2020