Academic Policies Graduation Policies and Procedures

Petition to Graduate

Undergraduate students should submit a formal petition for the degree through the online petition process no later than the published deadline, and pay the graduation fee. Login to Owl Express; select Registration and Student Records tab; select Petition to Graduate. Once submitted, the graduation petition process will initiate a petition fee assessment and a review of the student’s academic record to determine eligibility toward the degree. Expect up to eight weeks for a completed degree audit. Petition status changes are view-able at the Display Petition Status link in Owl Express, and the student will be prompted by email to view status changes in addition to essential audit results and graduation policies. Students may request in absentia status by writing to the Registrar prior to the graduation exercises.

The Office of the Registrar will apply the petition and assess the fee to the student account for students with more than 90 degree applicable credit hours who have not petitioned and are deemed on track to graduate. Students will be notified of commencement exercises. Upon degree completion, the degree will be awarded.

Graduation Petition Acceptance Petition Deadline

It should be noted that program and course requirements and university policies are subject to change without advanced notice. Changes in policy and requirements enacted by the Board of Regents take precedence over existing university policies and requirements. The University will make reasonable efforts to accommodate students affected by such changes, but reserves the right to determine where and to what extent it will grant exceptions to new policies and requirements. In cases where courses are deleted, students must substitute courses deemed acceptable by the faculty or chair responsible for the degree program in question.

Graduated and Re-enrollment Requirement

Graduated students who wish to continue enrollment after earning a degree must complete a readmission application to update their student status. 

Students with a declared dual degree or double major prior to completion of the first degree may continue to enroll in classes to complete the second degree or major. Contact the Office of the Registrar to have the second degree or major declared. 

Other Requirements

• Satisfactorily complete any grades of I (Incomplete), IP (In Progress), or NR (Not Reported) grades.
• Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 39 semester hours at the 3000-4000 level, including at least 21 semester hours at the 3000-4000 level in the major field of study in residency.
• Satisfactorily complete all requirements for the degree no later than the last day of finals in the term in which the degree is to be awarded. Students who fail to meet this deadline will not receive their degree until the next semester.

In all instances, meeting the requirements for graduation is the responsibility of the student.

Commencement Ceremony

• Students are only permitted to participate in the commencement ceremony for the semester that all degree requirements will be completed.  Students are not permitted to walk in an earlier semester.
• Students who have petitioned for multiple degrees that fall into the same ceremony may only walk for one degree.
• Participation in a commencement ceremony does not constitute earning a degree, and the conferred date on a diploma will coincide with the semester that the degree requirements are completed.
• Students are invited to take part in commencement, but participating is not required in order to have a degree awarded.
• Students who petition after the established deadline are not guaranteed to be represented in the commencement program or receive ticket allotment for the ceremony.

Catalog for Graduation Evaluation

Students should meet with their academic advisor or departmental representative to determine the appropriate catalog to be used for academic advisement and for evaluation of graduation requirements. Catalog selection applies only to the course requirements of that catalog; all other academic procedures and graduation requirements must be satisfied according to regulations in effect at the time of graduation.

Students may elect to be evaluated for graduation from any catalog in effect during the time they have been enrolled, provided that enrollment has been continuous, and the student does not change majors. If students change majors, they will be evaluated for graduation using the catalog in effect at the time of the change, or any subsequent catalog as long as students are continuously enrolled.

Students readmitted will be evaluated for graduation from the catalog in effect at the time of readmission or reinstatement, or any catalog in effect during subsequent periods of continuous enrollment. Students may not elect a catalog for a discontinued/deactivated degree program.

Age of Credit

Courses, in general, have no limit imposed on the age of credit.  However, each department may elect to restrict the age of courses applied to a specific degree program.

Deficiencies

Students who have received a grade of “I”, “IP”, “F” or “WF” in a course have a deficiency in the course. Students whose final grade is “F” or “WF” have a failure in that course. Students should repeat and pass the course in residence at Kennesaw State University before credit will be allowed. Repeating the course does not remove the “F” or “WF” from the total cumulative average.

Duplicate Courses or Dual Credit

If students have two courses that are so similar as to be considered the same, they may only use one to meet program of study degree requirements. Only one course may be counted as hours earned, and only one course may be used for graduation purposes. 

Graduation Requirements: 

To be eligible to receive a baccalaureate degree, a student must meet the following requirements: 

• Each undergraduate student must have a minimum institutional Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 for graduation. Specific degree programs may have higher requirements.
• Complete all required General Education courses; ENGL 1101 AND ENGL 1102 require a grade of “C” or higher (or equivalents, if a transfer student).
• Complete the chosen program of study with the grade of “C” or better in all courses listed under the major, including those listed as Lower Division Major Requirements.
• Complete a minimum of 120 semester hours.  Specific degree programs may require additional hours.  A minimum institutional grade point average of 2.0 on all course work attempted at KSU is required.  No course may be counted more than one time in meeting the total credit hours required for the degree.
• Have at least a 2.0 institutional grade point average with at least 30 hours of credit for KSU coursework not excluded because of repeated courses or Academic Renewal status. If students have fewer than 30 earned hours of credit for non-excluded KSU coursework, they must have a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
• Earn at least 25 percent of the credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree through instruction offered by Kennesaw State.

Degree Program Hours

Baccalaureate degrees consist of a minimum of 120 semester hours. Exceptions to the maximum degree length requirements have been made with the approval of the Board of Regents. A baccalaureate degree program requires at least 21 semester hours of upper-division courses in the major field to be completed at KSU, and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall are required for the degree. 

State Legislative Requirements 

Undergraduate students cannot graduate or receive a degree without successfully completing course work or passing a satisfactory examination on the history of the United States and the history of Georgia and the provisions and principles of the United States and the Constitution of Georgia.

KSU degree-seeking students satisfy these requirements by attaining a grade of “D” or better in the course POLS 1101 along with the course HIST 2111 or HIST 2112.

Transfer credit may also satisfy all the requirements if:

• The equivalent course work to the above courses is from a USG institution
• The course(s) differs from the above courses, but it is established that it meets the legislative requirements of the particular USG institution
• The equivalent course work to the above courses has been approved as satisfactory for legislative requirement purposes from TCSG institutions or other regionally accredited post-secondary institutions in the State of Georgia

Transfer credit equivalent to the above courses from outside the State of Georgia or from credit-by-exam mechanisms will have history of Georgia and Constitution of Georgia requirements unmet. Degree-seeking students in these cases will have to take the KSU course(s) or pass the relevant Georgia History and/or Georgia Constitution exemption examinations offered through the KSU Testing Center. Students wishing to take the test may email the KSU Testing Center at ksutesting@kennesaw.edu.

Core Curriculum Requirement

Kennesaw State University will develop a policy to comply with BOR Academic Affairs Handbook policy 2.4.4, which requires that new students complete AREA A prior to reaching a specified number of hours.

ENGL 1101 and 1102: The Campus Writing Requirement

At Kennesaw State University ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 (English Composition I & II) are required for all undergraduate degrees. A grade of “C” or better is required for ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102.

Residency Requirements

Students must earn at least 25 percent of the credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree, which includes at least 21 hours of upper-division courses (Coles College of Business requires 33 hours), through instruction offered by Kennesaw State. Credit hours earned through instruction offered by KSU does not include coursework transferred from other institutions, prior learning assessments, credit by examination (e.g., CLEP, AP, IB), or credits earned through a consortium that did not originate from KSU (i.e., cross registration). 

Graduation with Honors

An institutional grade point average of at least 3.5 is required for students to graduate cum laude, 3.7 to graduate magna cum laude and 3.9 to graduate summa cum laude from a baccalaureate program. Graduation with honors requires that students earn at least 30 semester credit hours in residence at Kennesaw State University for the bachelor’s degree. Double Owl courses will be included in the 30 earned semester hours required for honors. 

To receive honors at graduation, “second degree” and Academic Renewal students must have at least 30 earned hours of credit at KSU after the “second degree” or Academic Renewal status was granted. In addition, for honors, students who have repeated courses must have at least 30 earned hours of credit at KSU after the hours for the repeated courses have been excluded

Double Majors

Double major consists of two separate majors in the same baccalaureate degree (for example, Bachelor of Science with separate majors in Mathematics and Physics). One diploma will be issued for the degree.

Students are eligible for a double major when the following conditions are met:

• All of the requirements for two KSU majors are satisfied, including all residency and institutional requirements for each major; and
• KSU courses taken to meet residency and institutional requirements of one major may be counted toward the residency and institutional requirements for the second major; and
• The second major must be completed at the time of graduation with the first major.

Whether in one degree or two, students may not graduate with more than two majors. 

Dual Degree

A dual degree consists of two separate majors leading to different baccalaureate degrees (for example, Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English and Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Mathematics). Two diplomas will be issued.

Students are eligible for a dual degree when the following conditions are met:

• All of the requirements for two KSU degree programs are satisfied, including all residency and institutional requirements for each degree program; and
• KSU courses taken to meet residency and institutional requirements for one degree may be counted toward the residency and institutional requirements of the second degree; and
• The second degree must be completed at the time of graduation with the first degree.

Second Bachelor’s Degrees

A second bachelor’s degree consists of students who have previously earned or are currently pursuing a baccalaureate degree from an institution regionally accredited by the Commission on Colleges and are also enrolling and obtaining a second baccalaureate at KSU. The second degree can be the same as the first degree (for example, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics - first degree, and Bachelor of Science in Physics - second degree) or the second degree can be different from the first degree (for example, Bachelor of Arts in English- first degree, and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics- second degree).

The second baccalaureate degree requires satisfying the following requirements:

• Meet all major requirements (including prerequisite courses) listed for the chosen program of study.
• Complete the Georgia Legislative History and Constitution requirements.
• Earn at least 25 percent of the credit hours, through instruction offered by Kennesaw State. If the first baccalaureate degree was earned at KSU, these hours must be in excess of any hours used toward the first baccalaureate degree, unless the first degree was received within five years of receiving the second degree.
• Complete at least 21 semester hours of upper-division coursework in residence beyond the courses required for the student’s first degree.
• If the first degree is earned at Kennesaw State University, a student may seek a second baccalaureate degree only if the second major is different from the first major.
• Complete (for students with majors in the Bagwell College of Education) the lower division major requirement courses in Education.

Certificate Programs

Stand-Alone Certificate Programs

• Students admitted to a stand-alone certificate program may apply the courses completed for the stand-alone certificate toward a degree program if they are accepted into a degree program.
• Students admitted to a degree program may be awarded a related stand-alone certificate based on completion of the courses in the certificate program provided they also apply for the stand-alone certificate.
• Students who wish to apply for a stand-alone certificate should contact their academic department or the Office of the Registrar for instructions on how to proceed.
• The Office of the Registrar will issue the stand-alone certificate upon completion of the requirements. 

Embedded Certificates

Embedded certificates are those certificates that are only awarded to a student upon completion of a degree and are a self-contained set of courses embedded in a major or stand-alone degree. Embedded certificates are not listed separately on the USG authorized Degrees and Majors inventory list.

The Office of the Registrar will issue the embedded certificate upon completion of the degree requirements, which include the requirements for the embedded certificate.The embedded certificate fee will then be charged to the student account.

Minor Requirements

• A minor program is a prescribed area of academic study consisting of 15-18 semester hours.
• At least nine of the required hours must be at the upper-division level, i.e. courses numbered 3000 or above.
• At least six credit hours of the upper division credit hours must be earned in residence at KSU. 
• The prescribed courses for a minor may be taken from one or more academic disciplines. Courses taken in Core Area F (lower division major requirements) may be counted as coursework in the minor.
• Courses taken to satisfy Core Areas A through E (general education) may NOT be counted as coursework in the minor.
• Students must earn a grade of at least “C” in all course work applicable to a formal minor.
• When a student’s major and minor require the same courses, there is no limit on duplicate credit. 100% sharing between a major and minor is permitted. A course may satisfy the requirements of the major, a first minor and a second minor. 
• The minor must be declared and completed before, or at the same time as degree completion.

It is highly recommended that if a student plans to complete a minor, the student consults an advisor to submit the minor declaration three semesters prior to degree completion. 

In order to graduate with a minor that will be noted on students’ permanent record, students must declare the minor through Owl Express. Additional minors must be declared through the Office of the Registrar using a completed and approved minor form posted on the Registrar Forms website https://registrar.kennesaw.edu/forms.php