University-Wide Degree Requirements

General Education Program

The General Education program offers a solid, comprehensive foundational academic experience for all Kennesaw State University students. In a series of interrelated courses in the liberal arts and sciences, it provides the opportunity for them to acquire the intellectual skills and knowledge characteristic of educated persons in a diverse, global community. Thus, it forms the basis for success in academic, professional, and personal arenas.

Whereas the major program contributes depth to a college education in a designated specialization, the general education core program provides breadth of understanding by providing an introduction, connection, and integration to a variety of disciplines needed by educated persons. At KSU, the General Education Program consists of interrelated classes that develop skills for an informed, engaged, and capable citizenry.

General Education at KSU is a campus-wide effort. With faculty representatives from every college and school, the General Education Council, headed by the Dean of University College, oversees the continued development and refinement of this important, core program. The General Education Council also oversees assessment activities and works with related programs (e.g., Learning Communities, First Year Experience Programs, and Honors Programs) in an effort to develop continuity for students. The General Education Program at KSU has four overall goals. While each individual course does not address every goal, over the course of the program, students should acquire the ability to do the following:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of general education disciplines.
• Demonstrate proficiency in communication.
• Demonstrate skills in inquiry, critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving through scholarly and/or creative activity across the general education disciplines.
• Demonstrate an understanding of ethics, diversity, and a global perspective.

Throughout the university system, the core curriculum consists of 60 semester credit hours of which a minimum of 42 are in general education and 18 in major-related courses.

 

University-Wide Academic Information

Prerequisites

Students should attempt to schedule courses that serve as prerequisites for advanced study early in their academic career. Lower division courses are designed to serve as preparatory for upper division requirements.

Substitutions

Students with advanced standing credits or transfer credits for courses similar to those required in the General Education Program may be permitted to satisfy KSU’s requirements through approved course substitutions. Students seeking such substitutions should contact the office of the Dean of University College.

Mathematics Advisement and Placement Test (MAPT)

Students who are not required to take the mathematics COMPASS test for the Learning Support Program should take the Mathematics Advisement and Placement Test (MAPT). The MAPT helps students decide which credit mathematics course to take first. This is an online test that students should take before orientation and advisement. Details are at http://placement.kennesaw.edu.

Transferring Core Credits to KSU

Students with transfer credits from one University System of Georgia (USG) institution to another are guaranteed the transferability of their General Education courses if they meet two conditions. If students have satisfied all General Education requirements at one USG institution, they have satisfied all requirements at another—even if the requirements are different. Second, if students have completed any of the five areas specified by the Board of Regents (A through E) at one USG institution, they have completed that area at another, even if the requirements are different. Please note, however, that additional courses may be required if they are prerequisites to major courses. The Area F courses require a grade of “C” or better. To certify the completion of one or more areas, students should request a Core (General Education) Evaluation in the Registrar’s Office.

Transferring Core Credits to Another USG Institution

Students transferring from KSU to another USG institution may take advantage of this policy by completing the General Education Program. To certify the completion of one or more areas, students should request a Core (General Education) Evaluation in the Registrar’s Office.

Hours Required for an Undergraduate Degree

A baccalaureate degree consists of a minimum of 123 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 24 semester hours of upper division courses in the major field and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall.

Regents’ Testing Program Requirements

Board of Regents’ Procedure for the Regents’ Test

Kennesaw State University has established its policies on the Regents’ Test based on Board of Regents Policy 307. The text of that policy follows.

The formulation and administration of the Regents’ Test and the Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement shall be as determined by the Chancellor and prescribed in the Academic Affairs Handbook. (BR Minutes, August, 2004)

Each institution of the University System of Georgia shall ensure that students obtaining a degree from a System institution possess certain minimum skills of reading and writing, hereinafter called Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills. The Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement has been developed to help attain this goal. The Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement will ensure students have competence, at a minimum system-wide level, in reading and writing.

Students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs leading to the baccalaureate degree will be required to complete the Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement as a requirement for graduation.

The Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement is not a requirement for an associate of applied science degree or an associate of science degree in an allied health field, although institutions may choose to require it for these degrees. (BR Minutes, 1986-87, p. 371, 1987-88, pp. 129-30).

A student holding a baccalaureate or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education will not be required to complete the Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement in order to receive a degree from a University System institution (BR Minutes, 1987-88, pp. 129-30). The Board of Regents may allow waivers of the Regents’ Skills Requirement in very rare circumstances (estimated at no more than 1-2 a year, Systemwide) when, after enrollment, students develop documentable medical conditions that make all testing methods inapplicable. Guidelines for implementing this waiver will be issued by the Chancellor. (BR Minutes, March, 2007)

There shall be two System-mandated courses in writing and in reading that represent a vehicle for meeting the Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement.

There will be Systemwide tests administered in reading and in writing. These tests will be referred to collectively as the Regents’ Test. The Regents’ Test is designed to provide an additional method for satisfying the Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement.

The formulation and administration of the Regents’ Test and the Regents’ Writing and Reading Skills requirement shall be as determined by the Chancellor and prescribed in the Academic Affairs Handbook. (BR Minutes, August 2004)

Other pertinent Board of Regents’ policies:

1. The Regents’ Test will be administered during one testing period each fall and spring semester after approximately ten to twelve weeks of instruction. The test will be administered on a flexible schedule during the summer.
2. Each institution shall develop special procedures, in accordance with the description of procedures and requirements for examining and exempting students with disabilities. A written description of the institutional procedures shall be submitted to the Chancellor. Such procedures shall include provision for Regents’ courses if needed and formal examination prior to exemption or passing the courses. Such examination shall equal the standards of the Regents’ Test.
3. A student may request a formal review of his or her Regents’ Essay Test if that student’s essay received at least one passing score among the three scores awarded.
4. Regents’ Reading and Writing Skills Courses as required under Board of Regents policy shall be in keeping with regulations in satisfaction of federal and state student financial assistance and such other eligibility programs.

For all Board of Regents’ policies regarding the Regents’ Testing Program, please refer to their website: (http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwrtp/)

KSU Recommendations Regarding the Regents’ Test

The following information about the Regents’ Test is applicable to all KSU students enrolled in undergraduate programs leading to a baccalaureate degree. Registration for the Regents’ Test is available on-line during the normal registration periods through Owl Express.

1. Students must take the test in the first term enrolled. To assure compliance with this requirement, a hold will be placed on the registration of all students until they have registered for the test.
2. Students who transfer into KSU must take the test during their first term of enrollment. These students, as well, will have a hold placed on their registration to assure that they register.
3. Students who have not passed the Regents’ Test, must take the appropriate Regents’ skill course(s) each term of enrollment until they have passed both parts. If they have failed the writing portion of the test, they must register for RGTE 0199; if they have failed the reading portion, they must register for RGTR 0198.
4. Students whose native language is not English and who fail either portion of the test are eligible for an English as a Second Language (ESL) version designed specifically to accommodate their language difficulties. Information about this test can be obtained from the ESL Study Center Coordinator in University Studies.
5. Students with documented learning disabilities may be eligible for a special administration of the test. Students should contact the Office of Disabled Student Support Services in the Student Center. Students with severe test anxiety may be eligible for a special test administration. Further information is available in the Department of University Studies.
6. Students must be enrolled in KSU to be eligible to take the test or receive tutoring.
7. Students taking the test must present a picture identification card in order to be admitted to the testing site. Students should bring a black ink pen as well as a #2 pencil to the test. They will be permitted to use an English dictionary during the final 15 minutes of the essay portion of the test.
8. Be on time. Students who arrive late are not admitted to the testing site.
9. Students wishing to appeal the results of the essay portion of the test should follow the procedure outlined in the following section.

Regents’ Test Appeals

Students wishing to appeal the results of the essay portion of the test should contact the Director of the Writing Center who will determine their eligibility for appeal. (At least one of the three original scorers must have given the essay a passing grade.) The appeal will then follow this procedure.

1. Three (3) faculty members, designated by the institution as a review panel conduct an on-campus review.
2. The on-campus review panel may (1) sustain, by majority opinion, the essay’s failing score, thus terminating the review process, or (2) recommend, by majority opinion, the re-scoring of the essay by the Regents’ Testing Program central office. The student is notified concerning the results of the on-campus review.
3. If the on-campus panel recommends re-scoring of the essay, that recommendation will be transmitted in writing, along with a copy of the essay, to the office of the system’s director of the Regents’ Testing Program. The director will utilize the services of three (3) experienced Regents’ essay scorers other than those involved in the original scoring of the essay to review the essay, following normal scoring procedures for the essay component of the Regents’ Test. The decision of this panel on the merits of the essay will be final, thus terminating the review process. The student will be notified, through the institution, concerning the results of the review.

Academic Standing Classification of Students

Undergraduate students are classified into levels on the basis of the number of credit hours they have earned as follows:

Level	Number of Credit Hours Earned
Freshman	0-29
Sophomore	30-59
Junior	60-89
Senior	90 and above.

Classification of Courses

The courses of instruction for degree credit in the curriculum of the university are divided into three categories: lower division, upper division and graduate. Lower division courses (typically regarded as freshman and sophomore level courses) are numbered 1000-2999; upper division courses (typically regarded as junior and senior level courses) are numbered 3000-4999; and graduate courses are numbered 5000 and above. Graduate courses are open only to students accepted to graduate study. (Courses numbered below 1000 do not count for degree credit but do count for determining fees and enrollment status.)

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.

Graduation Requirements

To be considered for admission to candidacy for a degree, students must make formal petition to the faculty for the degree. The chart below indicates the earliest and latest times that students may petition to graduate. Petition forms are available in the Office of the Registrar and must be returned, once completed, to the Office of the Registrar.

Term of Graduation	Earliest Time to Petition	Latest Time to Petition
FALL	April 1	July 1
SPRING	August 1 of previous year	November 1 of previous year
SUMMER	January 1	April 10

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

1. Complete the required General Education courses, with a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 (or equivalents, if a transfer student).
2. 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.
3. Complete a minimum of 123 semester hours with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on all course work attempted at KSU. No course may be counted more than one time in meeting the total credit hours required for the degree.
4. Have at least a 2.0 adjusted grade point average (AGPA) and at least 30 earned hours of credit for KSU coursework not excluded because of repeated courses or “fresh start” status. If the student has fewer than 30 earned hours of credit for non-excluded KSU coursework, he/she must have a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
5. Complete at least 39 semester hours of upper division (courses numbered 3000 or higher) work overall.
6. Complete at least 30 semester hours in residence at Kennesaw State (Coles College of Business requires 33 hours). At least 20 of the last 30 semester hours preceding graduation must be earned in residence. In addition, 24 semester hours of the upper level major requirements must be earned in residence at KSU.
7. Complete satisfactorily the University System of Georgia Regents’ Testing Program (required of all persons receiving a degree from any institution in the University System of Georgia).
8. Complete successfully HIST 2112 and POLS 1101 or pass examinations in these fields (to satisfy the Georgia General Assembly’s requirement that all graduates of units of the University System of Georgia demonstrate competency in United States and Georgia history and the constitutions of the United States and Georgia).
9. In all instances, meeting the requirement for graduation is the responsibility of the student.

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 such cases, program requirements that were published in University catalogs that are more than 10 years old will not be honored without specific approval of the department chair responsible for the program.

The University may elect to apply the policies or program requirements of an earlier catalog if the student was enrolled at the time that the earlier catalog was in effect. Students will not be permitted to mix or split requirements for graduation from more than one catalog.

While students may elect to graduate under degree requirements found in any catalog from the semester they matriculate until the semester they graduate, they are required to follow the most recent catalog requirements regarding prerequisites, corequisites, or other faculty approved changes in courses. In cases where courses are deleted, students must substitute courses deemed acceptable by the faculty or chair responsible for the degree program in question.

Graduation Ceremonies

Graduation ceremonies are held at the end of fall semester, spring semester, and summer semester.

Graduation with Honors

An overall adjusted 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 honor requires that students earn at least 60 semester credit hours in residence at Kennesaw State University for the bachelor’s degree.

To receive honors at graduation, “second degree” and “fresh start” students must have at least 60 earned hours of credit at KSU after the “second degree” or “fresh start” status was granted. In addition, for honors, students who have repeated courses must have at least 60 earned hours of credit at KSU after the hours for the repeated courses have been excluded.

Double Majors

An undergraduate student is eligible to have a double major recorded on the transcript and to graduate with two majors under the following conditions:

1. All of the requirements for two KSU degree programs are satisfied, including all residency and institutional requirements for each major; and
2. The second major contains at least 21 semester hours of upper division course work beyond the courses required for the students first major and general education requirements.

Second Degrees

Students who have earned a baccalaureate degree from an institution regionally accredited by the Commission on Colleges may obtain a second baccalaureate degree from KSU by satisfying the following requirements:

• Meet all major requirements listed for the chosen program of study.
• Complete the Georgia Legislative history and Constitution requirements.
• Students earn at least 30 semester hours in residence at Kennesaw State University. If the first baccalaureate degree was earned at Kennesaw State University, these 30 hours must be in excess of any hours used towards the first baccalaureate degree.
• Complete (for students with majors in the Bagwell College of Education) the lower division major requirement courses in Education.