Policy Change to Policy and Procedure Manual 4-21a Credit Petition

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Summary

 

American Institutions Requirement

Beginning in the 2020-2021 catalog year students must complete the American Institutions requirement with a course. An associates degree will no longer waive the requirement.

Out-of-State Transfer Associate Degrees

Beginning Summer 2020, out-of-state associate degrees from regionally accredited institutions will be evaluated by the Office of the Registrar to determine degree equivalency. No longer are associate degrees from regionally accredited institutions universally accepted to waive general education core and breadth requirements.

Why is this policy changing?

For several years, WSU has had a policy that allowed an out-of-state associate's degree from a regionally accredited institution to waive the WSU general education core and breadth requirements. This past year, the Admissions, Standards, and Student Affairs (ASSA) Committee reviewed the policy and determined that it was out of compliance with Utah Code §53B-16-103(1)(b).

This code states that a student who graduates from a degree-granting public institution shall demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States before receiving a bachelor's degree or teaching credential. The fulfillment of this code for WSU students is captured in the American Institutions General Education Core requirement.

All Utah public higher education institutions have an American Institutions requirement. Not all out-of-state institutions, however, have a similar code or policy. Therefore, to stay in compliance with Utah Code, a student who transfers an associate’s degree from an out-of-state institution must fulfill the American Institutions requirement by either transferring a course with the required learning outcomes or complete an American Institutions course at WSU.

The policy was further reviewed to determine if all out-of-state associate's degrees from a regionally accredited institution are equal. Unfortunately, not all are equal. While many have the learning outcomes that support an educated student, the committee found that there are some degrees that are called associated degrees from regionally accredited institutions that were lacking critical learning outcomes such as English composition and quantitative literacy. These types of degrees are more aligned with WSU’s associate of applied science. The committee did not feel comfortable with allowing an associate’s degree that lacked critical learning outcomes to waive the general education core and breadth requirements.

Therefore, WSU has begun evaluating transfer associate degrees using the NCAA model for transfer degree progress. Specifically, the NCAA requires that there is evidence of a student completing six credits of college-level English composition, three credits in college-level mathematics, and 3 credits in science to be eligible to compete. WSU has adopted this as the minimum standard to waive general education requirements for out-of-state associate’s degrees from regionally accredited institutions and given the Office of the Registrar the authority to make the determination.

How will this be implemented?

The changes to PPM 4-21a will be implemented based on the 2020-2021 catalog year. When policy changes for meeting requirements or granting degrees it is best practice to found the change based on a catalog year. The foundation of the catalog year gives us a clear beginning date to expect the changes. Students who are declared in the 2020-2021 catalog year will need to meet the new requirements outlined in PPM 4-21a.

American Institutions
All students who are declared in the 2020-2021 catalog will be required to have a course that meets the American Institutions requirement. Students who transfer a qualifying associate’s degree will have their all their general education waived except for American Institutions.

Important: If a student who has previously had American Institutions waived with the completion of an associate’s degree in a previous catalog and then updates their catalog to the 2020-2021 year, their CatTracks is programmed to look for an American Institutions course rather than waiving the requirement. What this means is that a student may have to complete a course in American Institutions if they updated their catalog to 2020-2021, even though it has been previously waived.

Out-of-State Associate Degrees
Beginning Summer 2020, the Office of the Registrar will be evaluating out-of-state associate’s degrees from regionally accredited institutions. The student’s academic work must have evidence of six credits in English composition, three credits in mathematics, and three credits in science, following the NCAA framework. All coursework must be college-level and may not be developmental. If there is evidence that the academic work meets this standard, the Office of the Registrar will deem the associate’s degree equivalent to our associate’s degree. Once it is recorded as an associate’s degree, the general education core (except American Institutions) and breadth requirements will be waived.

If there is not sufficient evidence then the degree will be considered an associate of applied science, which does not waive any general education requirements. If the student would like to challenge the evaluation, they may email articulation@weber.edu to request a reevaluation of the degree and provide additional information.

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