Faculty Senate recently approved revisions to the University’s academic regulations that will open up degree pathways for students and reduce barriers to success. The revisions to rule 53 allow departments to accept students into a major upon entry, or in the freshman year if they satisfy the requirements set by the academic department. The rule revision is scheduled to be enacted for the fall of 2020.
Rule 53 previously established the minimum university requirement for certification in a major at 24 semester hours with a 2.0 grade point average. So, if a high achieving student interested in engineering applied to WSU, she was told that she would be evaluated for admission into the major after completing 24 hours at WSU, while the competition was admitting her directly into engineering.
“Revising Rule 53 is the opportunity of a generation to modernize students’ pathways to degrees,” says Mary Wack, vice provost for undergraduate education. “By removing the 24-credit threshold for entry into a major, it gives departments more flexibility as they determine the optimal timing of degree requirements.”
The change will also make WSU more attractive to high-achieving freshman and transfer students.