GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BACHELOR DEGREES

Minimum requirements for a bachelor’s degree are listed below. The colleges and departments may have requirements which exceed these requirements. Students should consult the individual college program description for details.

MINIMUM HOURS

A student must complete a minimum of 128 approved semester hours, including both general education requirements and major requirements. In some colleges/degree programs a minor is required also. Degree requirements in some programs may exceed the minimum of 128 semester hours.

MINIMUM GRADE-POINT AVERAGE

A student must earn a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 2.00 ( an average grade of “C”) based on all course work taken at the University of South Alabama . Students enrolled in the College of Education must have a minimum grade-point average of 2.20 (2.50 grade-point average for teacher certification). Grades in pass-fail (S/U) courses do not carry quality points and are not used in determining the grade-point average.

MATHEMATICS PLACEMENT

All students must complete the on-line Mathematics Placement Test in order to register for any of the 100 level mathematics courses. The student should take the placement test at least 48 hours before registering since registration will be blocked before the test is taken. This test will help determine the most appropriate mathematics course for which the student is qualified. The registration system will enforce the placement prerequisite. The placement test must be completed within 2 hours, and the use of calculators is not allowed. The test can be found at the following URL: http://www.southalabama.edu/mathplacement. University policy on placement in 100 level mathematics courses is determined in accordance with the following table:

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

All students must fulfill the following general education requirements consisting of a minimum of 41 semester hours plus two designated writing courses. Specific degree program and college requirements may exceed any or all of the minimum general education requirements. Also, since specific course requirements in general education will vary from major to major, students must refer to the program section of the Bulletin for their major before enrolling in courses intended to satisfy general education requirements, as well as other program requirements. In addition, students should plan their degree program with an academic advisor. The general education requirements are:

 I. WRITTEN COMPOSITION

 EH 101 and 102 are required of all students, unless exempted. In addition, two designated writing (W) courses are required; with at least one course chosen from offerings in the student’s major or minor. Courses carrying this required credit are identified in this University Bulletin and the University Schedule of Classes by a (W) after the course title. EH 101 and EH 102 are prerequisites to writing courses.
Students must demonstrate general competence in writing by earning a “C” or better in EH 101 and a “C” or better in EH 102. Students may exempt the EH 101 requirement with an enhanced ACT English score of 27 or above; a recentered SAT score of 550 or above on the verbal portion. Students scoring a minimum of 500 on the CLEP English Examination or a score of 4 or higher in the Advanced Placement Program may satisfy the EH 101 requirement.

NOTE: Credits earned in the Department of English as a Second Language or Developmental Studies will not be acceptable toward meeting writing competency requirements.

CHEMISTRY compentency test or CH 100 are required before taking CH 131 Chemistry I

COMPUTER COMPETENCY

All students must be able to demonstrate competency in basic computer skills prior to graduation from the University. This requirement may be satisfied by completion of Computer Sciences (CIS) 150, or another CIS course specified by the major, with a passing grade; placement in (CIS) 250 on the computer sciences placement exam; or by passing a course approved by the major department as meeting the standard for computer proficiency in the college. As requirements vary between colleges, students should consult the respective portion of the Bulletin and their academic advisor for guidance in meeting this requirement.

GENERAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENT TEST

All students upon achieving junior status (64 semester hours) must take a general education assessment test. This standardized test assesses the extent to which students have acquired the skills they are expected to acquire through the general education portion of their undergraduate college experience. These skills typically include college-level reading, writing, critical thinking, and mathematics. Students will be scheduled to take this test in the semester immediately after they have achieved junior status. Students will be notified of the date and time of their test session. Completion of the test is a requirement for graduation and the test results will become a part of the student’s permanent academic record.

UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER

The University Writing Center , located in Alpha Hall East, provides assistance in writing to any student enrolled in classes on any of the University’s campuses. Students work with writing consultants one-on-one in a relaxed, informal setting to improve their writing skills. The consulting schedule varies slightly from semester to semester, but information may be obtained by calling (251)460-6480.

DS AND ESL COURSES

Credits earned in the Developmental Studies Program or the Department of English as a Second Language cannot be used to satisfy University degree requirements.

DOUBLE MAJOR

Undergraduate students may elect to fulfill the requirements for two majors concurrently. To do so, the student must declare a primary major and a secondary major on the Declaration of Program form that is filed with the Registrar’s Office. The student’s principal academic file will be maintained in the department of the primary major. A second file should also be maintained in the department of the second major. Both departments must prepare graduation completion check sheets. Students who declare a double major must participate in academic advising in each major. Completion of a minor is not required of students completing two majors. Students who declare two majors from different colleges will be required to fulfill all requirements for each major and to fulfill all degree requirements, including those for general education, that apply in the college of the primary major. Students who complete requirements for two majors from different colleges will be awarded the degree granted by the college of the primary major, and transcripts will designate that both the primary and secondary majors were completed.

PREREQUISITES

Students may not register for courses for which they do not have the prerequisites specified in the course descriptions. Any student who does so will be withdrawn by the Registrar, the student's dean, or the dean of the college in which the course is taught.

FULL LOAD OF COURSE WORK IN A SEMESTER

A full load is twelve to nineteen semester hours. Permission of the student’s academic dean is required to take more than nineteen hours.

ADDING OR DROPPING COURSES

Students may drop courses, using PAWS, without penalty provided the withdrawal occurs within the time limits listed in the official calendar. Students cannot drop final course on PAWS. See procedures for withdrawals below. Course drops may also be submitted in person to the Registrar's Office. The grade of “F*” or “U*” is recorded for a course abandoned without an official withdrawal. Students who drop courses after the last day for refunds may continue to attend class.

ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCES

An individual student is responsible for attending the classes in which the student is officially enrolled. The quality of work will ordinarily suffer from excessive absences. At the beginning of classes, instructors must define their policy on absences, and all cases of illness and emergency shall be promptly reported and verified to the instructor. For excessive absences (two or three consecutive class meetings) due to illness, death in family, or family emergency, the Dean of Students’ office should be advised. Absence notices will be sent to each instructor notifying him of the reason for and the approximate length of the absence. This notification does not constitute an excused absence.

Students receiving veterans’ benefits are required to attend classes according to the regulations of the Veterans Administration.

All international students on F-1 visas must comply with attendance regulations as dictated by the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Services. They must remain students in good standing with at least twelve (12) hours per term.

Students attending authorized off-campus functions or required activities shall be excused by the responsible University official through the Office of Academic Affairs. In case of doubt, instructors may consult these lists in that office. Work missed as a result of these excused absences may be made up.

WITHDRAWALS

Official withdrawal (dropping all courses in progress) from the University is initiated in the student’s academic dean’s office. Complete withdrawals from the University must be submitted in person (not online) at the Registrar's Office. Clearance must be secured from the University Library, the University Registrar and the Veterans Affairs Office, if applicable. The symbol WD is recorded for all courses when the student completes the withdrawal form within the time limits listed in the official calendar. A grade of “F” or “U” is recorded when a currently enrolled student leaves the University without initiating and completing the withdrawal form.

COURSES REPEATED FOR CREDIT

A student may repeat a course in which a grade of "D" or "F" is received. Total grade-points are computed on the basis of all attempts. A student who has a grade of "C" or better may repeat the course with the approval of the appropriate academic dean. Credit for a repeated course may be counted only once toward graduation, but all grades are recorded on the student’s transcript and are counted in determining quality points.

EXAMINATIONS, GRADES AND GRADE-POINTS (UNDERGRADUATE)

Final examinations are held at the end of each semester. Students are graded on the basis of the following guidelines:

PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are academic matters; accordingly, no credit will be given for work in which they are involved. In addition, incidents of this nature may be reported to other appropriate authorities for further disciplinary action. (See Student Academic Conduct Policy)

PREREQUISITES

Students must have the prerequisites for the courses in which they enroll; students who enroll without prerequisites are subject to administrative withdrawal. Prerequisites are satisfied by courses taken either at South Alabama or by acceptable transfer credit. Students not exempted from EH 101 will be required to take it as a prerequisite to EH 102

REGISTRATION

Registration (making course selections and enrolling in classes) occurs prior to the beginning of each term. All students obtain registration appointment times ("time tickets") and register utilizing USA 's Personal Access Web System (PAWS) at http://paws.southalabama.edu/. (See the University Schedule of Classes for additional information.)