2013-2014 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

52PLAN OF STUDY PLAN OF STUDY 53who has graduated from high school and attendedcollege. Students who have completed dualenrollment courses in high school are considered firsttimefreshmen, not transfer students, and mustcomplete FYE 101). Most FYE 101’s are paired witha 4-credit content freshmen level course chosen by thestudent from the college’s offerings for freshmen, andis designed to help students engage and succeed bothacademically and socially in Virginia Wesleyan’sacademic community. Led by a faculty mentor, asmall, close-knit group of new students engage in anarray of activities and exercises that invite them toexplore the liberal arts, connect to the campuscommunity, and develop the personal resourcefulnessthat leads to success in college. Students who do notpass the FYE 101 requirement have the option torepeat FYE 101 the following spring semester.Oral Communication Proficiency: All studentsmust demonstrate the ability to speak well in theEnglish language. Each academic major has anapproved plan to help students develop effectivespeaking skills and to assess their competency in oralcommunication.Foreign Language Proficiency: All students mustdemonstrate proficiency in a language other thanEnglish. Details about satisfying the languageproficiency requirement may be found in the“Program of General Studies” section of the catalog.Computer Literacy: All entering students shouldhave basic computer skills, including e-mail, wordprocessing, and accessing information on theInternet. In addition, students graduating fromVirginia Wesleyan must meet discipline-specificstandards of computer literacy established for theirmajor programs.Application for GraduationDegrees are conferred in May, August, and December.Each candidate for a degree is required to file anApplication for Graduation according to thefollowing schedule:Degree Received December May August**Apply for9/15 of the 9/15 of the 9/15 of theGraduation onsame year previous year previous yearWebAdvisor by:Completion ofall Graduation End of fall End of springRequirements semester semester8/20Date of DegreeConferral: December May AugustDate of May of the Previous orCommencement following May followingExercises: year May****See Two-Course Rule for August Candidates.The Application for Graduation can be foundafter logging in to WebAdvisor.Commencement Exercises: Students are eligibleand expected to participate in the first Maycommencement exercises held after they havecompleted all graduation requirements. PotentialDecember graduates are also encouraged to attend theDecember reception held for them.Two-Course Rule for August Candidates: Atthe end of the spring semester, if a potential graduatehas at most two courses to complete, the student mayobtain permission from the Registrar’s Office toparticipate in May commencement exercises. Tosecure such permission, a student must:• have submitted an Application for Graduationby the mandated deadline the previousSeptember;• have at most two courses remaining tocomplete all graduation requirements;• have at least a 2.0 overall grade point average;• have at least a 2.0 grade point average in atraditional major, or at least a 2.5 in acomprehensive liberal studies, or history andsocial science major, or at least a 2.7 in anindividualized major; and• enroll in Virginia Wesleyan’s summer sessionsto complete the remaining graduationrequirements.For purposes of determining two courses, thefollowing applies: an internship is considered onecourse, regardless of the number of semester hours itcarries; a science course together with a co-requisitelab is considered one course.If the student receives permission to participate inthe commencement, special notice will be made ofthe student’s status as an August candidate, and thedegree will be conferred in August upon successfulcompletion of the remaining courses. Honors statuswill not be determined until all summer courseworkis completed.A student who has participated in the Maycommencement exercises as an August candidate maynot participate in a later commencement. If a studenthas not completed all degree requirements by August15, the degree will be conferred at the next conferraldate—December, May, or August—followingsuccessful completion of all degree requirements.TranscriptsTranscripts are provided by the Registrar’s Officeand are issued only upon the written request of thestudent. All financial obligations to the college mustbe met prior to the release of a transcript.A transcript of work completed at any high schoolor at any college other than Virginia WesleyanCollege must be obtained directly from thatinstitution.Major ProgramsEach student is required to choose a major field ofconcentration from one of the College’s thirty-fourmajors and to complete the requirements of thatprogram. Details for majors are found in thealphabetical listing of majors and courses in the“Programs and Courses” section of this catalog (analphabetical list is provided here).MajorsAmerican StudiesArtBiologyBusinessChemistryClassical StudiesCommunicationComprehensive Liberal StudiesComputer ScienceCriminal JusticeEarth and Environmental SciencesEnglishEnvironmental StudiesFrench StudiesGerman StudiesHispanic StudiesHistoryHistory and Social SciencesIndividualized StudiesInternational StudiesLatinMathematicsMusicPhilosophyPolitical SciencePsychologyRecreation and Leisure StudiesReligious StudiesSocial Sciences DivisionalSocial WorkSociologyTheatreTheatre and EnglishWomen’s and Gender StudiesAcademic Regulationsand InformationClassification of Students:Academic classification of studentsis determined by semester hours earnedtoward a degree:Semester Hours EarnedClass0-23 Freshman24-53 Sophomore54-84 and Declarationof Major filedJunior85+ SeniorMinors: In addition to a major program, studentshave the option of completing one or more minors.This choice must be approved by a full-time facultymember of the department in which the minor willbe completed, who will certify that the student hascompleted the requirements for the minor prior tograduation. No more than 8 semester hours taken tofulfill requirements for a student’s major (or majors)may also be used to fulfill requirements for a minor.A course used to fulfill requirements for a minor maybe used to fulfill a General Studies requirement.Students with Advanced Placement credit shouldconsult the specific department to determine whetherthose semester hours can be included as part of theminor. Application for Minor forms are due in theRegistrar’s Office by March 1 for May or Augustgraduation and by October 1 for Decembergraduation.The requirements for a minor shall consist of aminimum of 20 semester hours and a maximum of28 semester hours (traditionally graded). Twelvehours must be at the 200 level or above, and at least8 of those hours must be at the 300 level or above. Aminimum of 12 hours must be taken in residence atVWC. A 2.0 GPA (C) average is required for allcourses taken in the minor field. Students may notcomplete a minor in the same area(s) as theirmajor(s). The requirements for each minor are listedin the appropriate section of this catalog that dealswith that discipline.Summary of course andcredit requirements for minors:• A minimum of five courses (20 hours)• A maximum of seven courses (28 hours)• Two courses may overlap with other major(s)or minor(s).• Three courses at the 200 level or above, at leasttwo of which are at the 300 level or above.