Academic

Participating in Spring Commencement
• Students must fulfill all requirements for graduation
by the published deadlines.
• Students who do not fulfill requirements by the
published deadline will be removed from the
graduation list and must submit a new application
for graduation.
• Students enrolled in all required classes in the spring
commencement semester, but who fail only one
required course during the spring semester will
be allowed to participate in the commencement
exercise.
• Withdrawal from any required course will
prevent the student from participating in the
commencement exercise.
• Failed course must be completed by December
of the year the student participates in the
commencement exercise.
• Degree conferred date will reflect the semester
in which all coursework is completed; May, July,
December.
Graduation with Honors
Dillard University candidates for graduation who
have demonstrated superior academic excellence are
recognized with the following honors:
• Candidates are eligible to graduate Cum Laude if they
have attained a 3.5 to 3.75 cumulative GPA.
• Candidates are eligible to graduate Magna Cum Laude
if they have attained a 3.76 to 3.87 cumula tive GPA.
• Candidates are eligible to graduate Summa Cum
Laude if they have attained a 3.88 to 4.0 cumula tive
GPA.
To graduate with Honors, all grades must be “C” or
better, and no course may have been repeated. The
two students with the highest cumulative grade point
average are selected as valedictorian and salutatorian.
The title of valedictorian is conferred upon the
individual student who has achieved the highest
academic excellence. The major consideration for
selection of the University valedictorian should
be the factor that establishes the student with the
highest level of academic performance. All students
achieving in the upper three percent of their college
graduating class will be evaluated. The overall grade
30
point average should be used for comparison of
academic performance. Students considered for this
position should not have earned a grade below “C”,
have repeated courses, and have a judicial record.
The following criteria should be used to identify the
student who will be considered for the valedictorian
at Dillard University:
• Highest cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA).
• Minimum of 60 semester credits for which letter
grades were earned at DU.
• Continuous enrollment as a full-time student for
each fall and spring semester beginning with the first
semester of enrollment at DU.
In the event of a tie, the following criteria will be
considered in rank order:
• Leadership
• Research
• Community Service/Service Learning
Dillard University Honor Societies
Alpha Chi, the National College Honor Scholarship
Society, is a general honor society that admits stu dents
from all academic disciplines. Its purpose is to promote
academic excellence and exemplary charac ter among
college and university students, and to honor those
who achieve such distinction.
Beta Beta Beta (TriBeta) National Biological
Society is a society for students, particularly undergraduates,
dedicated to improving the understanding
and appreciation of biological study and extending
boundaries of human knowledge through scientific
research.
Alpha Kappa Mu is a General Scholarship Honor
Society open to junior and senior men and women in
all academic disciplines.
Beta Kappa Chi is a Scientific Honor Society. The
letters BKX, which appear on the key, symbolize
election to membership in the Society and mean
“Science holds the golden key to the Royal Palace of
Knowledge.” This society was founded by men who
believed in this slogan and who emphasized quality of
training and performance in their efforts to interpret
the place of science in a liberal education. This legacy