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Each student is responsible for knowing and following the policies governing their course of study and for fulfilling all academic requirements for the degree sought. The faculty and the staff of the University are available to advise and assist students to understand and to meet these requirements. Students should direct questions about academic policies and degree requirements to their academic advisor or to their academic dean or program coordinator.
Substitutions and Waivers of Academic Requirements
Substitutions and waivers described in this section are entered into the degree progress report to note when a degree requirement has been replaced with an alternative course or requirement (substitution) or waived for a particular student.
All substitutions and waivers are unique to each student and must be approved by the academic unit offering the student’s major, minor, or certificate.
The enrollment process within MaineStreet does not recognize courses that were not completed due to waivers or substitutions as satisfying course prerequisites, so students must seek overrides when enrolling in any courses where a waived or substituted course serves as a prerequisite
Course Substitutions
In some cases, a department may determine that a student has/will fully satisfy an academic requirement based upon a combination of one or more alternative courses or other academic experiences resulting in credit hours (e.g., internships, prior learning assessment, credit by examination, etc.). This may include cases where a similar, but not directly equivalent, course (e.g., a seminar from a related department) is approved due to scheduling needs, the required content is spread across multiple courses taken externally, or changes in curriculum have moved the required content to new courses.
Course Waivers
Course waivers excuse a student from completing a specific course requirement without expectation that an equivalent course has/will be completed in its place or reduce the credit hours required for a requirement (e.g., reducing a course from three credits to two). Approved waivers apply only to the relevant requirement, and do not lessen the overall credits required for graduation as noted in the Catalog. In effect, approved waivers create an elective slot equal to the number of waived credit hours within the degree plan, with any specific requirements for fulfilling that elective slot (e.g., courses within the same subject area, at the same level, etc.) subject to approval by the student’s academic department.
In cases where a requirement has/will be satisfied by any combination of alternative coursework and/or credit-granting academic experiences a course substitution request, not a waiver, is the appropriate course of action.
Certain courses (e.g. primary program capstones) cannot be waived, as noted in the entry for the Degree Progress Student Waiver form on the Office of Student Records forms website.
Non-Course Waivers
Waivers may also be requested for requirements not based on specific courses. Examples may include major-specific GPA requirements, college/department residency requirements (not overall UMaine residency), or other requirements specific to a college, department, or major.
For reasons of academic integrity, waiver requests to decrease the minimum number of credits required to earn a degree below the number stated in the Catalog cannot be approved. For double major students, the number will be the one required for the larger of the two majors.
Considerations for Substitutions and Waivers
The following additional considerations apply to substitutions and waivers:
- All substitution and waiver requests are submitted to, and reviewed by, the Office of Student Records before being processed.
- Substitution requests require notations detailing which course(s) are being applied to meet the relevant requirement(s) and must be approved by the relevant Associate Dean.
- Waiver requests must include a detailed justification for the requested action and require approval by both the relevant Associate Dean and Associate Provost.
- In the event a student changes elements of their degree plan (e.g., change of major or minor), existing substitutions and/or waivers may be voided, as noted below. For any voided items, updated forms may need to be submitted.
o Those specific to a program or requirement that has been dropped are voided.
o Those specific to a program or requirement that has been changed to a version from a newer Catalog may be voided, depending upon what changed between versions.
- The enrollment process within MaineStreet does not recognize courses that were not completed due to waivers or substitutions as satisfying course prerequisites, so students must seek overrides when enrolling in any courses where a waived or substituted course serves as a prerequisite.
Baccalaureate and Associate Degree Requirements
Candidates for baccalaureate and associate degrees must meet all of the following requirements:
- Receive acceptable grades in all required courses and credits, including Core Curriculum, college, and major courses.
- The student-elected Pass/Fail option is not allowed for courses used to fulfill program requirements for the major, for the minor, for the college, or for Core Curriculum. This restriction applies only to courses put on Pass/Fail by the student and not to courses where the department offers the courses on a Pass/Fail grading basis.
2. Accumulate the number of degree credits specified by the program in which they are registered.
- Associate degree programs require a minimum of 60 credits.
- Baccalaureate degree programs require a minimum of 120 credits.
- Some programs may require more credits, as noted in this Catalog on the page for each program.
3. Achieve a cumulative grade point average of not less than 2.0.
4. Earn a minimum of 25% of the credits required for the degree using coursework originating from the University of Maine*. For baccalaureate degree programs, at least 15 of those credits must be completed at the 300 level or higher.** There are two exceptions to this policy:
- students who have already completed three or more years at the University of Maine (minimum of 90 credits of University of Maine courses) when, in the opinion of the student’s academic program faculty in consultation with the student’s dean, there is sufficient and valid reason to complete the senior year elsewhere.
- students who have completed a minimum of three years of work at the University of Maine and who have been admitted to an accredited professional school of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or divinity. With the approval of the academic program faculty in consultation with the student’s dean, these students may qualify for the appropriate bachelor’s degree at the University of Maine upon receipt of the professional degree.
*This requirement is 30 credits for a typical 120 credit baccalaureate degree program, and 15 for a typical 60 credit associate degree program, but will be higher for all programs where the minimum number of credits required to graduate exceeds the typical 60 or 120 credit minimums. Students should refer to the entry for their major in this Catalog, and consult with their advisor, to verify the correct value for their degree plan.
**An academic department may require that some minimum number of courses be completed within that department to earn a University of Maine degree in that discipline. These departmental residency requirements are noted in the description of each academic program elsewhere in this catalog.
Application for Graduation
Graduation is not automatic upon completion of all program requirements. Candidates for degrees must submit an Application for Graduation according to the following schedule:
by February 1, for degrees to be awarded in May
by July 15, for degrees to be awarded in August
by October 1, for degrees to be awarded in December
General information and details of the application process are available at https://studentrecords.umaine.edu/students/graduation/
Note: Students completing degree requirements during May Term are considered August (Summer) degree candidates and students completing degree requirements during Winter Term are considered May (Spring) degree candidates.
Verification of Degree and Conferral Timelines
The Office of Student Records performs final reviews and certification of degree completion for each student who applies for graduation and will not confer any degree until all requirements have been verified. Final reviews begin once grading has been completed each term, and continue until all applications have been finalized (conferred or denied).
All degree requirements (e.g. grades of incomplete, transcripts from other institutions, etc.) must be verifiable as satisfied within 45 calendar days following the final day of the semester of graduation. Students who apply for graduation but do not satisfy all requirements by this deadline will have their applications for graduation denied and will be required to reapply once they have addressed whatever deficiencies prevented their graduation. Students whose graduation is denied will be notified by the college.
The Office of Student Records reports on degree completion within 60 days after the end of the term.
Academic Honors and Commencement
Academic honors are based upon each student’s UMaine cumulative GPA.
Latin Honors
Students may graduate with Latin Honors provided they both meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirements outlined below and have completed at least 30 credits in residence at UMaine for associate’s degree programs or 60 credits in residence for baccalaureate degree programs.
Minimum cumulative GPA requirements
Summa cum laude: 3.70- 4.00 GPA
Magna cum laude: 3.50 - 3.69 GPA
Cum laude: 3.30 - 3.49 GPA
Honors
Graduates who successfully complete the requirements of the University of Maine’s Honors College may have their degrees designated with Honors.
Valedictorian/Salutatorian
Valedictorian and Salutatorian are the highest honors awarded to students by the University of Maine. Each student will be recognized for outstanding academic achievements and for contributions to the University or wider community.
To be considered for these awards, all candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Students must have completed at least 75 credits of coursework at the University of Maine, exclusive of pass/fail or incomplete grades. Calculation are based on the number of University of Maine credits earned is based on credits earned as of the end of the fall semester prior to the spring semester valedictorian-salutatorian selection process.
- Students must have a minimum of at 3.8 GPA at the end of the fall semester prior to graduation.
- All credits counting toward the baccalaureate degree must have been completed within six (6) years immediately preceding graduation.
- Students must file for the previous August, previous December, or May graduation by published deadline.
In addition to the above listed criteria, the candidates will be evaluated upon the strength, breadth, and rigor of their academic achievements, evidence of intellectual promise, character, service and other accomplishments.
Celebration of Academia
The conferral of baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees upon students, known as Commencement, is an important event in the life of the institution, one rich in tradition dating to medieval times. It is a celebration of student achievement in which the faculty, the family and friends of the students, and the graduates themselves together mark the end of a formal program of education and the commencement of a new stage in life. All faculty members and graduating students are encouraged to participate in the formal Commencement ceremonies held in May each year. See the UMaine Commencement website for more information.
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