Academic Unit Authority over the Curriculum and Major: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester

Departments, colleges, and campuses have the authority to establish, change, and discontinue academic plans and sub-plans that appear on official University transcripts, subject to appropriate consultation with other units and subject to the final approval of the Board of Regents. (See Administrative Policy: Adding, Changing or Discontinuing Academic Plans).

Establishing and changing academic plan requirements

1. Academic units (departments, colleges, and campuses) have the authority to establish their curricula and the requirements, including prerequisite courses, for academic plans, subject to the final authority of the Board of Regents. Academic plans include:
   • undergraduate degrees,
   • graduate degrees;
   • professional degrees;
   • majors;
   • minors;
   • undergraduate certificates; and
   • post-baccalaureate certificates.
2. Academic units have the authority to add to or remove courses, including prerequisite courses, from academic plans. The additions or deletions of courses from the academic plan requirements must be in accordance with Board of Regents policies and in compliance with rules established by the college and campus.
3. Changes to academic plans must have an effective date, based on the start of an academic term (e.g., fall semester 2018). Changes to requirements may not be made in the middle of an academic term. Changes to academic plans should be announced far enough in advance so that students, including continuing students and prospective first-year and prospective transfer students, can plan accordingly.
4. Students must follow the requirements of the academic plan in effect during the term in which they entered the plan. Academic units may offer the choice of moving to the new requirements to currently enrolled students who have already been admitted to an existing academic plan. However, the academic unit cannot mandate a new requirement of students who are currently enrolled in the plan without having sought and received prior approval of the dean of the college or the appropriate official on a campus.
5. Academic units must clearly communicate their policies and decisions regarding new or revised requirements for academic plans to prospective and current students. This includes changes to a major, minor, or certificate program, including changes in required prerequisites.

Expiration of old credits

To ensure that students receiving a degree or certificate will be up-to-date in the discipline, an academic unit (a department or comparable unit) may decide not to accept course work towards satisfying requirements for the major, minor, or certificate if the course was taken too long ago.

Students returning from an approved leave of absence are subject to the specific conditions/requirements identified in Administrative Policy: Leave of Absence and Readmission for Undergraduates: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester or Leave of Absence and Reinstatement from a Leave: Graduate Students

Exclusions

This policy is not applicable to the Duluth campus.