Promoting Timely Graduation by Undergraduates: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester

Students are admitted to the campuses and colleges of the University of Minnesota to pursue a baccalaureate degree. Degree-seeking undergraduate students are expected to enroll in and successfully complete courses that will move them toward degree completion in a timely manner. The general benchmark for timely degree completion for students admitted as New High School (NHS) students is four years (8 academic semesters).

A. Declaring a Major

Degree-seeking students are expected to declare and be accepted into a major. The timelines for this declaration are as follows:

1. New High School (NHS) students are expected to declare and be accepted into all intended major(s) and minor(s) (if applicable) no later than the end of their fourth academic term of enrollment after matriculation regardless of total credit completion.
2. New Advanced Standing (NAS) and Inter-University Transfer (IUT) students are expected to declare and be accepted into all intended major(s) and minor(s) (if applicable) as follows:
   • Students entering with 0-26 credits - no later than the end of their fourth semester of enrollment at the University
   • Students entering with 27-59 credits- no later than the end of their third semester of enrollment at the University.
   • Students entering with 60 or more credits - no later than the end of their second semester of enrollment at the University.
3. Students failing to declare a major by the end of the term indicated above may have a hold placed on their student record, requiring advisor permission to register. The college may place a hold on the record sooner than the term indicated above, if programmatically warranted.
4. Students may not earn a degree in a program, college or campus to which they are not currently admitted, irrespective of any accumulation of required credits and courses on their record.
5. Colleges and campuses may not award a degree to a student who is not currently admitted to that program, college, or campus as a degree-seeking student.

B. Course Registration

After declaring/being accepted into a major, students are expected to enroll in required major courses and other courses necessary to complete University degree requirements. Students who fail to do so may have a hold placed on their student record, requiring advisor permission to register.

C. Graduation Clearance

1. Students are expected to apply to graduate; the application should be submitted on or before the beginning of the term during which the student expects to complete all degree requirements.
2. Students who have completed the required degree program, college, campus, and University requirements may be cleared for graduation, regardless of whether the student has submitted the application to graduate.

D. Degree Program Requirements

All degree programs must have a curricular sample plan that enables students who enter as NHS to graduate in four years. Such a plan should assume that students will enroll for at least 15 degree-applicable credits per semester, on average, but the plan may not require that students enroll for more than 17 credits per semester, on average.