Document
     

 Provost’s Directive
for Undergraduate
Curriculum Review and Revision

During the 2004-2005 academic year, every BS and BFA program at RIT will review its curriculum with a view toward increasing flexibility and student choice while maintaining or increasing the quality of education provided by the program.  Changes in curricula must be ready for implementation by Fall Quarter, 2005. 

Students who have earned any credits in an RIT degree program before Sept. 1, 2005, will have the choice of graduating under the requirements of either the previous curriculum structure or the newly revised structure.

Parameters for Undergraduate Degree Program Curricula:

1. Degree program requirements must comply with NYSED regulations.

2. Undergraduate degree programs will range normally from 180 to 194 required quarter credits.  A special exemption from the Provost will be needed for any program to require more than 194 credits.

3. All undergraduate degree programs will contain at least 12 credits of entirely open electives within the degree program’s distribution requirements; these credits can be used to take courses for which the student qualifies anywhere within RIT.

4. Every RIT BS degree program will have at least 90 credit hours of “general education” (GE).  All BFA programs will have at least 50 GE credits within the humanities and social sciences.  No more than 12 GE credits can be within the discipline of the student’s home department.

5. A minimum of 36 GE credits must be within COLA with distribution determined by COLA.

6. A minimum of 20 GE credits must be within COS with distribution determined by the students’ home departments in consultation with COS.

7. Colleges other than COLA and COS may nominate particular courses that they believe qualify for consideration as GE courses.  The ICC will establish criteria for qualifying as a GE course, assess nominated courses against these criteria, and make appropriate recommendations to the Provost regarding each nomination.  The Provost may choose to consult with a general education department before making a final decision on any particular nomination.

8. No more than 12 GE credits can be earned outside of COLA and COS.

9. Distribution of the minimum of 34 GE credits beyond the required minimum credits in COLA and COS can be determined by home departments. In some instances, significant portions of the remaining GE credits will need to be determined to meet professional accreditation requirements (e.g. ABET); likewise home departments may wish to require certain GE courses for their students beyond the minimum distribution requirements (e.g. additional work in Economics for COB students or additional writing courses or a specific advanced statistics course).  To the degree possible, however, these remaining GE credits should be left as open GE electives to enhance student choice.

10. All students wishing to do so must be able to take a 20 credit minor within COLA with at least 8 of the credits for the minor being COLA electives credits within the 36 GE credits determined by COLA; the 12 free elective credits within the student’s home department degree program distribution can be applied toward a minor in COLA, as can open GE elective credits.

11. All students wishing to do so must be able to take a 20 credit minor in a college other than COLA.
  
12. Students who choose to take double majors or two or more minors may need to add credits above the maximum of 194 credits needed for graduation.

 

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