Senate Bill No.: 0809-03
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by: Undergraduate Academic Council
Date: October 20, 2008
Grade Changes after Graduation Affecting Honors
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
1. That the section on Degree with Honors in the Undergraduate Bulletin be amended and supplemented as
follows:
(1) Strike IMPLEMENTATION NOTE from Undergraduate Bulletin
(2) The following section will be added to the Undergraduate Bulletin 2008-2009 regarding Degree with
Honors:
GRADE CHANGES AFTER GRADUATION AFFECTING HONORS:
Students who have received a change of grade following graduation may appeal for graduation
with honors through the Registrar’s office.
2. That this proposal be forwarded to the President for approval.
Rationale:
It is UA's obligation to recognize the achievements of its graduates whenever merited.
There is currently no language in the Undergraduate Bulletin that addresses the issue of changes in the
awarding of honors after a student has graduated. This bill gives notice to students of their right to request
honors that were not awarded at the time of graduation.
We note that existing policy requires that all incomplete grades be cleared prior to graduation to assure that all
students have the requisite overall 2.0 GPA. Therefore, this policy will only apply when there have been
changes of one A-E or S/U grade to another or another change brought about as the result of an appeal.
A student might choose to graduate from Albany even while appealing a grade. It is not possible to predict how
long the appeals process will take. Therefore, this language does not establish a final date by which such
appeals can be made.
Recognizing that the Registrar's Office might not have the capacity to seek out the newly qualifying students on
a frequent basis, this bill allows students to request consideration of their case themselves.
Current
Undergraduate Bulletin
Text:
Degree with Honors
University-wide honors are conferred at graduation. A student will be graduated: Cum
Laude with an average equal to or greater than 3.25 but less than 3.50; Magna Cum
Laude with an average equal to or greater than 3.50 but less than 3.75; Summa Cum
Laude with an average equal to or greater than 3.75.
HONORS RESIDENCE CRITERIA: For graduation with honors, students must have
completed a minimum of 56 credits in courses for which they registered at this
University, including a minimum of 40 University at Albany credits graded on the A-E
basis.
IMPLEMENTATION NOTE: These criteria apply to all undergraduates graduating in August
2000 and thereafter.
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