Federal Requirement 4.4
11. Program length is appropriate for each of the institution's educational programs. (Federal Requirement 4.4)
X Compliance ___ Non-Compliance
Narrative:
The length of the educational programs at Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge (SUBR) are appropriate. The minimum semester credit hours published in the Undergraduate Catalog and Graduate School Catalog for each educational program appear in the tables below. Both the catalog and the bulletin were published on the SUBR website. The Louisiana Board of Regents wrote policy guidelines. "The standard number of credits required for baccalaureate degrees is 120. Institutions with compelling reasons (e.g., the academic program is defined as a 5-year baccalaureate program; professional accreditation or certification requirements; etc.) for exceeding the 120 credit hours standard may request an exception to this standard according to their respective system's policy. The Board of Regents will periodically review both the number of credit hours required and approved exceptions to the 120-hour standard" (Academic Affairs Policy 2.15).
The Louisiana Board of Regents set the criteria to determine program length. The state policy specified the minimum length for each degree program in the Definition of Undergraduate Certificates and Degrees (2.15). Undergraduate degree programs required all students to complete a minimum of 120 semester credit hours, excluding remedial and repeated courses (Degree Requirements). All bachelor's degree programs meet or exceed the Board of Regents requirements for program length. For those over 120 hours for the bachelor’s program and for those over 30 hours for the master’s program, Southern University’s adheres to the policy of the institution and the Board of Regents in seeking approval for the program length. The educational programs were identified in the Undergraduate Catalog (2014-2017) and the Graduate School Catalog (2013-2014) and described the program length.
SUBR's general education requirements meet or exceed requirements established by the Louisiana Board of Regents. The length of each bachelor's program was published in the Undergraduate Catalog. All undergraduate candidates complete at least 39 semester hours of general education requirements (2.16). Those include - English composition (6), fine arts (3), humanities (9), mathematics (6), natural sciences (9), and social sciences (6). The information for all undergraduate degree programs was summarized in table 20 and graduate programs were reported in Table 21.
Table 20
Minimum Credit Hours for Undergraduate Degree Programs
College of Business |
||
Name of degree |
Degree |
Program Length (credit hours) |
Accounting |
BS |
121 |
Business Management |
BS |
121 |
Finance |
BS |
121 |
Marketing |
BS |
121 |
|
||
College of Education, Arts and Humanities |
||
Elementary Education (Grades 1-5) |
BS |
128 |
Elementary Education and Special Education M/MOD (Grades 1-5) |
BS |
127 |
English |
BA |
120 |
History |
BA |
120 |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
BIS |
120 |
Mass Communications
|
BA |
120 |
Middle School Education and Special Education M/MOD (Grades 4-8) |
BS |
126 |
Music |
BM |
121 |
Post Baccalaureate Certificates |
PBC |
30 |
|
||
College of Engineering and Computer Science |
||
Civil Engineering |
BSCE |
124 |
Computer Science - Information Systems |
BS |
120 |
Computer Science - Scientific Option |
BS |
120 |
Electronics Engineering Technology |
BS |
126 |
Electrical Engineering |
BSEE |
124 |
Mechanical Engineering |
BSME |
124 |
|
||
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences |
||
Criminal Justice |
BS |
120 |
Political Science |
BA |
120 |
Psychology |
BS |
120 |
Social Work |
BS |
120 |
Sociology |
BS |
120 |
|
||
College of Sciences and Agriculture |
||
Agricultural Sciences |
BS |
120 |
Biology |
BS |
120 |
Chemistry |
BS |
124 |
Family and Consumer Sciences |
BS |
120 |
Mathematics and Physics |
BS |
120 |
Urban Forestry |
BS |
120 |
|
||
School of Nursing and Allied Health |
||
Nursing |
BSN |
120 |
Rehabilitation Services |
BS |
120 |
Speech Pathology and Audiology |
BS |
122 |
Therapeutic Recreation & Leisure Studies |
BS |
121 |
The Graduate School Catalog identified all credit hour specifications and specific courses for each graduate degree. All students earning the master's degree must successfully complete at least 30 or more semester hours of graduate level courses, with at least 24 of those hours in course work, if a thesis was required to complete the degree. For programs not requiring a thesis or for programs where a student may elect to complete a research project, in lieu of a thesis, the minimum requirement was 30 semester credit hours of course work, excluding credit hours for special projects (Graduate School Catalog).
Doctoral programs required a minimum of 60 semester hours of coursework beyond the bachelor's degree, exclusive of the doctoral dissertation, thesis and research or a minimum of 33 semester hours of course work beyond the master's degree, exclusive of the thesis, doctoral dissertation, and projects (Graduate School Catalog). In the graduate programs additional requirements included practicum hours as well as internship hours as required by nationally recognized accrediting organizations.
Table 21
Minimum Credit Hours for Graduate Degree Programs
College of Business |
||
Name of degree |
Degree |
Program Length (credit hours) |
Business Administration |
MBA |
36 |
|
||
College of Education, Arts and Humanities |
||
Educational Leadership |
MEd |
36 |
Mental Health Counseling |
MA |
60 |
School Counseling |
MA |
51 |
|
||
College of Engineering and Computer Science |
||
Computer Science |
MS |
30 |
Engineering |
ME |
30 |
|
||
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences |
||
Criminal Justice |
MS |
36 |
Public Administration |
MPA |
48 |
Public Policy |
PhD |
60 |
Social Sciences |
MA |
30 |
|
||
College of Sciences and Agriculture |
||
Biology |
MS |
30 |
Environmental Toxicology |
PhD |
60 |
Mathematics |
MS |
33 |
Science and Mathematics Education |
PhD |
60 |
Urban Forestry |
MS |
30 |
Urban Forestry |
PhD |
60 |
|
||
School of Nursing and Allied Health |
||
Master of Science in Nursing |
MSN |
30 |
Doctor of Nursing Practice |
DNP |
34 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing |
PhD |
60 |
Rehabilitation Counseling |
MS |
36 |
Speech-Language Pathology |
MS |
60 |
Therapeutic Recreation |
MS |
48 |
Supporting Documentation
Definitions of Undergraduate Degrees and Undergraduate/Graduate Certificates
Statewide General Education Requirements
SUBR Academic Catalogs