Graduation Requirements and Procedures

Application for Graduation

Each candidate for graduation, including students completing coursework off-campus, must apply formally to the Registrar by the deadline specified in the academic calendar. Failure to meet the required deadline results in the degree confirmation at a later graduation date. Graduation application forms are available in the Office of Enrollment Services and on the MyDSU portal.

Minimum Graduation GPA Standards

To be awarded a baccalaureate degree, an associate degree or a certificate a student must at a minimum have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. With Board approval, additional requirements including more specific GPA requirements may be established for some programmatic offerings and these must be met.

Degree Residency Requirements

Philosophy and Rationale

Dakota State University has residency requirements for baccalaureate majors, minors and associate degrees in order to assess, test, and observe students’ learning and acquisition of academic skills. This is necessary since, in granting a degree, DSU is certifying students’ knowledge and skills to prospective employers, to other universities, and to concerned individuals (see BOR Policy 2:29).

Purpose:

1. Expose students to the knowledge, competencies, and experience deemed essential for degrees conferred by the institution.
2. Certify that students have met institutional standards.
3. Provide faculty with the basis to act as a reference for students seeking employment.

Definition of Credits in Residence

A credit in residence within the Board of Regents system is a course offered by any of the degree-granting Regental institutions at any approved site using any approved method of delivery.

An institutional credit is a credit offered by the degree granting institution and includes credits that are part of a formal collaborative agreement between that institution and another Regental institution.

Credit earned for college level courses by validation methods such as Credit by Exam, CLEP, AP, portfolio, etc. within the Regental system will not be considered “credits in residence.”

Institutional Credit Requirements for Degree-Seeking Students

1. Minimum number of credit hours that must be earned from the institution granting the degree:

2. Number of the last credit hours earned preceding completion of the degree that must be earned from the institution granting the degree:

3. Minimum number of credit hours specified in the major or minor requirements that must be completed at the degree granting institution: 50 percent. However, this requirement may be waived for students enrolled in the set of majors offered at the system’s Centers which include the established programs of study common courses offered by one of the other Regental universities. In addition, the Vice President for Academic Affairs may make exceptions to this requirement for individuals based on the student’s prior learning experiences.
4. Degree seeking students may complete requirements for a minor at any Regental university that has been approved to grant that minor. This minor will be recorded on the transcript in conjunction with a degree/major at that university or a degree/major at any other Regental university. A minor will only be recorded on the transcript in conjunction with a degree and major.
5. Student course loan status is based on the number of credit hours for which a student is enrolled.

To be eligible for overload status, a student must have a 2.70 cumulative grade point average and approval by the Dean of the student’s division/college at the home institution.

Graduation Honors

Baccalaureate Degree

The institution granting the degree determines the Honors Designation for its graduates. To earn an Honors Designation at graduation the undergraduate student must meet both the following cumulative and institutional grade point averages:

The undergraduate student must have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours at the institution granting the degree. Courses that are part of a formal collaborative agreement among Regental universities are considered to be earned from the institution granting the degree. Also refer to BOR policies 2:29 and 2:10.9.

Associate Degree

The institution granting the degree determines the Honors Designation for its associate-level graduates. To earn an Honors Designation at graduation, an associate-level graduate must meet both the following cumulative and institutional grade point averages:

An associate-level graduate must have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours at the institution granting the degree. Courses that are part of a formal collaborative agreement among Regental universities are considered to be earned from the institution granting the degree. Also refer to BOR policy 2:29.

Program Requirements

Students who are admitted to Dakota State University are required to declare a major in an academic discipline. Some degree programs require students to seek formal admission to the program. The criteria for program admission varies by program and is included with the program description in this catalog.

Candidates for graduation must successfully fulfill all program requirements. A baccalaureate degree requires completing at least 120 semester hours of credit - check program requirements in the catalog. An associate degree requires completion of the semester hours specified for that program. (See also residency requirements set by the Board of Regents for all graduates. BOR Policy 2:29)

A student must have earned both cumulative and major grade point averages of at least 2.00. Certain degree programs have higher grade point averages. (See program description for details.) Academic Skills (Pre-General Education) courses such as MATH 021  and ENGL 033  do not count toward graduation and are not calculated in hours completed or grade point average.

Returning DSU students, who did not graduate from DSU during their previous enrollment and who have interrupted their enrollment at any Regental university for more than two consecutive semesters are assigned the catalog in effect at the time of their re-enrollment as their catalog of graduation. For more information, see Returning Student  section.