Approved by the:	University Senate May 14, 1998 Administration - May 27, 1998 Board of Regents - no action required
Interpretation approved by the: Presented for information to the:	Educational Policy Committee - Fall 2002 University Senate - October 31, 2002

PREAMBLE

The overall performance of degree candidates in each undergraduate collegiate unit shall be judged in relationship to the performance of their peers, and not in relationship to other University students. While many students may be outstanding when they are admitted to a program, the recognition of achievement shall be reserved to those who have excelled in the program itself, relative to their peers.

I. Degrees with Distinction

1. a) The initiative in establishing degrees with distinction shall lie with the colleges and campuses concerned and must be approved by the chief academic officer on the campus.
   

   b) To graduate "with distinction," a student must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.750 or higher at the time the student graduates. To graduate "with high distinction," a student must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.900 or higher.
   

2. The grade point average alone shall be used in determining the granting of degrees "with distinction" or "with high distinction." Colleges or campuses may choose to offer only degrees "with distinction" or only degrees "with high distinction," but in either case they would be subject to section I(1)(b) of this policy.

II. Degrees with Honors

1. a) The initiative for establishing degrees with honors (that is, cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude) shall lie with the departments, colleges, or campuses and must be approved by the appropriate dean and the senior academic officer on the campus. Qualifications for degrees with honors must meet the requirements of sections II(2), II(3), and II(4) of this policy.
   

   b) Descriptions of existing honors programs, as of the date this policy is adopted by the Senate, shall be provided to the Committee on Educational Policy. Establishment of new honors programs, or major modifications to existing honors programs, shall be reported for information to the Committee on Educational Policy.
   

2. The requirements for a degree with honors shall not consist of only the accomplishment of a designated amount of course work or achievement of a stipulated grade point average, but shall also include a definite standard of excellence in scholarship with specific evidence of ability to accomplish independent or original work. This requires that the student participate in a fully developed honors program in a unit.
   

3. A unit desiring to grant degrees with honors must propose an honors program, specifying how honors students are to be selected, the nature, depth, and breadth of the honors requirements, and the general requirements for obtaining a degree cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude.
   

4. The minimum grade point average in upper division (i.e. after the completion of 60 semester credits) required for achievement of a degree "cum laude" shall be 3.500, that for a degree "magna cum laude" shall be 3.666, and that for a degree "summa cum laude" shall be 3.750.

5. Colleges shall attempt to ensure that there is reasonable consistency across departments in the amount of work required of its students to obtain degrees with honors.

III. General Provisions

1. Any college or campus may offer both degrees with honors and degrees with distinction, only one, or neither.
   

2. A student may obtain both a degree with honors and a degree with distinction.
   

3. To qualify for either a degree with distinction or a degree with honors, a student must have completed 60 or more semester credits at the University. For the purposes of meeting the grade point average standards set forth in this policy, only University course work shall be counted.
   

4. It is the expectation of the Senate that in general, a college will not award degrees with honors and with distinction, in total, to more than approximately 10 - 15% of any graduating class.
   

5. The University transcript will contain a brief explanation of the difference between a degree with distinction and a degree with honors.
   

6. The Office of the Registrar shall annually report to the Committee on Educational Policy data on the number and percentage of students in each college and campus who receive degrees with distinction and degrees with honors.
   

7. From time to time, the Committee on Educational Policy may review honors programs and criteria for degrees with distinction in the various colleges, and may make recommendations to the Senate concerning them.

Implementation Notes (to be approved by the Senate, but not officially part of the policy):

Students who have achieved the required grade point average shall be permitted to graduate "with distinction" or "with high distinction" as soon as it is practicable to implement this policy. If a student is already in a program offering a degree "with distinction" or using similar language, the student shall be bound by those rules. All students entering the University after this policy has been adopted by the Senate shall meet the requirements of this policy.

Students enrolled in an existing honors program shall be bound by those rules. The provisions of this policy covering honors degrees will apply only to students entering honors programs Fall Semester, 1999, and after.

Commentary:

This policy, for all campuses of the University, is essentially adapted from three earlier policies adopted by the University Senate and Twin Cities Campus Assembly. This proposal differentiates between degrees with distinction and degrees with honors. It requires campuses, colleges, and departments to conform to general guidelines in awarding these degrees.

One new element of this policy is the specific grade point average standards, which are set as part of the larger effort to bring consistency to University policies. In the case of degrees with honors, departments and colleges are expected to set additional requirements (e.g., an honors thesis, completion of honors seminars, etc.). A degree is awarded by the University, not by a college or department or campus, so it seems to the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP) appropriate that there be University-wide standards with respect to degrees with honors and with distinction.

SCEP does NOT propose a fixed percentage limit of students who may obtain a degree with distinction or with honors. To set a percentage would mean that students would not know, at the time of graduation, whether or what level of honors or distinction they had received, because those calculations could not be made until after all grades were turned in. Use of a percentage would also mean that there would be a floating target for students seeking to obtain a degree with honors or with distinction. For these reasons, SCEP concluded after considerable debate that stipulation of grade points averages was the most reasonable course. degrees.

SCEP may periodically review all existing honors programs for appropriate consistency throughout the University, and will report the results of those reviews to the Senate. If it were to find, for example, that 10% of the graduates in one college but 25% of the graduates in another college were receiving degrees with honors or with distinction, SCEP might be prepared to consider further revisions to this policy.