Progressing Toward a Degree
Classification
An indication that a student is making progress toward a degree is the change in classification. Classification is determined by the number of credits completed and reported to the registrar, and is based on credit hours earned, not merely hours attempted. The grades F and NP and the marks I and X do not count in this classification system.

Classification in all colleges except Veterinary Medicine is as follows:

Sophomore: 30 credit hours earned
Junior classification: 60 credit hours earned
Senior classification: 90 credit hours earned

Students who have a bachelor's degree and are working toward another undergraduate degree, licensure, or admission to a specific graduate or professional program, may be classified as a senior.

Transfer students without a degree are classified on the basis of credits accepted by Iowa State University.

Veterinary medicine students are promoted from the first- to the second-, third-, and fourth-year classes based upon satisfactory completion of the required courses for each year. To be promoted to the second-year class, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 1.67 for all courses in the first year of the veterinary medicine curriculum. To be promoted to the third- and fourth-year classes, students must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 for all courses in the professional curriculum.

A student who is attending Iowa State and decides not to work toward an undergraduate degree, will be classified as a special student. Admission requirements and academic standards regulations are the same as regular students. Credits taken as a special student are applicable for undergraduate degree purposes if the student is admitted later as a regular undergraduate. Credits obtained as a special student may not, however, be applied toward a graduate degree.

Students enrolled in the Intensive English and Orientation Program (IEOP) are classified as special students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and usually are not permitted to enroll in academic courses until they have satisfied requirements for admission as regular students. Permission to enroll in one academic course may be granted under special circumstances.

Transfer of Credits
Credits presented from another institution are evaluated initially by the Office of Admissions to determine whether the courses are acceptable for transfer credit. Credits applied toward a degree will be determined by the student's college, based on relevance to the students' program requirements as well as the level of performance deemed necessary for successful progress in that program. Courses that are deemed important to a program but were earned with less than a C grade may or may not be approved for a program. This policy also applies to students already enrolled at Iowa State University. Grades earned in courses transferred to Iowa State University will not be used in calculating a transfer student's Iowa State cumulative grade point average.

A student who is admitted as a transfer from another college or university is required to have at least a 2.00 cumulative grade-point average for all transferable work taken elsewhere. If, due to special circumstances, a student is admitted with less than a 2.00 average, that student has a transfer quality-point deficiency. This deficiency will be added to any deficiency accumulated at Iowa State University and will be used to determine whether satisfactory progress toward a degree is being made. To graduate, students must earn sufficient quality points above a 2.00 at Iowa State University to offset any transfer quality-point deficiency.

Students should consult with their academic advisers and the Office of Admissions before taking coursework at other colleges and universities to be certain it will be applicable to their program of study. Students who believe that any transfer credits have not been correctly evaluated should consult with their academic adviser and with the Office of Admissions. Questions concerning transfer credits applied toward a degree program should be referred to the academic adviser and college office.

No more than 65 semester or 97 quarter credits earned at two-year colleges can be applied to a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University. While there is no limit to the number of credits that may be transferred from a four-year institution, the last 32 semester credits must be completed at Iowa State University.

Iowa State University students who attend one of the other Iowa Regent universities under the Regent Universities Student Exchange Program will have the credits earned at the other university counted as resident credit and grades received included in their Iowa State University cumulative grade point average. For information on applying to the program see Index, Regent Universities Student Exchange Program.

Degree Planning
In addition to being properly registered, students are responsible for knowing the requirements for their degree and planning their schedule to meet those requirements. Each college has a procedure to determine whether a student will fulfill all degree requirements for graduation.

At each fall and spring registration, students receive an advisement/degree audit printout. This printout shows in a degree program format those courses that have been completed and those courses in which the student is currently enrolled. Also shown are the graduation requirements that have not been completed.

Students should use the information on this printout to help them select courses for the next term and to evaluate their progress toward their degree. Graduation evaluators in the Office of the Registrar use a similar printout during the term a student will graduate to evaluate a student's graduation status.

For information about how completed courses fulfill degree requirements or how other courses will apply toward their degree requirements, students should see their adviser.

Two Bachelor's Degrees
Students may receive two bachelor's degrees if the requirements for each major (curriculum) are met and the total number of semester credits earned is at least 30 more than the requirements of the curriculum requiring the greater number of credits. The same rule applies to degrees that are not awarded at the same time. Students should have an academic adviser in each major (curriculum), with one adviser being designated as the registration adviser. Students should request approval to pursue two degrees by completing the form, Request for Double Major/Curriculum or Two Degrees. This form is available from advisers and classification offices. Each adviser will have access to the student's information after this form has been processed. The appropriate department and college must approve each degree program.

Students who have earned advanced degrees and wish to earn a second Bachelor's Degree may be eligible for a college waiver of certain basic and general education requirements. Students should contact the department offering the major for advice and appropriate planning.

Double Major/Curriculum
A double major is a program for a single degree in which all requirements for two or more majors (curricula) have been met. The majors (curricula) may be in different colleges or within the same college or department. The diploma and permanent record will designate all majors (curricula) that are completed at the same time.

To declare a double major (curriculum), students should complete the form, "Request for a Double Major/Curriculum or Two Degrees." This form, available from advisers and classification offices, should be completed no later than the beginning of the senior year. One major (curriculum) should be designated as primary and the other secondary for purposes of record keeping, but the student's rights and responsibilities are the same in both majors. The adviser of the primary major will serve as the student's registration adviser, but both advisers will have access to the student's information. Degree programs must be approved for each major (curriculum) by the appropriate department and college. One of the majors may subsequently be canceled using the same form.

In addition to their engineering degree, students in the College of Engineering may earn majors in other colleges of the university. A major must meet all requirements of the offering department or program and its college and contain a minimum of 15 additional credits beyond the requirements for a B.S. degree in engineering for each major area of study. Within the College of Engineering, only double degrees are permitted.

Students with a primary major in another college who wish to take a second major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are not required to meet the Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education requirements. They must, however, meet all requirements for the major, including complementary courses. Students in the B.L.S. curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences do not have majors.

Second Major (Curriculum) Completed after the Bachelor's Degree
After receiving a bachelor's degree, a person may wish to complete all requirements for another major (curriculum). Approval of the department of the second major (curriculum) is needed before study for the program is begun. At the completion of the program a notation will be made on the permanent record (transcript), but no change will be made on the diploma received at the time of graduation. A degree program must be approved for the second major/curriculum by the department and by the dean's office.

Changing Curriculum or Major
A student's freedom to change their major, and the procedure that should be followed, depend on the student's academic standing as well as on policies of individual colleges as approved by the provost.

1. If students are not on temporary enrollment and have never been dismissed and reinstated, they may change their major by consulting first with their adviser. (If, however, they have been on temporary enrollment in the past, they may also be subject to regulation 4, below.) Beyond that, they should follow these procedures:

a. If the change involves majors within the same college, they should check with the college office to obtain instructions as to how to make the change.

b. If the change involves majors in different colleges, they should obtain a Change of Curriculum/Major form and their file from their adviser, present these materials to the classification office of their present college, then to the classification office of the college to which they are transferring, and finally to the office of their new major.

2. Students on temporary enrollment must first obtain permission to enter the new major. Permission comes from the dean of the college responsible for that major in consultation with the department head. If permission is granted, students should then follow the procedures described above. If they are on temporary enrollment and want to transfer to another college in the university, they must do so before the last day to drop a course in period 2 (see Index, Making Schedule Changes).

3. Students who have been reinstated may not transfer to another college during the first term following reinstatement, and they may not at any time transfer back to the college that originally dismissed them without the permission of the academic standards committee of that college.

4. Students who transferred from one college to another while on temporary enrollment, may not transfer back unless they have the permission of the academic standards committee of the college from which they originally transferred.

Declaring a Minor
Many departments and programs in the university specify requirements for an undergraduate minor. A record of requirements completed appears on students' transcripts. All minors require at least 15 credits, including at least 6 credits in courses numbered 300 or above taken at Iowa State. The minor must include at least 9 credits that are not used to meet any other department, college, or university requirement. Courses taken for a minor may not be taken on a pass-not pass basis. For additional information regarding policies which govern minors, see Index, Minor. To declare a minor, students must submit a completed Request for a Minor form to their college office at least one term before graduation. The minor may be from the catalog under which the student is graduating or a later catalog.

Graduation
Seniors must file a graduation application with the Graduation Office, 10A Alumni Hall, by the Friday of the first week of classes for students who plan to graduate in fall and spring semesters, and the last day of spring semester for students who plan to graduate in summer. Applications may be obtained from the adviser; college office; www.iastate.edu/~registrar/forms; the Student Answer Center, or the Graduation Office, 10A Alumni Hall. Students will be notified by mail approximately four weeks after the semester begins of their graduation status.

Individual college ceremonies take place at the end of fall and spring semesters. The formal commencement ceremony for graduate students takes place on the Friday at the end of the semester, and the undergraduate ceremony takes place on Saturday. A combined undergraduate and graduate college commencement ceremony takes place at the end of the summer term.

Final grade checks will be made approximately two weeks after the end of the semester and diplomas will be mailed to all successful degree candidates.

Students must ensure the following before they can graduate:

1. Registration for the term has been completed and the date of graduation is correct on the advisement/degree audit printout.

2. Sufficient credits, acceptable toward graduation, have been earned to meet the minimum requirements for their curriculum. (Some examples of credit not acceptable toward graduation are: elective credits beyond those allowed in a curriculum, credits earned in passing the same course more than once, more than four credits of Athletics 101, and credit in two courses for which the catalog states that only one may count toward graduation.)

3. Their major department has certified that the student has achieved an adequate level of proficiency in written communication.

4. A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 was earned in all work taken at Iowa State and have also met any special grade point averages required by their college, department, or program in specified groups of courses.

a. Students admitted from another college or university with a quality-point deficiency, must have earned sufficient quality points above a 2.00 at Iowa State to offset their transfer grade point deficiency.

b. Students who have taken work at another college or university prior to or after having been a student at Iowa State, must have submitted a transcript of all such college study attempted to the Office of Admissions. This work must average 2.00 or the deficiency of quality points will be assessed against the student. Failure to submit such a transcript is grounds for dismissal.

5. Incompletes in courses required for graduation have been removed by midterm of the term of graduation.

6. At least 32 credits have been earned in residence at Iowa State University, and the final 32 credits were taken at Iowa State. (Six of the last 32 credits may be transferred to Iowa State, with prior written permission of their major department.) Iowa State University must receive a transcript of all transfer work by midterm of the term of graduation.

7. Outstanding financial obligations owed the university have been paid in full. Students who owe an outstanding obligation to the university will have a hold placed on their records and they will not receive their diploma or transcript. If students have questions about this policy, they should contact the graduation section of the Office of the Registrar, 10A Alumni Hall.