As the fall semester draws to a close, seniors ready to graduate Dec. 18 prepare for commencement – some frantically. But for those who have graduation on the horizon in three years or only one semester it doesn’t hurt to prepare for the future now.
To graduate from Eastern Michigan University, students must successfully complete general education requirements, satisfy Learning Beyond the Classroom credits, complete major and minor requirements – a major of 30-36 hours and a minor of 20-24 hours as specified by one’s field of study – and electives to equal the minimum total of 124 hours.
Once all these requirements have been met, a student will be eligible to earn a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or other baccalaureate degree relevant to fields of study authorized by EMU.
According to director of general education Chris Foreman, the “often-overlooked” LBC requirement can be satisfied in a number of ways, some through courses, but many are not.
“One of my first recommendations is that a student looks at the complete list of options to determine if they might have already done, or been doing, something that might satisfy the LBC requirement,” Foreman said. “The General Education Program office is the best place to get specific answers about any of the general education requirements, including LBC.”
The General Education Program office is also looking into options to make receiving LBC credit more automated in addition to providing information on such requirements.
“Our office is currently working on establishing more automated systems for tracking student attendance at events and participation in LBC-related activities,” Foreman said. “Our office is also working closely with the current Student Government leadership to determine additional ways to communicate directly with students about this often-overlooked general education requirement.”
Until then, it is important that students are proactive in finding out how far along they are in completing their college career and reaching graduation. One way to make sure a student is on track for graduation is to request a graduation audit.
This audit informs a student who has completed 95 or more credit hours of what classes, LBC credits and other requirements are needed prior to graduation.
Graduation audits are a helpful tool but aren’t a substitute for actual advising. According to EMU graduation auditor and evaluator Megan Matusik, audits serve as a checkout for graduation.
“Students should be meeting with their advisors often regarding major/minor requirements, registration schedules and any substitutions/accommodations,” Matusik said. “The audit should be a reflection of what the student and advisor have been discussing throughout the students’ academic career.”
Such graduation audits should be submitted the semester prior to a student’s expected graduation. This gives the auditors time to look through a student’s graduation requirements and determine what needs to be completed their final semester, so the sooner a student submits their audit, the better.
“Audits are completed in order of expected date of graduation,” Matusik said. “The expected date of graduation portion of the form should be filled out as correctly as possible so auditors are able to complete the audit and return it to the student in a timely manner. Dependent on when a student requests the audit, and their expected date of graduation, students should receive their audit a semester before they are due to graduate.”
But in cases where students have failed to submit an audit on time, there is still hope.
“Students who have failed to request an audit ahead of time, but feel after meeting with their advisors, that they will be completing all necessary requirements – major, minor, general education, minimum of 124 semester hours, etc – at the end of winter term, should apply for graduation as soon as possible,” Matusik said. “Ideally, students are expected to apply for graduation within the first two weeks of their final semester. Winter 2012 graduation applications will be available online beginning Dec. 20.”
Students are now able to apply for graduation through the My.Emich student tab: scroll down to “Services Main Menu,” click on “Student Services,” click on “Student Records,” click on “Apply to Graduate” and then follow the instructions that follow. Once all is said and done, you’ll be walking across the stage at commencement in no time.
To contact the General Education Program office in Starkweather Hall, call the office at 734-487-0439 or e-mail generaleducation@emich.edu.
If you are interested in receiving an audit request form, they can be found in the Records and Registration Office at 303 Pierce Hall, or in the forms library on the Records and Registration website at http://www.emich.edu/registrar/graduation/undergrad_degreeaudit.php.
