Pre-Approval for Senior Study Abroad Residency Exception
Presented to the Senate 10-28-13 from the UAEC for approval
Students who seek an exception to existing WSU rules submit a petition to their College
for approval or denial of their request. After review at the college level, it then
proceeds to the University Admissions and Exceptions Committee. Representatives from
their respective colleges present each case at the UAEC meeting for final approval
or denial in order to promote consistency across programs. The committee typically
approves exceptions to the rules only when there are documented medical grounds or
other extenuating circumstances that warrant special concern.
WSU students who wish to study abroad or elsewhere in the US as part of their WSU
degree program, e.g. through NSE or ISEP, often do so during their senior year. There
is no rule against participating in these programs during the senior year, so no petition
for exception is generated. After the fact, however, many students are unable to graduate
without an exception to the 鈥淲SU residency鈥� requirements (24 of the final 30 credits
must be completed at WSU and 50/60). Since someone from WSU presumably approved the
study program and the student has no opportunity to request an exception in advance,
we deem it unfair to require these students to take an additional semester or year
of classes before graduation. UAEC regularly grants these exceptions without documentation
of any specific need to study abroad their senior year rather than earlier in their
college career.
In such cases, UAEC designates the type of case 鈥淧re-Approved鈥�. Pre-Approved cases
still appear on the UAEC petition list, but the case is not presented to us. This
summer we voted to designate exceptions to the WSU residency rules Pre-Approved whenever
a student is set to graduate and fails to meet the rule only due to participation
in one of these programs. (Cases in which students request the exception due to study
abroad in combination with some other factor, e.g. classes at Butler, would still
be heard.)
Since this change from a de facto to an explicit policy may require Senate approval,
we ask the Senate to consider what the WSU policy really should be. Possible options:
1. UAEC Pre-Approval as proposed would leave the current system largely intact but
protect the student and make the system more efficient.
2. Make it university policy that students petition for 24/30 and 50/60 exceptions
as part of their application to complete part of their WSU degree at another university,
whether through NSE, ISEP, or any other program. The Barton School of Business has
already implemented this policy, but many programs have not.
3. Both 1 and 2. Pre-petition is standard practice, but any cases that slip through
the cracks are Pre-Approved.
4. Revise the WSU Catalog so that course credit is counted as WSU credit re the 24/30
and 50/60 rule whenever tuition for the course was paid to WSU. This would cover most
cases, but there are universities that require students to pay local tuition rather
than WSU tuition. In order for this option to entirely remove the need for options
1-3, the catalog rules would have to be carefully worded to ensure the correct scope
of application.
5. Make it a WSU rule that students may not participate in exchange programs their
senior year without first being granted an exception to this new rule against it.
Students would need two exceptions in this case, and it would provide a significant
disincentive to participate in these programs. The length of the application process,
mismatch between the WSU semester and terms at other universities, financial considerations,
and many other factors often prevent students from taking advantage of these programs
prior to their senior year. Since we are currently trying to encourage student exchanges,
this option is not recommended.