Substitution of Courses

Page 426 Substitution of Courses
Date:  86, 4/01, 2/12


Under unusual circumstances, a student may request that a course substitution be approved for a particular core or program requirement.
The student must initiate the request, indicating the course to be substituted for the requirement and detailing how the replacement course meets the objectives of the original requirement. Faculty who normally teach the required course will have input into the decision, as will the student’s faculty advisor. If the substitution is for a major or minor requirement, faculty in the Division housing the program in question will vote to grant or deny the substitution. If the substitution is for a Core requirement, the faculty in the Division which houses the course for which the student is seeking the substitution will recommend approval or denial.  For core requirements, the additional approval of the Program Review and Evaluation Committee is also required.
1) The student completes a COURSE SUBSTITUTION REQUEST.
2) The student submits the Request to the Chair of the Division that houses the student’s major if the substitution is for a major or core requirement.
The student submits the Request to the Chair of the Division that houses the student’s minor if the substitution is for a minor requirement.
3) Instructor and Faculty Advisor Input Sought. The Chair of Division housing the student’s major or minor gives a copy of that form along with the appropriate response form(s) to both the Faculty Advisor/Mentor and one of the regular instructors of the course to be replaced. They will forward their completed “responses” to the Chair of the Division that houses the student’s major or the minor in question.
4) Faculty Review the Request.
a. For Major or Minor Requirements. The Chair of the Division housing the program in question forwards to the Division faculty the packet containing copies of the student’s original request and the Faculty Advisor/Mentor’s and instructor’s responses.
b. For Core Requirements. The Chair of the Division housing the course for which the student is seeking a substitution shall forward to the Division faculty the packet containing copies of the student’s original request and the Faculty Advisor/Mentor’s and instructor’s responses. For a substitution of a Core course in one of the categories that includes courses taught in multiple divisions (categories I, VI or VII), the Chair of the division housing the student’s major sends the request to the division which
houses the courses most similar in content to the course the student would like to substitute for the core requirement.
5) Decision Points
a. Major or Minor Requirements. If the substitution is for a major or minor requirement, the Division housing the program in question may approve or deny the request. In either case, the student is notified of the Division action. If approved, the Division Chair forwards the approved request to the Registrar’s Office, who will post the substitution to the student’s transcript and the degree audit program.
b. Core Requirement. If the substitution is for a Core requirement, the Division which houses the course for which the student is seeking the substitution recommends approval or denial. The Division Chair notifies the student of that action and forwards the proposal with recommendation to the Program Review & Evaluation Committee (PREC).
PREC then reviews the materials and either approves or denies the substitution. The student is informed of PREC’s action, and if PREC approves the substitution, that approval and all supporting materials are forwarded to the Registrar’s Office, who will post approved requests to the student’s transcript and the degree audit program.

The Course Substitution form can be found on the Registrar website.