Determination of Academic Class at the Undergraduate Level Policy

Policy Statement

This policy describes what your Academic Class status is based on the number of credits completed. It is important to note that a student’s class standing at any point is based only on the number of credits completed, and does not include those in progress.

Definitions

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Policy Procedures

Determination of Academic Class at the Undergraduate Level

A baccalaureate degree from SUNY Brockport requires successful completion of a minimum of 120 credits and, of course, the correct courses to meet all requirements, unless you are a Delta College student, in which case you may need fewer, depending on which option you choose. If you intend to graduate in the traditional four years and you aren’t planning on attending any summer sessions here or elsewhere, you must average 15 credits each semester for eight semesters. Fifteen credits are considered a normal course load per semester, although you may register for as many as 18 without special permission, and even more if you meet certain criteria. Remember too that if you change majors, pursue double majors, or decide to pursue educational certification, you may have to take courses that will require additional semesters to earn your degree.

The University is very interested in motivating students to complete their 120 credits in four years. However, many students do take longer than eight semesters to finish a baccalaureate degree. Some academic policies and procedures are based upon your class status at a given time, and for this reason you will occasionally need to know your class standing. Here are the categories in terms of completed credit hours:

• FRESHMAN: fewer than 24 credits earned or transferred

• SOPHOMORE: minimum of 24 credits earned or transferred

• JUNIOR: minimum of 54 credits earned or transferred

• SENIOR: minimum of 84 credits earned or transferred

Sometimes you will see references to “lower-” or “upper-” division students. Strictly speaking, the lower division includes students with fewer than 54 credits earned or transferred; the upper division, 54 or more credits earned or transferred. As you can see, that translates into freshmen/sophomores being the lower division; juniors/seniors, the upper.

It is important to note that a student’s class standing at any point is based only on the number of credits completed, and does not include those in progress. So for example, if you have completed 23 credits and are taking 15, you would still have to register as a freshman. Even though 23 is close to 24, no exceptions are made to this rule.

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