Clearing Seniors for Graduation
No senior can be graduated until the DUS has certified that he or she has fulfilled the requirements of the major program. Such certification takes place twice a year, and it occurs in two steps: (1) the DUS gives the Registrar's Office provisional certification before grades are actually due; and (2) the Registrar's Office, in the absence of a subsequent negative correction from the DUS, confirms the certification when passing final course grades are received. The DUS gives the provisional advance certification on the Major Completion Form. At the beginning of the spring term you will receive a Major Completion Form for each senior in the major who finished the degree requirements in the fall term; toward the middle of the spring term you will receive a Major Completion Form for each senior in the major who is scheduled to finish the degree requirements in the spring.
On the Major Completion Form you are asked to indicate either:
(1) that the student has already completed all requirements for the major, and does not need to pass any current courses or complete any other projects; or
(2) that the student has yet to fulfill requirements for the major, including current course work and/or independent projects or examinations.
If the student falls into category 2, you will be asked to circle the titles of the specific courses that the student needs to complete in order to fulfill the requirements of the major, and to note any additional noncredit requirements in a comments section. If the student must still fulfill noncredit requirements such as senior projects, essays, or exams, it is your responsibility to provide confirmation to the Registrar's Office when such requirements have been met. That way the Registrar's Office can clear a student for graduation as soon as grades in the specific required courses have been recorded.
The Major Completion Form is generally due one month after you receive it. The registrar supplies the DUS with copies of the academic records of each junior and senior in the major upon request only. Departments are expected to have applied to the Registrar's Office for clearance to generate the academic records of their majors as needed.
