Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) requires that at least 25 percent of the credit hours earned for each baccalaureate degree is from LSU. The LSU General Catalog addresses this requirement in the “Undergraduate Degree Requirements” subsection on “Academic Requirements for Obtaining a Degree”:

Candidates for a bachelor's degree must earn at least 25 percent of the total number of hours required for the degree at this university and meet the residence requirements of their college as stipulated in each college's and school's section of this catalog [1].

The LSU transcript makes clear the number of hours and specific courses transferred from another institution by listing those in separate terms. An example of a transfer student’s transcript shows coursework transferred from Southern Arkansas University, University of Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana Tech University [2].      

The 25 percent requirement is enforced by six of the ten senior colleges via a requirement in their degree audit programs. Those colleges are as follows:

           College of Agriculture

           College of Art and Design

           College of Human Sciences and Education

           College of Music and Dramatic Arts

           College of Science

           School of the Coast and Environment

The requirement is automatically checked when a degree audit report is printed. The LSU General Catalog states the following:

During the semester prior to the one in which graduation is anticipated, candidates must request that the dean of their college evaluate their academic records for compliance with degree requirements [3].

When these six colleges check out their students for graduation using the degree audit reports, the reports indicate whether or not the students have met the requirement. 

The attached College of Human Sciences and Education degree audit report demonstrates how the degree audit program checks the requirement [4].

Three other senior colleges--E.J. Ourso College of Business, College of Humanities & Social Sciences, and Manship School of Mass Communication--enforce the requirement as follows:

During the degree checkout process the degree audit report is reviewed with the degree candidate.  Any requirements that have not been met are noted on the report. During this process, the degree candidate’s record is checked for the 25 percent requirement. If the degree candidate has not met the requirement, the counselor notes this on the report  [5] [6] [7].

The College of Engineering enforces the requirement thus:

During the process of admitting students to the college, the students’ records are checked for the 25 percent rule. If the rule will not be met via completion of regular degree requirements, this fact is noted and the student is prohibited from graduation at that time. [8].

Beginning with the General Catalog, 2013-2014, all senior colleges will enforce the requirement via the automated checking performed by degree audit programs. 

Students’ academic records are maintained in the Student Records and Registration (SRR) database.  The SRR database was created by Information Technology Services (ITS) and implemented in 1982.  In the late 1980s, ITS developed the Degree Audit System. The system produces degree audit reports that staff use to ensure that students meet all degree requirements, including the residency requirement.