Louisiana State University and A&M College

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2.7.1 Program Length

The institution offers one or more degree programs based on at least 60 semester credit hours or the equivalent at the associate level; at least 120 semester credit hours or the equivalent at the baccalaureate level; or at least 30 semester credit hours or the equivalent at the post-baccalaureate, graduate, or professional level. If an institution uses a unit other than semester credit hours, it provides an explanation for the equivalency. The institution also provides a justification for all degrees that include fewer than the required number of semester hours or its equivalent unit. (Program length)

Compliance Status

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

Narrative

Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) awards baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees, and is consistent with Federal guidelines for defining a credit hour and with Louisiana Board of Regents policies for semester credit hour lengths for degree programs. All state and institutional requirements meet SACSCOC expectations in terms of degree program length. LSU does not award associate degrees.

Definition of a Semester Credit Hour

LSU uses the semester hour of credit as the unit by which course work is measured. The university defines a semester credit hour as

an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates

not less than one hour (50 minutes) of lecture/classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours out-of-class student work across 15 weeks for one semester or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time;

or at least an equivalent amount of work as required for other academic activities including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours [1].

LSU follows the federal definition of the credit hour [2] [3]. Consistent with federal regulatory language, there must be an equivalent amount of work among the different modes of delivery. Further, a minimum of two hours of out-of-class work for each hour of face-to-face instruction (or equivalent) is required. The LSU definition and application of a credit hour are further addressed in Comprehensive Standard 3.4.6 and Federal Requirement 4.9.

Curriculum Development

Bylaws of the LSU System Board of Supervisors establish that faculty of LSU (and of all system institutions) are responsible for the development of the curricula and the requisite credit hours within the guidelines set forth by the board. These bylaws state: “The faculty or Faculty Council shall establish curricula, fix standards of instruction, determine requirements for degrees, and generally determine educational policy, subject to the authority of the board” [4].

All academic courses and programs of study are initiated by faculty, approved by a series of faculty committees at the department, college, and university levels, and approved by the Office of Academic Affairs [1]. The Faculty Council of LSU (all full-time members of the academic staff with the rank of instructor or higher) has delegated the authority for the determination of academic policy to the LSU Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate Courses and Curricula Committee is charged with ensuring that the content, quality, and effectiveness of the curricula are consistent with standards appropriate to higher education and to the university’s mission, including the minimum credit hour requirements set by the Louisiana Board of Regents [1]. Additional information on curriculum development is addressed in Comprehensive Standards 3.4.1 and 3.4.10.

Degrees Offered

LSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 70 major fields, master’s-level degrees in 76 major fields, doctoral (PhD) degrees in 47 major fields, and professional doctoral degrees in music and veterinary medicine. The baccalaureate degree programs, along with the specific credit hour requirements, are listed in the LSU General Catalog [5] and in Table 1. Specific semester credit-hour requirements for each graduate degree program are published in the Graduate Study portion of the General Catalog [6] and listed in Table 2. Course and credit-hour requirements of each degree program can be found in the General Catalog, e.g., the B.A. in Music [7]. Specific credit-hour requirements for MS and PhD degree programs in the Veterinary Medical Sciences and for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine may be found on the School of Veterinary Medicine Website [8] and in Table 2. Semester credit-hour degree requirements are the same regardless of the method of delivery, i.e., face-to-face or online.

Baccalaureate Degrees

University baccalaureate degree programs follow the semester credit-hour degree program length policy of the Louisiana Board of Regents Academic Affairs Policy 2.15 (Definitions of Undergraduate Degrees and Undergraduate/Graduate Certificates) [9], which states that

The standard number of credits required for baccalaureate degrees is 120. Institutions with compelling reasons (e.g., the academic program is defined as a 5-year baccalaureate program; professional accreditation or certification requirements; etc.) for exceeding the 120 credit hour standard may request an exception to this standard according to their respective system’s policy.

All baccalaureate degree programs at LSU require at least 120 semester hours of undergraduate course credit (Table 1). Many baccalaureate degree programs require more than 120 credit hours because of requirements set forth by external accrediting agencies, by certificate programs, or by certain degree programs, e.g., the Bachelor of Architecture [10].

Table 1: All LSU Baccalaureate Degree Programs
Department	Curriculum/Major	Curriculum Code	Degree	# Hrs
College of Agriculture (AGRI) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness	Agricultural Business	AGBU	BS	120
School of Animal Sciences	Animal, Dairy & Poultry Sciences	ADP	BS	120
School of Human Ecology	Nutrition and Food Sciences	NUTR	BS	120
School of Human Ecology	Textiles, Apparel & Merchandising	HETAM	BS	120
Interdepartmental	Agricultural Education - Grades 6-12	AGED	BS	120
Interdepartmental	Plant & Soil Systems	PLSYS	BS	120
School of Plant, Environmental & Soil Sciences	Environmental Management Systems	ENSYS	BS	120
School of Renewable Natural Resources	Forestry (Forest Management)	FORM	BSF	128
School of Renewable Natural Resources	Natural Resource Ecology & Management	NREM	BS	128
College of Art & Design (ADSN) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Architecture	Architecture (Five-year Program)	ARCH	Bachelor of Architecture (BArch)	162
Art	Studio Art	STAR	Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)	120
Interior Design	Interior Design	ID	Bachelor of Interior Design (BID)	135
Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture	Landscape Architecture (Five-year Program)	LA	Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA)	159
E. J. Ourso College of Business (BADM) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Accounting	Accounting	ACCT	BS	120
Economics	Economics	ECONS	BS	120
Economics	International Trade and Finance	ITF	BS	120
Finance	Finance	FIN	BS	120
Information Systems & Decision Sciences	Information Systems & Decision Sciences	ISDS	BS	120
Interdepartmental	General Business	GBUS	BS	120
William W. and Catherine M. Rucks Department of Management	Management	MGT	BS	120
Marketing	Marketing	MKT	BS	120
School of Coast & Environment (SCE) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Interdepartmental	Coastal Environmental Science	CES	BS in Coastal Environmental Science	120
College of Engineering (ENGR) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Biological & Agricultural Engineering	Biological Engineering	BE	BS in Biological Engineering (BSBE)	128
Gordon A. and Mary Cain Department of Chemical Engineering	Chemical Engineering	CHE	BS in Chemical Engineering (BSCheE)	128
Civil & Environmental Engineering	Civil Engineering	CE	BS in Civil Engineering (BSCE)	120
Civil & Environmental Engineering	Environmental Engineering	EVEG	BS in Environmental Engineering (BSEnvE)	128
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering	Industrial Engineering	IE	BS in Industrial Engineering (BSIE)	126
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering	Mechanical Engineering	ME	BS in Mechanical Engineering (BSME)	127-128
School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science	Computer Engineering	EEC	BS in Electrical Engineering (BSEE)	127
	Electrical Engineering	EE	BS in Electrical Engineering (BSEE)	127
	Computer Science	CSC	BS	120
Construction Management	Construction Management	CM	BS in Construction Management (BSCM)	122
Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering	Petroleum Engineering	PETE	BS in Petroleum Engineering (BSPE)	128
College of Human Sciences and Education (HSE) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
School of Education	Early Childhood Education: PK-3 Teacher Certification	PK3CT	BS	120-122
School of Education	Elementary Grades Education	ELED	BS	120-125
School of Human Resource Education & Workforce Development	Human Resource Education	HRE	BS	120
School of Kinesiology	Kinesiology	KIN	BS	120
	Athletic Training	ATRN	BS	125
	Sport Administration	SPADM	BS	120
School of Social Work	Child & Family Studies	HECFS	BS	120
College of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Communication Sciences & Disorders	Communication Disorders	COMD	BA	120
Communication Studies	Communication Studies	CMST	BA	120
English	English	ENGL	BA	120
Foreign Languages & Literatures	Spanish	SPAN	BA	120
French Studies	French	FREN	BA	120
Geography & Anthropology	Anthropology	ANTH	BA	120
	Geography	GEOGA	BA	120
	Geography	GEOGS	BS	120
History	History	HIST	BA	120
Interdepartmental	Economics	ECONA	BA	120
	Interdisciplinary Studies	IS	BIS	120
	International Studies	INTL	BA	120
	Liberal Arts	LIBAR	BA	120
Philosophy & Religious Studies	Philosophy	PHIL	BA	120
Political Science	Political Science	POLI	BA	120
Psychology	Psychology	PSYCS	BS	120
Sociology	Sociology	SOCL	BA	120
Manship School of Mass Communication (MC) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Mass Communication	Mass Communication	MC	Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication (BAMC)	120
College of Music & Dramatic Arts (MDA) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
School of Music	Music	MUSIC	Bachelor of Music (BM)	120
	Music Education	MUSED	Bachelor of Music Education (BMEd)	128
	Music	MUSAR	BA	120
Theatre	Theatre	THTR	BA	120
College of Science (SCI) Degree Programs - Baccalaureate
Biological Sciences	Biochemistry	BCH	BS	120
	Biological Sciences	BIOL	BS	120
	Microbiology	MBIO	BS	120
Chemistry	Chemistry	CHEM	BS	120
Geology & Geophysics	Geology	GEOLP	BS in Geology (BSGeol)	120
Mathematics	Mathematics	MATH	BS	120
Physics & Astronomy	Physics	PHYS	BS	120

NOTE: The narrative continues in "2.7.1 (Continued)."

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Author: Stephenie Franks
Last modified: 7/1/2015 7:33 AM (EST)

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Louisiana State University and A&M College

2.7.1 Program Length