Section 4: Federal Requirements
4.4 The institution demonstrates that program length is appropriate for each of the degrees offered.
Judgment of Compliance:
Compliance
Narrative/Justification for Judgment of Compliance:
Christopher Newport University is in compliance with this federal requirement. A minimum of 120 academic semester hours is required for graduation. CNU's new general education requirement, the Liberal Learning Core Curriculum, requires 46 – 48 semester hours. Courses from major and elective studies complete each baccalaureate degree. Major requirements range from 30 to 42 semester hours, with a few exceptions discussed below. As the University Handbook , Section IV: Academic Regulations and Information, documents, the faculty in each academic program determines the number of semester hours required for the major.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
A major must consist of a minimum of 30 hours and a maximum of 42. In almost all departments, the total number of hours required for a degree tends to be divided almost equally among general education requirements, elective hours, and major requirements. The notable exceptions are in Music and Physics, Computer Science and Engineering, departments in which disciplinary accreditation requires more credits.
University approved degrees are listed in the Undergraduate Catalog under the heading of Baccalaureate Degrees Offered. All departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences specify the number of hours required and/or listing titles of courses, the credit awarded each course, and the options available to satisfy the departmental requirements. Departmental listings also include the type of degree awarded (e.g., B.A., B.S., and B.M.).
Luter School of Business
The School of Business limits the number of credit hours students may take in business and accounting to 50 percent (60 credit hours) of the minimum required for graduation. The BSBA degree consists of 25 required courses (75 semester hours), including lower division course work that satisfies general education requirements, such as composition courses, calculus and statistics. Business and accounting courses comprise eighteen courses (54 semester hours). This structure allows the Luter School to offer a comprehensive set of courses that introduces the student to the various functional areas in business (business core), permits the student to study a particular area in depth (specialization or 'major'), and allows students to choose up to 15 semester hours of elective coursework (a minimum of six hours must be non-business). The free electives tie the business school to the liberal arts mission of the University by making it possible for students to minor in liberal arts or science.
Graduate Studies
The number of credit hours required for the three masters programs at Christopher Newport University ranges from 30 to 36. CNU undergraduates may seek admission to the special five-year Bachelor's to Master's degree programs. These programs waive up to 9 semester credit hours at the graduate level if the student was officially admitted to the five-year program and has taken up to 9 graduate credit hours as an undergraduate, courses that are normally required as part of the graduation requirements for the three masters programs. The students cover the material at the graduate level as undergraduates, but the credit hours appear on the undergraduate transcript.
Support Documentation:
Undergraduate Catalog 06-07
Graduate Catalog 06-07
University Handbook: Section IV
Additional Live Web Resources:
None