Curricular Flexibility
Choice is a regular part of university life, and encompasses the determination of a college and major, the selection of courses each term, and the development of life goals and career options.
Many of these choices are academic in nature. The undergraduate curricula are flexible, designed to accommodate the changing interests and needs of students. Boundaries between colleges are as fluid as possible to provide many options in an educational program. For instance, students may take a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree in the College of Business and Economics or the College of Engineering and Applied Science with a minor in journalism in the College of Arts and Sciences. There are five-year programs for which degrees are awarded in two colleges.
Transfers between undergraduate colleges is permitted but only after the freshman year. Students considering such a transfer must confer with their advisers to begin the process.
Academic offerings of the various departments are described in Section V. To provide additional flexibility and encourage student initiative and depth of investigation, the university has developed academic alternatives including the following:
Provisional Courses. Departments may introduce provisional courses temporarily within a semester, either experimentally or as a response to a contemporary social or scientific issue. If successful, a course may become part of the regular curriculum. Such courses, identified with a 95, 96, 97 or 98 number (preceded by a 1, 2, or 3 indicating level) may sometimes take provisional courses numbered above 100 on a pass/fail basis.
Pass/Fail Option. Undergraduate students have the opportunity to study in areas without concern for possible poor grades by electing a pass/fail option. Intended to encourage exploration at the upper division level outside the major field, this option is open to those who are sophomores and above, in good standing, who have declared a major. Courses numbered below 100 will not be eligible for pass/fail. The pass/fail option may not be used for major or minor subject credit toward graduation or for distribution requirements. Consultation with the adviser is required.