Senate Doc #1889S

                                                      Approved   3/2/89



                                  APC Document #10

                   Admission to major requirements in Psychology





        Effective date:  Fall 1989 



        Add the following text to page 183 of the 1988-1989 catalog.  (The

        text will be inserted immediately following section III describing

        Track B-Reading Education and immediately preceding the description

        of the Psychology minor.) 



                                   CATALOG COPY



        Declaration of Major in Psychology 



             Students interested in majoring in Psychology are encouraged

        to meet with a Psychology faculty member at any time and learn more

        about the Department and its programs.  A major in Psychology may

        be formally declared after a student has:  



             (1) Completed General Education requirements in Mathematics,

        the English Language, and Bibliography, and earned a GPA of at

        least 2.0 in these courses.  

             (2) Completed Psychology 100 (Introduction to Psychology)

        with a grade of C or better.

             (3) Obtained a signed declaration of major form from the

        Chair of the Psychology Department



             Students who do not meet the GPA criteria in (1) or (2) above

        may become eligible to declare a major in Psychology by completing

        at least 2 of the required 200 level Psychology courses with grades

        that raise the student's Psychology GPA to at least 2.0.  For Track

        A, these courses are Psyc 200, 217, 225, & 230.  For Track B, these

        courses are Psyc 200, 217, 220, 225, & 230.  





        Environmental Impact:  This change will directly affect only the

        Psychology Department.  It will not have a notable impact on the

        number of students graduating with a major in Psychology.  These

        policies will have the added benefit of encouraging the completion

        of General Education courses early in a student's academic career.

        (Late completion of these requirements, especially Bibliography,

        has been a continuing problem for students in many departments

        across campus.) 



        Note that all courses in items (1) and (2) are General Education

        courses, so a student is not put in the position of completing

        courses that would be applicable only to a Psychology major, and

        then facing the fact that he or she is not allowed to declare the

        major.  (Most of the 200-level courses are required by departments

        other than Psychology.) 



        Students who transfer to UNCA will not be disadvantaged.  Since

        only grades of C or better transfer, if a student satisfies the

        requirements with transfer courses he or she will be eligible to


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        declare the major.  



        Rationale:  These changes were developed in consultation with all

        members of the department, and are based on both logical and

        empirical grounds.  It is consistent with the liberal arts mission

        of UNCA, and educationally sound, to encourage the completion of

        basic foundation courses before narrowing focus to a major.  In

        addition to forming an educationally sound package of courses, a

        survey of advisee files indicated that this system is an effective

        early identification system for students who are likely to

        experience academic problems within the major and/or the total

        curriculum.  (Early identification is a necessary condition for

        corrective intervention.) 



        The policy provides forgiveness for students who initially perform

        poorly.  Required 200-level Psychology courses may be taken and the

        student may demonstrate the capability of performing well enough to

        graduate with a Psychology GPA of 2.0 or higher.  


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