Students wishing to find their names on the Chancellor’s Honor Roll or the Dean’s List will have to take at least 15 hours of coursework beginning next fall.
Currently, the University requires 12 hours of coursework to be considered for either list.
A minimum 3.5 grade point average is required to be named to the Dean’s List, and a 4.0 GPA earns a student a spot on the Chancellor’s Honor Roll.
The grade point averages required for each list will remain the same.
The Faculty Senate passed the change last week at its monthly meeting after the senate’s Admissions, Standards and Honors committee proposed raising the requirements to 14 hours for the Chancellor’s Honor Roll and 13 hours for the Dean’s List.
Some faculty members expressed concern that those were awkward hours since many courses count for three hours of credit.
Karen Denby, assistant vice-chancellor for academic affairs, said changing the number of hours to 15 clarifies what is required for each list for students, departments and colleges.
Denby said the intention of raising the required number of hours is not to reduce the number of students named to the lists, but to encourage students to complete 15 hours per semester.
Denby said one advantage of taking 15 hours is that it makes it more feasible for a student to graduate in four years.
“College is a wonderful experience, but it’s also to prepare you for the next step,” Denby said.
Vince Wilson, a professor in the School of the Coast and Environment and chairman of the Faculty Senate’s Admissions, Standards and Honors committee, said increasing the number of required hours would add to the distinction of being on the lists.
Wilson said with the current 12-hour requirement, the lists do not have the same status as they do at other universities.
Although the University of Tennessee also currently requires 12 hours to be named to the Dean’s list, the University of Florida requires 14 hours and Texas A&M University requires 15 hours.
Wilson said although he thought the change could be difficult for students who work full time while attending college, he knew from personal experience that the workload is manageable.
“I worked my way through college and took up to 21 hours,” Wilson said. “It is difficult, but it can be done.”
Students had varied opinions about the new requirement.
Laura Bergeron, a communication studies junior, said she thought changing the requirement to 15 hours was fine, given that it is a “middle number” of hours.
However, Jay Brown, a psychology junior, said he thought the change was a bad idea, pointing out that some students prefer to take 12 hours during regular semesters and take summer school.
Wilson said that based on current numbers, the increase in hours required could possibly result in a 20 to 25 percent decrease in the number of students named to the lists.