Purpose Statement: Academic departments at NDSU have long established specializations within academic disciplines to meet the needs of industry, as well as the interests of students. Historically, while options were published in curricular materials, including bulletins, they were not formally tracked or recorded on student academic records. With an increased interest by students and departments in displaying these specialized areas of study, as well as recording capabilities in the current student information system, the Academic Affairs Committee at NDSU established guidelines and definitions regarding academic program options.
An option (also referred to as a subplan = Campus Connection terminology) is defined as a prescribed grouping or menu of courses within a major program curriculum that is intended to provide students with a more specialized focus of study within the discipline.
In this document, the term “option” is used when referring to the curriculum or curricular requirements. The term “subplan” is used when referring to functionalities in PeopleSoft.
According to NDSU Academic Affairs policy/procedures, options that are intended to be used for student tracking purposes and recorded with degrees on academic records must be reviewed and receive approval by the appropriate College Curriculum Committee and the University Academic Affairs Committee. If approved at these levels, options are placed on a University Senate agenda for final review/vote of approval.
Registration and Records will establish graduate-level subplans in the student information system, which have University Senate approval, upon department request.
New and Existing Program Options:
New program options as well as existing options that meet the requirements, but which do not yet have
Senate approval, may be requested by submitting a memo to the college curriculum committee. If approved
at these levels, they will be reviewed for approval by Academic Affairs, Graduate Council (graduate
program options), and University Senate.
Changes in Option Requirements, Title, Deletions,
etc.:
Once approved by University Senate, formal option curricular requirements may be revised via the annual
Curriculum Revision and Update process/form.
Changes in titles of options and option deletions must be submitted for formal approval following the same protocol for new option approval. This will ensure that the appropriate changes may be recorded in the student information system.
Informal Options:
While similar to options, less formalized cognates, specializations, tracks, areas of emphasis, and
concentrations may be obtained through elective credits within a curriculum. However, unlike more
formal options, these will not be recorded on academic record or tracked in Campus Connection.
These less formal cognates, tracks, specialized electives, etc. at the undergraduate level may be indicated on curriculum guides during the annual curriculum revisions and updates process. Curriculum revisions and updates, including the addition of informal tracks/elective areas as well as changes to existing formal options are reviewed by the College Curriculum Committee and Academic Affairs, but not University Senate.
Updates to existing graduate curricula, including options and tracks, etc., are reported to the Graduate School.
Undergraduate Students:
Departments that request subplans be recorded in the system must establish a business process to
communicate to Registration and Records the appropriate subplan for undergraduate students prior to
graduation. Students may also identify their option on the graduation audit request cards.
Graduate Students:
Graduate students who indicate on their application for admission an interest in a particular option
may have these subplans entered by the Graduate School or at the point that their programs of study are
approved.
Additional tracking, advising and reporting processes should be determined to make options and their curricular requirements known to students.
NDSU has the capability of building options (subplans) into the academic structure of its current student information system. With this capability, subplans may be recorded on official academic records.
The Academic Affairs Committee recommends that the recording of options/subplans be limited to the academic transcript. An example of a degree recording on an academic transcript, including subplan information, is as follows:
Degree: Master of
Science
Confer Date: 2007-5-11
Degree GPA: 3.92
Plan: Child Development &
Family Science
SubPlan: Family Financial Planning
The Committee does not recommend printing options on the diploma due to limited diploma space, the purpose for and use of the diploma, the dynamic nature of options, and the ability to record subplans on transcripts/resumes.
Options should be limited to major programs/plans of study, and are not intended for tracking and recording options within minors.
Procedures for recording approved subplans on PeopleSoft transcripts will be developed in 2007-2008.
A subplan is a group of courses within an approved academic program which is identified in an institutional catalog. Subplans are either transcriptable or non-transcriptable. Transcriptable subplans include all options, specializations, emphases, and concentrations. A minimum of 12 undergraduate credit hours or 9 graduate credit hours is required for each transcriptable subplan. Completion of transcriptable subplan requirements may be indicated on a student transcript at the discretion of the institution. Non-transcriptable subplans include all other groups of courses used for student tracking and advisement purposes such as tracks and foci. Notations regarding non-transcriptable subplans never appear on a student transcript. Board approval is not required for a subplan.
(8/2007)