The post below was updated on March 3, 2023, to reflect new inclusion criteria for students who started classes in the summer before the Fall of 2022.
The Council on General Education reviewed a report on undergraduate student progress by admit cohort related to each Common Curriculum requirement. The report showed students are progressing well through general education requirements (Foundations and Breadths); however, the Council identified progress concerns within the Proficiency & Experience Graduation requirements.
Recognizing the COVID global pandemic’s impact on students at SMU, the Council of General Education approved a one-time exception for students admitted between Fall 2020 and Spring 2022 under the Common Curriculum. Students starting classes in the summer of 2020 were also included. Students within the identified admit cohorts will not be required to complete the Community Engagement (CE) and Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) graduation requirements.
Students who meet these requirements via course or individual activity by the conclusion of Spring 2023 will be documented as having satisfied the condition on their Degree Progress Report (DPR). For instance, if a CE individual activity or a CE-tagged course was completed successfully, it will be reflected.
If either CE or CIE is incomplete by the end of Spring 2023, it will appear waived for graduation. A sample DPR below shows the explanatory text for the waived requirement.
These DPR updates will go live in my.SMU on Friday, February 17, 2023. Students will be notified via email on Monday, February 20, 2023.
If faculty and academic advisors discover errors with an affected student’s DPR, please submit a DPR Issues/Requests to the Office of the Registrar.
The Council on General Education does not intend to make additional exceptions to the graduation requirements for future cohorts. It is imperative subsequent student cohorts complete all requirements to qualify for graduation.