University of Virginia Library

Committee Urges Greater Use Of Senior
Faculty In Undergraduate Teaching

sion of course offerings, the elimination
of hyphenated courses, the
reduction of prerequisites, the
maintenance of an appropriate
balance between graduate and
undergraduate course offerings, a
greater use of senior faculty
members in undergraduate teaching,
the reduction of large lecture
courses, the expansion of the
program of advanced standing and
advanced placement, an increase in
tutorial and seminar classes, and the
introduction of interdisciplinary
studies which recognize that many
areas of human inquiry transcend
rigid departmental boundaries.

Finally, if the proposal is
adopted by the Faculty in this
academic year, the Committee
recommends that students enrolled
in the college prior to September
1970 be allowed to satisfy either
the old or the new requirements;
students matriculating in September
1970 or later must satisfy the
requirements of the new curriculum.

On all passing graded pluses add
1/3 point to the relevant number
equivalent, and for minuses deduct
1/3 point. Up to four semester
courses may be taken in the College
or elsewhere in the University on a
pass-fail basis, and students must
designate the courses for which
they elect the pass-fail option at
registration. Furthermore, departments
may designate courses which
are not open to students on a
pass-fail basis.

Area requirements for the
Degree. No specified courses are
required for the Bachelor
of Arts degree except in foreign
languages and English 1. However,
every student must satisfy the area
requirements listed below:

English 1 (3 semester-hours):
Students may be exempted from
English 1 upon recommendation of
the Department of English; students
who complete English 1 may
not count it as part of the area
requirement in the Humanities.

Foreign Language or Culture
(0-18 semester hours): This requirement
may be satisfied through
either A or B:

A. Foreign Language: A student
who has completed a minimum of
three years of a foreign language in
secondary school and who has
achieved a score of at least 700 on
his achievement test in that language
will be exempted from
further study of foreign language
for the B.A. degree. A student who
has completed two years of a
foreign language in secondary
school and who has achieved a
score of at least 550 on his
achievement test in that language
will be required to take only one
additional year of that language
department. All other students
must complete a sequence of
courses terminating in level 6 or its
equivalent. A student not exempted
should continue the language begun
in secondary school unless he
receives permission from his advisor
to change to another language.

B. Foreign Culture: A student
must complete satisfactorily a minimum
of fifteen hours, at least six of
which must be at the 100 level, of
courses concerned with one of the
following areas: East Asia, South
and Southeast Asia, Middle East,
Africa, Latin America, Russia (or
the Soviet Union), and Eastern
Europe.

Each year the Dean of the
College, in consultation with appropriate
committees and Departments,
will publish a list of
available courses from which this
requirement may be fulfilled. Each
student electing this option should
work out his specific program
carefully with his advisor. Courses
elected to meet this requirement
may not be in the field of the major
subject.

Natural Science and Mathematics
(6 semester-hours) Every
student must complete a minimum
of six semester hours chosen from
the following departments:

Astronomy (except Astronomy
3)

Biology

Chemistry

Environmental Science (except
Environmental Science 3-6, 11, 12)

Mathematics

Physics

Social Studies (6 semester-hours)
Every student must com-

complete a minimum of six semester
hours chosen from the following
departments:

Economics

Government and Foreign Affairs

History

Psychology

Sociology and Anthropology

Humanities (6 semester-hours)
Every student must complete a
minimum of six semester hours
chosen from the following departments:

Art

Classics (beyond level 8)

English

Modern Foreign Languages (beyond
level 6)

Music

Philosophy

Religious Studies

Speech and Drama

In addition to these area requirements,
it is recommended that each
student complete two semesters of
physical education activity courses
or participate in a University or in
an intramural team sport.

The pass-fail option may not be
elected for any courses included in
the basic area requirements. Furthermore,
courses taken to fulfill
the area requirements may not be
counted toward the major requirements.

All area requirements must be
completed before a degree application
will be accepted.

Major Subject.

Every student who wishes to
specialize in a particular subject
must select a major subject taught
in one of the academic departments
no later than four semesters before
graduation and must present to the
Dean of the College, as apart of his
plan of study for the succeeding
years, a program requiring no fewer
than eighteen nor more than thirty
semester-hours in the major subject,
approved by the department concerned.
The department may require
up to twelve semester-hours
in related courses.

Every student choosing not to
special in a department of the
College must notify the Dean to
that effect no later than four
semesters before graduation. Students
electing this option will be
designated University Majors. At
the time of notification, every
University Major must present to
the Dean his plan of study for the
succeeding years, approved by the
Associate Dean for Special Programs.
Such a program will include
no-fewer than six additional semester-hours
from each of the three
area groups above and the completion
of a one-semester foreign
language course on the level of
course 35 or its equivalent.

With the concurrence of the
appropriate departments, a student
may choose to present for approval
to the Committee on Special
Programs an interdisciplinary major
program involving two or more
departments within the University.
This program will require no fewer
than thirty nor more than forty-eight
semester hours.

All courses in the major or
courses taken in lieu of the major
must be completed in this University
unless exception is made by the

Dean of the College in consultation
with the department(s) concerned.
The pass-fail option may not be
elected for the courses offered in
the major program or those
counted in the University Major or
Interdisciplinary Major programs.
Beyond the courses required for the
major, however, a student may
elect to register for other courses in
his major department on a pass-fail
basis.

Electives

The remaining courses needed to
make up the required 120 semester-hours
for the degree may be
elected from courses offered in the
college for which a student is
eligible. A degree program may also
include up to fifteen semester-hours
of elective courses as follows:

A maximum of twelve semester-hours
of courses in other undergraduate
Schools of this University
when such courses have been
approved for inclusion in a student's
degree program by the Dean
and, where necessary, by the
appropriate departmental adviser.

A maximum of twelve semester-hours
of courses offered by the
Departments of Air Science, Military
Science, or Naval Science.

Residence Requirements

A degree program is usually
completed in four academic years
and, under certain conditions, can
be completed in three. It is not
extended beyond four years without
the permission of the Dean.

The minimum residence requirement
for a degree is two academic
years. The last year of candidacy
must be spent in this University,
and all courses offered in the major
for the Bachelor of Arts must be
completed in residency, unless
exception is made by the Dean of
the College in consultation with the
departments concerned.

When a student is accepted for
transfer to this College, credit
toward a degree will be allowed for
work of the same type as that
offered here completed in an
accredited college upon presentation
of a satisfactory transcript
of record. In no case will
credit be granted for more than
sixty-six semester-hours completed
elsewhere, or for more than thirty-three
completed in one academic
year.

Degree Examinations in major
department

At the discretion of his major
department, a candidate for a
degree may be required to make a
satisfactory standing on a departmental
comprehensive examination
or write an acceptable essay on
some aspect of his major subject.
Content and criteria for acceptable
performance on the examination or
essay will be determined by the
major department. The grade
assigned will be that earned on the
examination or essay. The comprehensive
examination or essay will
not be accepted later than three
weeks before the beginning of final
examinations in the Spring semester.

If a student makes a grade of
"B" or better on his final departmental
comprehensive examination(but
not the essay), he may be
excused by his Department from
the final examinations in the course
of his major subject in his final
semester. If an essay is required,
three semester-hours of credit will
be given for its successful completion.