Fredonia’s definitions of Student Class/Level are different from those of SUNY and many other institutions (please see the table below). With the implementation of Excelsior program that requires eligible students to take at least 30 credits in an academic year, there arises the need to align our definitions with those of SUNY and with what is implied by this requirement. SEM Steering Committee has discussed this issue and recommended the alignment by adopting SUNY’s operational rules (currently, there is a slight discrepancy between SUNY IR’s definitions in its glossary and its operational rules)
| SUNY | Fredonia | Recommendation |
|---|
| Freshman | A student level derived as follows: A student matriculated in a program who has accumulated 30 or fewer credit hours. | A student who has earned fewer than 24 credits towards a degree. | <30 credits | | Sophomore | A student in a baccalaureate degree program who has accumulated more than 30 and 60 or fewer credit hours. | A student who has earned 24 credits or more, but fewer than 57 credit hours toward a degree. | >=30 and <60 credits | | Junior | A student in a baccalaureate degree program who has accumulated more than 60 and 90 or fewer credit hours. | A student who has earned 57 credits or more, but fewer than 89 credits toward a degree. | >=60 and <90 credits | | Senior | A student in a baccalaureate degree program who has accumulated 90 or more credit hours. | A student who has earned more
than 89 credits or more toward a
degree. | >=90 credits |
According to an email communication with SUNY IR, SUNY IR agrees with the operational rules listed in the column of recommendation to classify students, realizes there is a discrepancy between its definitions in the glossary and the operational rules, and intends to make changes in its glossary accordingly. Though the discrepancy is small, it makes a big difference for many students. For instance, many students take 30 credits in their first year. When the second year starts, students who earned 30 credits would be still classified as freshman according to SUNY’s glossary, but in reality, they are classified as sophomore. The following items need your approval or input.
(1) Should we make the change?
(2) How should the change be communicated to the campus? |
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