Southeastern is in compliance with Core Requirement 2.7.

Program Length
As evidenced in Southeastern's 2003-2004 General Catalogue and the Academic Programs page of Southeastern's Electronic Fact Book, Southeastern offers the following:

• four programs at the associate level requiring at least 60 semester credit hours
• forty-six programs at the baccalaureate level requiring at least 120 semester credit hours
• eighteen programs at the master's level requiring at least 30 semester credit hours of graduate level coursework.

Southeastern's General Catalogue provides a written statement of program equivalency; page 65 indicates that all candidates for an undergraduate degree must accomplish the following:

1. Complete one of the curricula as outlined in the catalogue, including demonstrated proficiency in English and mathematics as mandated by the Louisiana Board of Regents.
    
2. Have a minimum Adjusted Grade Point Average of 2.0 (C) on all coursework, on all work attempted at Southeastern, and on all work in his/her major field.
    
   Or,
    
3. Have a minimum Degree Grade Point Average of 2.0 (C) on all coursework applicable to the student's curriculum; on all required coursework in the major field; and on Southeastern coursework applicable to the student's curriculum. Certain curricula as noted in the college and departmental sections of this Catalogue have higher requirements.
    
4. Earn the semester hours listed below at Southeastern Louisiana University. No time limitation in years or weeks will be set.
    
   A. Candidates for a Baccalaureate Degree
               1. at least the final 30 hours
               2. at least one-half of the hours required in the major field or fields
               3. at least 25 percent of credit semester hours must be earned at Southeastern.    
   Work taken through correspondence courses, credit examination or military experience may not be used to satisfy these requirements.
    
   B. Candidates for an Associate Degree
               1. at least the final 15 hours
               2. at least 30 hours of the total hours in the program
               3. at least 15 of these 30 hours in the specialty field.
   Credit awarded for successful completion of academic work undertaken at another college or university may be used to fulfill these requirements provided that the student is a candidate for a degree at Southeastern and has obtained the prior written approval of the appropriate department head and dean before undertaking the academic work at another institution.
    
5. Clear all University accounts.
    
6. Check with his/her advisor on the following schedule:
        August and December graduates–before the end of the drop/add period
         of the prior Spring semester.
        May graduates–before the end of the drop/add period of the prior Fall
        semester.
        The candidate will secure application for graduation instructions from
        the academic dean's office and will pay the diploma fee to the Controller's
        Office. The Records and Registration Office will then post the application
        data to the student's record and forward the application and any
        accompanying documentation to the academic Dean.
    
7. Complete all assessment procedures related to general education and/or major field as required.
    
8. Be present at the Commencement exercises to receive the degree conferred.
    
9. Students in teacher education see Requirements for Student Teaching and additional College of Education and Human Development graduation requirements found elsewhere in this catalogue.

To be eligible to receive a master's degree, page 264 of the General Catalogue indicates that candidates must

1. Complete all requirements in their degree plans.
    
2. Have filed a completed Admission to Candidacy for the Degree.
    
3. Have earned a cumulative 3.0 GPA in all graduate work pursued, including their majors.
    
4. Have earned no more than 6 semester hours of “C” grades in courses that count toward their degree.
    
5. Pass the comprehensive examination, or, for MBA students, have earned a grade of “B” or better in Management 683 or achieve a grade of “P” in CSD 770.
    
6. Be recommended for the degree by the faculty committee, department head (or graduate director for Nursing students), and Graduate Dean.
    
7. Have filed the application for graduation.
    
8. Be approved for the degree by the Graduate Dean.
    
9. Have settled all University accounts.

Individual degree programs have graduation requirements more stringent than these general requirements listed above. Additionally, students must meet all individual degree program requirements to be eligible for graduation.

Program Content
All degree programs at Southeastern are subject to a rigorous and thorough review both internally and externally at inception as well as on a regular basis thereafter, as indicated in the University's Curriculum Council Guidelines and Procedures, which is guided by Louisiana Board of Regents Academic Affairs Policy 2.04. The approval processes are designed to ensure that the programs are coherent courses of study, compatible with the mission and purpose of the University, the college and the academic department in which the program is housed, and appropriate fields of inquiry in higher education.

General Education
The purpose of general education at Southeastern Louisiana University, as indicated in the General Catalogue (page 63), is to prepare a baccalaureate graduate who “has submitted to rigors of intellectual inquiry, achieve specialized and general knowledge, and acquired motivations and abilities for life-long learning.” In addition, the Louisiana Board of Regents (Academic Affairs Policy 2.16) accepts “fully the commonly accepted premise that graduates of similar undergraduate degree programs should attain a broad-based common experience. The most appropriate method to ensure that such occurs among students in state colleges and universities is through mandated statewide general education requirements.”

The goals of the mandated statewide general education requirements are as follows:

• To communicate effectively in oral and written English;
• To read with comprehension;
• To reason abstractly and think critically;
• To understand numerical data and statistics;
• To understand the scientific method
• To be familiar with key technological and informational applications;
• To learn independently;
• To recognize and appreciate cultural diversity;
• To understand the nature and value of the fine and performing arts;
• To develop a personal value system while retaining a tolerance for others; and
• To understand the American political and economic system.

Recognizing those general education goals, all baccalaureate curricula include the following 39 semester credit hours (Table 1) and all associate degree programs include at least 15 semester credit hours (Table 2) of minimum requirements based on the Louisiana Board of Regents statewide general education requirements. The content and objectives of these required courses, as evidenced in the catalogue course descriptions and the course syllabi meet or exceed the stated goals of the mandated statewide general education requirements and exceed the minimum number of credit hours required by SACS.

Table 1
General Education Requirements at Southeastern Louisiana University
for a Baccalaureate Degree

Table 2
General Education Requirements at Southeastern Louisiana University
for an Associate Degree

Assessing general education based on the statewide general education requirements allows the University to measure the effects of general education curriculum on student progress and to provide feedback on the performance of that curriculum. This affords faculty and staff the means to evaluate and improve the general education program in a systematic and effective manner, as demonstrated in Southeastern's Report on the Status of General Education.

The University uses established course equivalency tables to evaluate general education course equivalencies for students transferring to Southeastern. The tables are based upon general education course equivalencies contained in the Louisiana Board of Regents Statewide Student Transfer Guide and Articulation System and other course equivalencies approved by the appropriate academic department. The Statewide Student Transfer Guide and Articulation System contains a matrix of general education courses offered by the universities and colleges within the state and their transfer equivalency from one institution to another. In cases where the course is not contained in the course equivalency tables, the appropriate academic department reviews the course and determines if credit will be awarded. Southeastern's policies for evaluating, awarding, and accepting credit for transfer are defined and published on the Undergraduate Admission Information web page and in the 2003-2004 General Catalogue (pages 48-50). See Comprehensive Standard 3.4.4 for more details on Southeastern's procedure for evaluating course equivalencies.

Contractual Agreements for Instruction
Southeastern Louisiana University offers all coursework in all of its degree programs;, however, students have multiple opportunities to apply a limited amount of credit earned at other universities toward their degree at Southeastern. Southeastern seeks to provide students with greater access to undergraduate and graduate programs through articulation agreements, cross-enrollment agreements, 2 + 2 programs, cooperative degree progression agreements, and intercollegiate consortia. All courses taken through such agreements are subject to the same transfer credit policies that apply to any course taken at another regionally accredited institution and must be evaluated and approved by the academic college and department in which the equivalent course is offered.