During your student's time at Carroll, the majority of the courses they will be taking will be related to their major; however, they will also be required to complete a set of courses to fulfill the Pioneer Core general education requirements. For example, if your student is a biology major with a pre-physical therapy emphasis, they will be required to take at least one course from either art, music, or theatre to fulfill their fine arts distribution area.
Your student's time to degree completion or graduation may be adjusted depending on:
- When they change their major in their academic career. For example, did they change their major after their first semester at Carroll or after their junior year?
- If the new major requires your student to be admitted to the program. For example, if your student is looking at changing their major to nursing, they will need to apply to the program after taking and completing (with appropriate grades) the prerequisite coursework.
- The required coursework for their new major, since some majors at Carroll have fewer requirements than others. For example, changing to a psychology major later in their academic career may not affect a student's time to graduation as much as changing to an accounting major due to the fact that a psychology major consists of 40 credits of required coursework compared to 80 credits required for the accounting major. Regardless, every student is required to successfully complete at least 128 credits, the Pioneer Core general education curriculum, BS or BA requirements, and all required courses of at least one major before graduation.
No. All courses students have earned credit in will count toward the graduation requirement of at least 128 credits. When a student changes majors, they do not lose any of the course credit they have earned at the collegiate level, any of the knowledge they have gained, or the development that they have experienced. Each course, regardless of subject, teaches the student more than just the topic of study. When a student changes their major, they work with an academic advisor to talk through a new academic plan, how completed coursework benefits them, and what transferable knowledge and skills they have gained.
On average, we will typically advise students to take 16 credits per semester (or 32 credits per year) as this will keep them on track to reach the total of 128 credits needed to graduate in 4 years. If a student takes a lighter semester, maybe 12-14 credits, this may mean that they will need to take 1 or more semesters of 18 credits to stay on track to graduate in 4 years. Students can also take courses during winter or summer terms to stay on track or earn credits toward their degree program of choice, which may help them be able to graduate in 4 years, even if they need more than 128 credits to graduate with their declared programs (i.e., major, minor) at Carroll.
To guarantee your student is taking the appropriate classes to fulfill their major, minor, degree, and Pioneer Core requirements, you can reference the Carroll University Undergraduate Catalog. However, urging your student to meet with their academic advisor 2-3 times per semester and keeping their academic plan up to date is the best way to support and empower your student to stay on track to their anticipated graduation date and earning the degree they are striving to complete.