Faculty Resolution 2014-01
SUNY Oneonta Implementation of Seamless Transfer and General Education Requirements
Whereas, the SUNY Board of Trustees, on November 17, 2009, adopted Resolution 2009-138, which
reaffirmed the principles regarding Trustees’ Resolution 90-196 (adopted September 27, 1990) on
transfer and student mobility and endorsed additional policies approved by the SUNY Joint Committee
on Transfer and Articulation, and;
Whereas, Trustees’ Resolution 2009-138 specifies that, among other policies, that:
Graduates of two-year colleges within SUNY with an A.A. or an A.S., when accepted in parallel
programs at baccalaureate campuses of the University, shall be accorded full junior status and be
given the opportunity to complete the requirements for a bachelor’s degree within four additional
semesters of full-time work (first resolved clause, item 2); and
Graduates of two-year colleges within SUNY, when accepted with junior status within parallel
programs at baccalaureate campuses of the University, shall be granted full credit for general
education courses taken and not be required to repeat successfully completed courses with similar
curricular content (first resolved clause, item 3); and
Students transferring within the State University of New York will be treated by their receiving
institution in the same way as native students of that institution for all academic purposes (second
resolved clause, item 1).
Whereas, the SUNY Board of Trustees, on January 19, 2010, adopted Resolution 2010-006, which
amended the SUNY General Education Requirement (hereafter, SUNY-GER) to read as follows:
Resolved that the Board of Trustees hereby adopts a General Education Requirement applicable to
all State-operated institutions of the State University offering undergraduate degrees which shall
require candidates for a baccalaureate degree, as a condition of graduation, to complete an
academically rigorous and comprehensive core General Education curriculum of no fewer than 30
credit hours including, but not limited to, at least three credit hours each of course work to instill
knowledge and skills in mathematics and basic communication as well as at least three credits
each in at least five of the following eight academic areas—natural science, social science,
American history, Western Civilization, Other World Civilizations, humanities, the arts and foreign
languages—and overall competency in the areas of critical thinking and information management
(first resolved clause), and;
Whereas, the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs issued a
Memorandum to Presidents (Vol. 11, No. 1, February 11, 2011) titled Policy and Guidance: State
University Student Mobility Policies, which clearly states
Transfer students who meet the 30-credit SUNY General Education Requirement (SUNY-GER) at
sending campuses shall be deemed to have met the 30-credit SUNY-GER at a receiving campus.
Similarly, transfer students who meet a SUNY-GER area at sending campuses shall be deemed to
have met that SUNY-GER area at a receiving campus. As feasible, to promote student mobility and
timely degree attainment, a receiving campus shall waive local and programmatic requirements
for transfer students who have completed the 30-credit SUNY-GER or who have met a SUNY-GER
area that is comparable to a local or programmatic requirement (Section II.A.1, pg. 4), and;
Whereas, the SUNY Board of Trustees, on December 17, 2012, adopted Resolution 2012-089, Seamless
Transfer Requirements, which established policies to ensure seamless transfer, including:
Transfer students who meet the 30-credit SUNY General Education Requirement (SUNY-GER) at
sending campuses shall be deemed to have met the 30-credit SUNY-GER at a receiving campus.
Similarly, transfer students who meet a SUNY-GER area at sending campuses shall be deemed to
have met that SUNY-GER area at a receiving campus. As feasible, to promote student mobility and
timely degree attainment, a receiving campus shall waive local and programmatic requirements
for transfer students who have completed the 30-credit SUNY-GER or who have met a SUNY-GER
area that is comparable to a local or programmatic requirement (first resolved clause, item 1),
and;
When a campus or curriculum has lower-division, locally defined general education requirements
that exceed the SUNY General Education Requirement, it shall ensure that those local
requirements do not prevent a student from completing an undergraduate degree within the
program’s usual credit requirement (first resolved clause, item 2), and;
Associate degree programs shall generally require no more than 64 credits that can normally be
completed within two years of full-time study or the equivalent, and bachelor’s degree programs
shall require no more than 126 credits that can normally be completed within four years of fulltime study or the equivalent, unless there is a compelling justification (first resolved clause, item
7), and;
Whereas, the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs issued a
Memorandum to Presidents (Vol. 31, No. 3, June 13, 2013) titled Policy and Guidance: Seamless Transfer
Policies, which clearly states:
in Section I.A:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
vi.
Thirty credits in a minimum of 7 of 10 SUNY-GER areas are required for all students in
programs leading to A.A., A.S. and baccalaureate degrees.
The SUNY-GER areas of Mathematics and Basic Communication are required. In addition,
Natural Science, Social Science, and the Humanities are strongly encouraged, as these areas
are required in nearly all bachelor’s degree general education programs, giving students who
complete them the maximum flexibility for transfer options.
Campuses shall design each new curriculum leading to an A.A., A.S., and bachelor’s degree to
enable students to complete seven of ten SUNY-GER areas (including mathematics and basic
communication), two competency areas, and 30 credits of SUNY-GER courses within the first
two years of full-time study of the program (or 60 credits, whichever is greater).
Campuses shall review existing programs leading to an A.A., A.S. and bachelor’s degree, to
determine whether the SUNY-GER can be completed during the first two years of study or
equivalent, and revise programs accordingly, and;
Local general education requirements beyond the SUNY-GER shall not require a transfer
student to exceed the number of credits to graduation required of native students in the same
program. (Section I.A.i-iv;vi, pg. 2-3), and;
and in Section I.C:
i.
Consistent with SUNY policy, campuses shall review existing and proposed programs to
determine whether the curricular requirements exceed SUNY credit limits, and revise the
programs accordingly.
b. For baccalaureate degree programs, the total required credits shall not exceed 126
credits, except in cases where the campus makes a compelling case for doing so, which
is then approved by the SUNY Provost. (Sec. I.C.i.b, pg. 5), and;
Whereas, the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, in the
Memorandum to Presidents (Vol. 31, No. 3, June 13, 2013), established a deadline for formal proposals
of major revision to all programs that require re-registration by the New York State Education
Department (such as cumulative changes of one-third or more of the minimum credits required for the
award since last program registration; adding or deleting tracks and concentrations; and any change
involving licensure-related courses), of December 1, 2014, so that changes could be approved and
implemented by the Fall Semester of 2015 (Section V.A.ii.c, pg. 10).
Therefore, be it resolved by the Faculty of the State University of New York College at Oneonta, that,
I.
The SUNY-GER, as defined in the Trustees Resolution 2010-006, Amendments to General Education
Requirement, and the Memorandum to Presidents, Policy and Guidance: Seamless Transfer
Requirements, Vol. 13, No. 3, dated June 13, 2013, shall be the program of General Education for all
students matriculating at this campus starting in the Fall Semester of 2015, and;
II. The College Senate, through the Committee on General Education and in consultation with the
Committee on Curriculum, shall consider a plan for transition that includes a plan for how to handle
any course attributes that might need to be changed and resubmitted for approval, as well as any
other necessary policy changes required to implement the SUNY-GER. This plan shall be proposed
to the College Senate for consideration by the end of the Fall Semester 2014, and;
III. The College Senate shall, through consultation with the administration, students, professional
staff, and with such faculty committees as are deemed necessary, cause to be enacted any
additional academic policies as are necessary to ensure that a strong, campus-specific program of
General Education is in place and ready for implementation for the Fall Semester of 2015, insofar as
these policies do not conflict with any and all relevant SUNY policies regarding Seamless Transfer
and General Education.
IV. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provisions of this resolution shall not affect the validity or
enforceability of any other provision of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect
upon acceptance by the Chief Academic Officer of the campus.
Signed, upon passage,
______________________________
Todd D. Ellis, Ph.D.
Presiding Officer of the Faculty