Academic Options

Marygrove acadamic policies from the undergraduate course catalog.

COOPERATIVE EDUCATION AND INTERNSHIPS
See its page on the Web site.

HONORS PROGRAM
See its page on the Web site.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROGRAM
The Research Assistant Program enables qualified undergraduate students to work with faculty members on research projects. As a Research Assistant, you are engaged in some of the following tasks: helping with library/Internet research; data collection; laboratory assistance; computer work; designing promotional materials for special events; helping to host conferences or workshops; assisting in set up for art exhibits and music, dance, or theatre productions; working on accreditation self-studies and program feasibility studies; and preparing for re-accreditation team visits. A student wishing to serve as a Research Assistant must be a full-time undergraduate junior or senior enrolled in a bachelor's degree program with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Students selected for these positions must be committed, dependable and sincerely interested in working together with faculty members on their research projects. Research Assistants are paid an hourly rate and work 5 - 10 hours per week, for a maximum of 150 hours. Research Assistantships are generally for one semester but may be renewable, depending on the nature of the project. Students are required to submit an application for the program and sign an employment contract.

SERVICE LEARNING
See its page on the Web site.

INDEPENDENT STUDY
Independent study is a method of earning credit for matter not listed in the catalog. An independent study may enrich and deepen a regular course in some specific and describable way, or it may be a research project in an area not directly connected with a course. Independent study is intended for strong students who want to do something extra. It cannot be a method for solving scheduling difficulties. An independent study bears the number 291 or 491. A descriptive title for the study should be included on the application form.

TUTORIAL WORK
The tutorial is a method of earning credit without regular class attendance. It implies, however, that you will have regularly scheduled conferences with a professor. The time given to these conferences should be not less than one hour a week for a four-credit-hour class. Because you are excused from the bulk of class attendance, you will be required to do much more outside work than in an ordinary course, but in the end you should fulfill essentially the same requirements. This method of attaining credit is restricted to regularly scheduled courses. Your credit will bear the catalog number of the course for which you are taking the tutorial.

CREDIT FOR PRIOR LEARNING
Recognizing that learning derived from life experiences and from individual study is of significant academic value and can often
be equated with college-level studies, Marygrove College provides the following options for validating and measuring
such learning:
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
The College Entrance Examination Board provides standardized examinations covering 35 areas of college-level study. Credits awarded for successful achievement on the General and Subject Examinations of CLEP may be applied toward an undergraduate degree. For registration materials, fees, and information on how these examinations relate to individual Marygrove courses, contact your divisional dean.

Other Standardized Examinations
In addition to CLEP, Marygrove College will also consider scores earned on other standardized exams and certification tests prepared by professional associations.

Marygrove Examinations
Entering students who feel that they have already mastered the content of a particular course listed in the catalog may apply for credit by departmental examination.
Credit by examination allows you to fulfill course requirements without attending any classes or without regular meetings with an instructor. It may be used for courses listed in the catalog if the objectives in a course can be identified clearly enough so that an instrument can be devised to measure whether you know as much as you would have learned in a combination of classes, daily assignments, tests, and a final examination. It is understood, therefore, that the examination in this system must be much more extensive and intensive than the ordinary final examination given at the end of the course. By the same token, the work involved in preparing for this comprehensive examination must equal the time and effort put into attendance at class, daily preparation, and preparation for all other tests.

Through successful achievement on such an examination, you will acquire the number of credit hours which that course carries. Marygrove Examinations may only be taken once and evaluation of prior learning by Marygrove Examination must take place during your first semester at Marygrove. You will be assessed the appropriate fee by the Financial Services Department.

Assessment of Prior Learning by Portfolio
Students who have acquired college-level learning outside an academic context, e.g., on-the-job training, private study, or actual work experience, may obtain credit in certain departments of the College by documenting their achievements in portfolio form. The transferability of credits earned by portfolio assessment depends on the policy of the accepting institution.

In no instance will credit for portfolio assessment be awarded for course work that duplicates what has been previously noted on your college transcript or for course work more elementary than that which has been successfully completed and passed. In other words, if you have passed a course at an intermediate or upper level, you cannot then get credit through portfolio assessment for a lower-level course in the same area.

A maximum of 32 semester hours of credit for the above-mentioned methods of prior learning may be earned by students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program.
For students pursuing an associate degree, a maximum of 16 credits of prior learning may apply to the degree.

For complete information on policies, procedures, and fees for prior learning assessment, contact your divisional dean.

Advanced Placement Program
Marygrove participates in the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board. Students completing Advanced Placement Examinations with grades of three or higher will be granted credit. This program makes it possible for superior high school seniors to take one or more college-level courses for credit while completing the final year of the regular four-year high school course.

POST–DEGREE STUDY
If you have received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, you may continue to take undergraduate courses as a post-degree student.

SECOND DEGREE
A student who has earned a bachelor’s degree at Marygrove or at any other institution may qualify for a second baccalaureate degree. It must be a different degree from the original, e.g., a student holding a B.A. may earn a B.S., B.M., B.S.W., or B.F.A. You must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit beyond those required for the first degree in a different area of study and must fulfill all general College as well as major requirements in the new degree area.

SECOND MAJOR
A student who has earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution may enroll as a post-degree student and complete the requirements to earn an additional major in a different field.

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