PDF version - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Academic Policies and Procedures
All employees and students of Saint Mary's University must conduct their activities, including, but not
limited to, any research or writing activities, in such a fashion as to meet and comply with all the requirements
of U.S. copyright laws. Violations of copyright laws could subject a student or employee to civil
and criminal penalties as well as disciplinary action under university policies.
Review of Research Using Human Participants
Saint Mary’s University, in support of its mission to empower learners to ethical lives of service and
leadership, encourages the research conducted by students, faculty, and staff that makes use of human
participants and reviews it so that the projects are designed in an ethical and technically competent
manner. Review for projects originating within the undergraduate College is coordinated through academic
departments and also the College’s Human Participants Review Board. Projects that originate
from outside the College that make use of faculty, students, or staff as participants are also subject to
review. All projects must be reviewed and approved prior to data collection. In this manner, all proposals
affiliated with the College are evaluated to determine if they are ethically sound, treat the participants
fairly, respect the participants’ ability to provide informed consent and make sound decisions regarding
their participation. For more information, please consult your department chair or contact the Human
Participants Review Board.
Declaring a Major
A major is a sequence of courses clustered within a particular discipline or set of disciplines, which
includes both lower- and upper-division courses and which is offered by a department.
Students must declare a major before they register for classes for the first semester of their junior year.
Any change in the major during subsequent semesters or the addition of a major must be approved by
the department chair of the new major.
Students may declare additional majors (a maximum of three majors may be declared) prior to their
graduation; however, a course may not be counted toward more than one major unless both majors
specifically require that course, e.g., M151, Calculus I, a listed requirement of mathematics and computer
science. When students have an option in selecting courses to complete a given major, they cannot utilize
courses which comprise part of another major. If a course appears in two majors as one of several courses
that may be selected, that course can be applied only to one major. The only exception is a research
project, which may be allowed as an elective or requirement in two majors. This policy applies also for
courses used in a major and a minor or more than one minor.
Students must achieve at least a 2.000 GPA in all courses taken in the department and major field at
Saint Mary’s University. Courses taken means all courses attempted, including those in which the student
received grades of F or X.
Minors
A minor is a sequence of courses clustered within a particular discipline, sub-discipline, or limited set of
disciplines, which includes both lower- and upper-division courses and which is offered by a department,
program, or institute. A minor is more limited in scope than a major, and may have a somewhat different
focus and objective that make it appropriate for students whose principal concentration is in another
discipline. Students may not create individualized minors.
The undergraduate College also recognizes multidisciplinary minors created from related courses located
in a number of departments, programs, or institutes. These multidisciplinary minors combine content
and skills from several fields, enhancing the understanding of those fields and how they intersect. In so
doing, the multidisciplinary minor promotes the kind of synthetic learning important for graduates who
will work, study, or serve within increasingly diverse and interconnected communities.
32