Number:
1.18.1 

Procedure Name:
Foreign Language Graduation Waiver in AA/AS Programs

Sponsor:
David Long
Dean, Creative and Liberal Arts

Custodian:
Academics and Guided Career Pathways

Effective Date:
July 2014

Next Review Date:
July 2015

Location:
durhamtech.edu/policies-and-procedures/foreign-language-graduation-requirement-waiver

Citation:
N/A

 

Procedure

The foreign language requirement in the Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) plans of study exists to ensure students will gain exposure to other cultures and an introductory knowledge of a language other than English. For students whose first language is other than English, a waiver of the foreign language graduation requirement for the AA or AS degree may be an option if the student meets one of the following criteria:

  1. Student has lived in a different country and been educated in its official language through high school.
  2. Student has taken the Foreign Language placement test at Durham Tech and placed into the 212 level or higher.

It is important to note that a waiver of the foreign language requirement does not award credit. Students who receive a waiver must take additional Humanities/Fine Arts courses to make up the credits in their plans of study. The process for requesting a waiver of the foreign language requirement follows:

  1. Student should be referred to the chair of the Foreign Languages discipline to make the request.
  2. The chair will screen the requester, and if deemed appropriate will complete a Foreign Language Requirement Waiver request.
  3. The chair will email the waiver request to the dean of ASUT, copying the student and his/her advisor so they know the request has been made.
  4. The dean will approve/sign the request and email it to the graduation auditor in Student Information and Records, copying all.
  5. The graduation auditor will "reply all" to the email to let all involved, including the student and advisor, know the request has been approved and recorded.

Purpose

The current process routes the request through too many approvers. Since there is no granting of credits involved, and since students make up the credits with other Humanities/Fine Arts courses, the request does not need to go through the assistant dean of curriculum development and should be an ASUT departmental decision. The current process does not include student notification that the waiver is approved. The current process often results in lost requests that need to be tracked through many different individuals. Students deserve notification and a smoother process by which to obtain this waiver.