Preparing for Graduation

At least a year before you anticipate graduating, follow these steps:

  1. Meet with your major and minor advisors at least a year prior to your anticipated graduation date to review unmet requirements. Your advisor can also look at general education requirements but are best reviewed by the Registrar.
  2. Count your credits! WCU cannot grant any degree without a minimum of 120 credits. (And just because you have 120 credits does not mean that you earn a degree; you also must satisfy the degree’s course requirements.) B.S.Ed. programs are often higher than 120 credits.
  3. YOU MUST APPLY FOR GRADUATION. Visit your RamPortal page and click on "Apply for Graduation" to apply for graduation analysis (see the pages that follow for instructions). This triggers a request to the Registrar (as well as putting you on the department’s list of prospective graduates at the end of your anticipated graduation semester). You should apply a year before you anticipate graduation. This will permit you to make adjustments to your course selections in your final semesters that will prevent any delay in your graduation date.
  4. The Registrar's Office will provide an evaluation of your general education requirements. After several weeks to a few months (depending on urgency and time of semester), the Registrar’s Office will send you an email at your WCU email address only, with your evaluation report attached. You will be asked to come to the Registrar's office and review the evaluation with the designated Registrar staff member (determined by Major/College). Specific days/times are identified. You must check your WCU email account to learn of your graduation status!
  5. Consult with any minor advisors the first week of your last semester to verify that you will complete all requirements of minor programs.
  6. Meet with your advisor first week of your last semester so that you can check requirements one more time, when you still have time to adjust your schedule during the Drop/Add period.

Graduation clearances for your major are done in the last week of classes. If there is a problem with unmet major requirements, this is when you will learn about them officially. That is why regular meetings with your advisor plus familiarity with this manual and your advising sheets are essential!

How NOT to graduate!

The most common problems:

  1. You do not have 120 credits. Common reasons: You can’t count remedial classes or repeats. Using one class to meet two requirements leaves you 3 credits short. You took a 2-credit class instead of a 3-credit class. You didn’t transfer in all of your transfer classes.
  2. You expected an Interdisciplinary class to count for one of your Gen Ed distributive classes (it can’t).