Mastering the Undergraduate Bulletin
The Undergraduate Bulletin is as close to a contract as you have with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Practical mastery of it will give you a better sense of the institution and could save real grief at the other end of your college career. As a general rule, you are entitled to graduate under the provisions of any ONE Bulletin that is in effect while you are here. Since Universities are restless places, it is good to keep a copy of the bulletin you base your program on--that way you will be less likely to run aground when the University changes the channels of its programs.
Because the University is so large, there are many rule-makers. No one set of rules applies to everyone. The Bulletin is broken up into various sections, each reflecting a different rule-making authority. Unhappily those sections are not clearly marked so you will have to look at the table of contents to see the portions relevant to you. Each section lays out where the relevant bureaucracy has a grip on your academic life.
1. The first section, "General Information," gives you material on NU and UNL as a whole. Some of this information you are past needing--like that on Admission. Be aware, though, that some of what looks irrelevant may remain useful. E.g., it is in the section on "Admission to the University" that one finds the rules for residency for the purpose of paying in-state tuition. (See also the NU WEB page [uneb.edu]
--The History, Role and Mission, Policy and Governance sections tell you a great deal about what this University thinks of itself and how it makes decisions. If you want to effect change, you will need to consider these sections. If you find yourself uncomfortable here, the information in these subsections may indicate why. You may have come looking for a different kind of place. If that is true, prepare to accommodate yourself to the institution as it exists, or consider how you can affect change. (Some students leave in their discomfort. But I have known students who invented majors and courses of study that met their needs with programs that UNL had not previously offered.)
--The tuition and fee information, the scholarship and financial aid information, the academic policies and procedures information, the calendar, the description of major academic, research and service units are all useful at one time or another, and conveniently gathered here.
--Most directly relevant to you in this section of the bulletin is the information about the Comprehensive Education Program (CEP). This section indicates the focus and purpose of the CEP, and it lists the courses that count toward the Essential Studies and the Integrative Studies requirement. Although these requirements are University wide, they are subject to some variation by college--especially in the ES requirements. (One clue that a College has such exceptions is that it lists in its own section of the bulletin the ES courses accepted for its degrees.)
2. A. The colleges are the units which have the biggest say on your academic program. In the section devoted to each College one can find general information similar to that earlier given for UNL as a whole. Here are to be found College-specific information on admission to retention in the College (often different from admission to and retention in UNL); advising; international opportunities; scholarships; Honors; degrees with distinction; restrictions on courses that can count for a degree; class standing; Bulletins under which you can graduate; P/N rules; hours in the College needed to get a degree; transfer rules; college-specific degree rebutments; rules for minors; special IS/ES requirements, if any; and programs of study.Note: on all these matters, colleges may differ from one another, so you cannot assume that the same requirements prevail in a college you transfer into as prevailed in the one you switched out of.
Most college advising offices have checklists that organize or supplement the bulletin. It helps to familiarize yourself with these offices and to secure copies of their program checklists.
B. Departments are subdivision of colleges and are likely to be the place where your academic work is most clearly centered. Generally departmental requirements are the most restrictive. Each college in its section of the bulletin will alphabetically list each of its majors and degree programs with the requirements for each. Here you will find listed the professor responsible for leading the program (the Chair, Director or Head) and those who conduct it. Listed here are also the requirements for the major; any special departmental stipulations about minors or P/N; grades needed to enter or stay in the program; the number and distribution of hours need for a particular degree. (There are 2 kinds of distribution requirements, one requires breadth of coverage over various areas of study, the other requires depth or intensity of study, generally covered by requiring courses numbered over 299 or 399).Like colleges, departments will often have advisors and checklists that will help you efficiently figure out and organize your academic program. Keep these checklists, they are sometimes the only evidence that an advisor permitted a substitution of one course for a required course (usually because the instructor becomes unavailable; sometimes to meet your particular needs). Where substitutions are permitted you must file a waiver form with the Registrar to keep program acceptable.
Remember that you are responsible for the rules of BOTH your college and department.
Where you focus your attention in the bulletin to plan your program will differ depending on whether you have chosen your College or Major. If you are in General Studies and have not yet chosen a direction, then pay closest attention to the IS/ES requirements of the University as a whole. Attending to those requirements will probably serve your programmatic needs, irrespective of the major you later choose. As soon as you have selected a college or major or minor be sure to look carefully at the requirements of each. Because the latter requirements are the most specific, it is likely that they will be most controlling of your program. As a general policy, courses can simultaneously serve University, College and Major requirements, and since the Major is likely to have the strictest requirements, the sooner you can focus on a major course of study the less likely it becomes that you will be required to take extra hours for your degree.
3. The last section of the Bulletin contains information that is essential for students in particular. Before the Index, there is a section on the rules that govern student life and the processes by which accusations of improper behavior are brought to judgment. Again, this is a very useful set of materials, whether you are the accuser or the accused, whether you are guilty or not. Knowing its contents can prevent trouble.
4. The index in the bulletin can be very helpful, but it requires informed use. "Minors" and "Majors", for example are not listed; this can be frustrating until you remember that each college and program have different major and minor rules, so information about them is spread through the book under the relevant college and program. An index listing these and other topics is thus impossible.
Remember, finally, that there is an ordering of rule-making authorities. A major voice in the interpretation is the University Registrar--which is why it is well to get a Senior check done in the Records (Office Window 107, Canfield Admin Bldg.) as soon as possible after completing 85 hours. If the departmental or college advisor cannot come to a settlement with the Registrar, the College Dean decides. Care in following the bulletin or in getting waivers will prevent later high-powered and potentially aggravating disputes over your graduation.
--Written and/or complied by James A. McShane
