The request to establish a Fifth Year Program

Date: April 3, 2012
To: University College
From: Clarence Greene, Faculty Governance Assistant
Approved On: April 3, 2012
Implementation Date: 2012

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Summary

The Graduate School proposes to establish a framework for a new Fifth Year Program through which exceptional undergraduate students may enroll concurrently in certain undergraduate and graduate programs. Programs in the College of Engineering have expressed a strong interest in the Fifth Year Program.

Students will begin graduate work in the senior year of undergraduate enrollment although they will be mentored throughout the Fifth Year Program. The Program will allow students to complete the bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree in approximately five years, with the two degrees awarded simultaneously after successful completion of all program requirements. The Fifth Year Program may also be accelerated in which up to 12 hours earned at the graduate level may be substituted for required undergraduate hours at UNC Charlotte. If this generic proposal is approved by the Faculty Council and the Graduate Council, any subsequent request by a department to offer a Fifth Year Program must be submitted to the standard graduate and undergraduate curriculum process for consideration (via a long form).

Minimum Admission Requirements: Students applying for admission for the Pre‐Fifth Year Program must have a minimum high school GPA >=3.75 (on a 4.0 scale) and provide a minimum score of 1700 on the SAT; they will be considered for admission to their undergraduate program of study and the Pre‐ Fifth Year Program by the Undergraduate Admissions Office.

Enrolled freshmen in the Pre‐Fifth Year Program will be contacted by the Graduate School in the fall semester of the freshman year with instructions to formally apply to the Fifth Year Program by the March 15th application deadline. To be considered for admission to the Fifth Year Program, applicants must submit the online application for graduate admission including a Statement of Purpose. Applicants must also present three (3) strong recommendations in support of the application; at least one recommendation must be from their high school teacher and another from a UNC Charlotte faculty member. Applicants admitted to the Fifth Year Program will be identified as such in Banner.

Applicants denied admission to the Fifth Year Program or those freshmen identified as Pre‐Fifth Year Program students who do not apply for full admission to the Fifth Year Program will have the Pre‐Fifth Year Program designation removed from their curriculum in Banner.

Continuing Enrollment Requirements: Fifth Year Program students must maintain a strong academic record at the undergraduate and graduate levels with a minimum UGPA >= 3.0; additionally, they must exhibit stellar performance in all field experiences, research, and coursework. Students who do not maintain the minimum UGPA will be placed on probation from the Fifth Year Program the first semester and will be dismissed from the graduate program at the end of the second semester. Students will be subject to the same policies that pertain to other matriculated undergraduate and graduate students.

Financial Aid and Tuition: Fifth Year Program students will be considered for undergraduate financial aid and funding prior to completion of 121 semester hours of undergraduate credit; afterwards, they may be considered for graduate financial assistance. In the fourth year of study when the first graduate course is taken, students will be considered “undergraduate” students and will be charged undergraduate tuition and fees. In the fifth year, when only graduate coursework is taken, students will be charged graduate tuition and fees.

Support: Academic programs are expected to engage Fifth Year Program students continuously throughout their undergraduate and graduate programs. Towards this end, students will be provided excellent advising, mentoring, and financial support, as well as opportunities to participate in research.

Catalog Copy

Fifth Year Program. Exceptional high school and undergraduate students may be accepted into a Fifth Year Program whereby they simultaneously pursue the baccalaureate and master’s degrees and gain invaluable mentoring and research experience along the way. The Fifth Year Program may also be accelerated in which up to 12 hours earned at the graduate level may be substituted (“double counted”) for required undergraduate hours. A list of Fifth Year Programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels may be found online at http://graduateschool.uncc.edu.

In those programs offering this option, an applicant may be accepted to the Pre‐Fifth Year Program directly from high school with a minimum GPA >=3.75 (on a 4.0 scale) and a minimum score of 1700 on the SAT. Enrolled students will apply for full admission to the Fifth Year Program in the spring semester of their freshmen year. They must submit an online application for graduate admission and Statement of Purpose as well as three (3) strong recommendations in support of the application; at least one recommendation must be provided by a high school teachers and another from a UNC Charlotte faculty member who taught the applicant in the fall semester. The application and supporting documents must be submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office by March 15th of the freshman year. Enrollment will be based on program capacity, and certain programs may have more stringent admission policies.

NOTE: Students admitted to a Fifth Year Program (undergraduate + graduate degrees) are not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship until their final year of study when they are only taking graduate courses. In the fifth year of study, students will be considered “graduate” students and will be charged graduate tuition and fees.