Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's (CABM) Degrees

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) defines three types of degree programs:

• Programs to prepare candidates for teacher, educational leader, or pupil services certification (these are professional programs)
• Programs to prepare candidates for a professional license (these are professional programs)
• All other programs (these are general academic programs)

Depending upon the type and status of programs involved in the dual degree, the approvals vary. See the above section for definitions of professional programs and general academic programs.

• Existing Programs - if the new degree is comprised of programs that exist:
  • If both the undergraduate and graduate programs are considered general academic programs, then RIT does not need to register the new dual degree with NYSED. Instead, please follow the RIT Approval Process for Creating Dual Degrees from Existing General Academic Programs.
  • If either the undergraduate or graduate program is considered a professional program and/or prepares candidates for a professional license, the dual degree requires NYSED approval and registration using the NYSED Application to Change or Adapt a Registered Professional Education Program*.
• New Programs - if the new dual degree is comprised of programs that do not exist, then registration with NYSED is required. New program proposals must first go through the standard RIT curricular action approval process and then be submitted to Academic Program and Curriculum Management, along with a request to register the dual degree using one of the following forms:
  • If both the undergraduate and graduate programs are considered general academic programs, use the NYSED Change or Adapt a Registered Program form.
  • If either the undergraduate or graduate program is considered a professional program and/or prepares candidates for a professional license, use the NYSED Application for Registration of a New Program in a Licensed Profession.

In all cases, RIT is responsible for ensuring that dual degrees are subject to internal curriculum review and approval, and that they adhere to the established guidance from NYSED on the use of double counting credit in these degrees (see next section).

* In Section II of the NYSED Application to Change or Adapt a Registered Professional Education Program form, select "Other Changes" and paste/complete the following section into the form:

Establishing New Programs Based on Existing Registered Programs

[X] Create a dual-degree program from existing registered programs

• Rationale for creation of new dual degree program:
• Description of the program as it will appear in the institution's catalog: 
• Complete the following table to identify the existing programs:

• Proposed dual-degree program (title and award):
• Courses that will be counted toward both awards:
• Length of time for candidates to complete the proposed program:
• Minimum required GPA:
• Explain admissions process for dual degree students, and address the following:
  • Will the dual-degree program have a single point of admission?
  • What is the transfer policy for students in the BS program who wish to transfer into the dual program?
  • By what point in the BS program must they transfer, if they wish to do so?
• Explain how the two fields in this proposed dual degree are related and how they complement each other with regard to career opportunities.
• Provide an explanation of the benefits for students who choose to enroll in this proposed dual degree program with respect to advanced educational opportunities, premium career paths, and improved job outlook.
• Provide sample program schedule to show the sequencing and scheduling of courses in the dual-degree program. Note that the sample program schedule must be submitted using NYSED's template, rather than RIT's template. The NYSED undergraduate program template can be used for dual degrees. It is available in the the NYSED Application for Registration of a New Program in a Licensed Profession

Consistent with RIT’s Strategic Plan curricular flexibility goal to provide undergraduates with 12 credit hours of open electives, students can choose to use open electives to complete a dual degree program.

Wherever possible, dual degree programs should make every effort to leave the 12 credit hours of open electives in place and find other courses within the undergraduate program where a graduate course can substitute for a comparable undergraduate course. The graduate course will then be double counted because it will be in both the undergraduate and graduate program masks. Students may double count between 6-9 credits, depending on the program. In situations where a comparable course is not available, the following guidance should be followed:

• Open electives may be prescribed as the place in an undergraduate program where a graduate course is used for double counting. Prescribing an open elective should use this format on the curriculum table: Open elective 1: XXXX-567 Title (graduate course). When the prescribing of open electives occurs, a student will have fewer open elective credits.  If a student wishes to keep the open electives intact, they will need to add to their undergraduate program the graduate courses that were designated to be double counted.  This will result in the student increasing the total credit hours taken in the undergraduate program. Sample language for the program’s curriculum table: If a class other than XXX is chosen as an open elective, the student will need to take XXX as a separate class.
• If programs use open electives as the place where double counting is achieved, a rationale must be provided in the dual degree proposal that explains why program-specific electives, professional electives, and required courses were not used for double counting. 
   
• To identify double counted courses on the curriculum table, put the number of double counted credits in the "DCC" column (DCC = double counted credits). These credits should then be totaled in the DCC column at the bottom of the Table 1.
   
• The double counted credits should also be placed in the applicable column on the Table 1 (MAJ or OPEN) for the undergraduate course they represent. Examples:
  • If a graduate course is being substituted for a comparable course in the undergraduate program, and double counted, the course credits should go in the "MAJ" column and be included in the "MAJ" total at the bottom of the Table 1.
  • If an open elective is being prescribed with a graduate course and double counted, the course credits should go in the "OPEN" column and be included in the "OPEN" total at the bottom of the Table 1.

ADDITIONAL ACCELERATED DUAL DEGREE GUIDELINES - BS/MS and BS/ME (Effective September 2015):

1. Accelerated Dual Degree students will be classified as graduate students once they are certified for the bachelor’s degree or once they reach the credit hours* that are required for the bachelor’s degree portion of the accelerated program, whichever occurs first.

2. While a student is still classified as an undergraduate all courses will be placed on the undergraduate record/transcript.

3. Once classified as a graduate student,  courses taken from that point forward will be reviewed each term and courses applicable to the bachelor’s degree will be placed on the undergraduate record/transcript and all graduate courses will be placed on the graduate record/transcript.**

4. Also, once a student is classified as a graduate student, that determination made by the Registrar’s Office will continue to be used consistently throughout campus for external reporting, enrollment status, financial aid eligibility, tuition calculation, and eligibility for employment as graduate assistants for example. It is important to note that enrollment in graduate level courses will be reported to the Department of Education so it will be important to ensure that those students are enrolled in graduate level courses.

5. We are not asking already approved programs to go through major curriculum modifications.  The Registrar’s office will continue to conduct the individual evaluation described above and notify other offices on campuses when students are determined to be graduate students, based on our current understanding related to their program progress. 

6. We do expect that newly developed accelerated dual degrees will make every possible effort to lay out a curriculum that will  allow students to complete their BS degree along the way in 4 years (or five for five year undergraduate programs) and enroll in the courses that would be double counted during the second to last year of the combined accelerated program. Undergraduate degree completion and certification within the 150% period will retain eligibility for the Direct Loan interest subsidy. 

*The credit hours thresholds are set by the academic departments and are calculated by adding credits earned and credits in progress. In general, for non-engineering programs, the threshold is 120 to 123 credit hours. The threshold for many engineering programs is 129 credit hours or higher.
** This change is mandated by the Department of Education. 

SUPPORTING RATIONALE FOR GUIDELINES:

This briefing provides clarification of the proposed path for “new” accelerated degrees.  Federal reporting requirements have historically required that RIT designate whom we count as an undergraduate student and whom we count as a graduate student.  New federal requirements require more specific enrollment information on students who are enrolled in accelerated undergraduate/graduate degree programs.  There is a unique impact on the students who are enrolled in these programs, are considered to be graduate students, and who have not yet completed undergraduate degree requirements.   Several offices have worked through the issues and have developed an approach that will allow RIT to be in compliance without penalizing students who are participating in these accelerated programs. 

As approved by New York State Education Department, students in the accelerated dual degree programs generally double count 6-9 credit hours in both degrees.    In the past, RIT has established a process for determining at what point students in accelerated (dual) degree programs are considered to be graduate students.   The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (Public Law 112-141) added a new provision to the federal Direct Loan statutory requirements that limit a first-time borrower’s eligibility for Direct Subsidized Loans to a period not to exceed 150% of the length of the borrower’s education al program.  Under certain conditions, the provision also causes first-time borrowers who have exceeded the 150% limit to lose the interest subsidy on their Direct Subsidized Loans.    The resulting new federal requirements mandate a change in how RIT reports enrollment for students enrolled in those credit hours.  Specifically, the enrollment information provided must now include information about each student’s academic program length.  Program-level enrollment data is now required each time RIT reports enrollment. 

Currently, an individual evaluation of each student record is conducted by the Registrar’s Office once a student reaches the credit hour threshold* and the classification is based on a determination that the student is essentially a graduate student who might be missing one undergraduate requirement, for example.    The determination made by the Registrar’s Office is used consistently throughout campus for external reporting, enrollment status, financial aid eligibility, tuition calculation, and eligibility for employment as GRA’s, for example.   

We realize that particularly in the Engineering discipline that our undergraduate programs are 5 year programs and that in many cases students do not complete the BS and MS until their final term at RIT.  This is occasioned by the need for the multidisciplinary seminar course in the last year and in some programs other important program requirements. 

What we are asking new program proposers to do is to make every possible effort to lay out a curriculum that would allow students to complete their BS degree along the way in 4 years (or five for five year undergraduate programs) and enroll in the courses that would be double counted during the second to last year of the combined accelerated program. Undergraduate degree completion and certification within the 150% period will retain eligibility for the Direct Loan interest subsidy.