Summary of Changes to Academic Policies
Between 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalogs


The below provides a summary of changes to academic policy as updated in the Undergraduate Catalog for the referenced academic year.  Items marked “CHANGE” reflect change to policy and/or procedures.

Applied Learning - [Text Addition ]

Student Centered. Innovation Driven.

Today, WSU is internationally recognized as a model for applied learning and research. Every university initiative is rooted in a commitment to being student-centered and innovation-driven. Our degree programs are steeped in the belief that learning by doing is the most effective way to prepare our students for the complexities of the modern workforce. Our students apply classroom knowledge in practical settings, developing critical skills and gaining real-world experience. Applied learning encompasses a variety of activities including service learning, undergraduate research, theses, dissertations, and other creative (e.g., live performances) and professional services (e.g., practicums, internships, clinical rotations and cooperative education). By offering applied learning opportunities, such as those championed on WSU's Innovation Campus with on-campus industry partners, students not only gain valuable experience but also build career networks, minimize student debt, and launch successful careers -- even before they graduate.

Shockers enjoy a wide range of applied learning opportunities designed to enhance their education and prepare them for their future careers. These opportunities include:

  • Student Employment
    • Applied Learning Placements: paid, WSU-facilitated jobs with local industry partners that build skills that go beyond classroom learning.
    • Co-ops: paid, multi-semester positions directly related to a student's major. Students can earn academic credit.
    • Internships: gain hands-on experience in professional settings through paid or unpaid internships. These can be completed full-time or part-time, with options to earn academic credit or participate for zero credit.
  • Practicum and Clinical Placements: practical experience in professional settings that is tied to specific degree programs (such as nursing or social work) and required for graduation.
  • Service Learning and Volunteering: classroom learning combined with public service that benefits educational goals while also meeting community needs. Students can create their own project or work with local public agencies and nonprofits.
  • Student Research: engage in individualized research projects under faculty supervision, culminating in a presentation of work as a thesis, project or dissertation. Student research at WSU may be conducted on or off campus, independently or in collaboration with faculty, peers and industry professionals.
  • Mentorships: connecting with a professional in the student's future area of employment. Mentors provide expertise, guidance and industry contacts.

Want to know more? Visit the Applied Learning website or visit the Shocker Career Accelerator in the Marcus Welcome Center, Suite 139, call us at 316-978-3688, email us at SCA@wichita.edu. 

Cooperative Education - [Modified text, format is different and more in-depth than 2024-2025 Catalog]

Cooperative Education (Co-op) is an academic program designed for undergraduate and graduate students looking to combine classroom studies with academically related, paid employment. This program provides valuable local and national work-based learning opportunities, allowing students to connect academic knowledge with practical experience. 

Co-ops offer an exciting opportunity to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the professional world. By partnering with businesses, government agencies, industries and social organizations, students gain hands-on skills and meaningful insights while working alongside experts in their fields.

Program Details

  • Course Enrollment: Students in co-op positions must enroll in designated co-op courses and work closely with a faculty advisor from their academic department. A faculty advisor reviews each co-op position to ensure it provides relevant learning experiences that align with the student’s professional and educational goals.
  • Co-op Work Options
    • Parallel Positions: Students work part-time in co-op positions while carrying at least 6 credit hours of coursework. Parallel co-op positions may span consecutive semesters, allowing students to gain consistent, ongoing experience.
    • Alternating Positions: Students alternate between full-time coursework and full-time co-op employment. Students must complete a semester of full-time coursework before beginning their alternating co-op position. Alternating co-op participants retain their status as full-time students.

Eligibility Requirements

Co-op participation requirements vary by college and department; check with your college’s advising office for details.

General eligibility includes:

  • Completion of at least 24 credit hours, with 9 credit hours completed in the student’s major.
  • Good academic standing as defined by the student’s program.

Get Started

Visit the Shocker Career Accelerator in the Marcus Welcome Center, Suite 139, call us at 316-978-3688, email us at SCA@wichita.edu, or check us out online at our website.

Internships

Internships are for undergraduate and graduate students looking to combine classroom studies with academically related, paid or unpaid employment. This program offers students valuable local and national work-based learning opportunities, allowing students to connect academic knowledge with practical experience. Internships provide an exciting way to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the professional world. By partnering with businesses, government agencies, industries and social organizations, students gain hands-on skills and meaningful insights while working alongside experts in their fields.

Program Details 

  • Course Enrollment for Academic Credit Internships: Students in internship positions must enroll in designated internship courses and work closely with a faculty advisor from their academic department. A faculty advisor reviews each internship position to ensure it provides relevant learning experiences that align with the student’s professional and educational goals.
  • Course Enrollment for Zero Credit Internships: Students who have already fulfilled academic credit co-ops or internships may choose to participate in zero-credit internships, which are noted on their transcript, without requiring tuition payment. Zero-credit internships are subject to completing all program requirements for a transcript notation.

Eligibility Requirements

Internship participation requirements vary by college and department; check with your college’s advising office for details.

General eligibility includes:

  • Completion of at least 24 credit hours, with 9 credit hours completed in the student’s major.
  • Good academic standing as defined by the student’s program.

Get Started

Visit the Shocker Career Accelerator in the Marcus Welcome Center, Suite 139, call us at 316-978-3688, email us at SCA@wichita.edu, or check us out online at our website.

Alternative Course Structures - [Text Removed]

Academic Resources for All Undergraduate Students - [Modified Text]

Additional information about admission and curriculum is available in the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College section of the Undergraduate Catalog or online. 

Credit for Life Experience - [Text Modified]

Wichita State University encourages students to seek credit for knowledge they may have acquired through life experience. In order to receive credit for life experience, students must be fully admitted to WSU. Credit for life experience is granted only when a student’s learning from life experiences duplicates the content of a course described in the catalog. The faculty member who teaches the course must certify that the life experience is the same as the content of the course. Students pay an administrative fee for evaluation and posting of this credit. Credit for life experience is posted to a student's transcript as transfer credit as soon as the paperwork is received/validated and posted to the academic record by the registrar's office. Credit for life experience will not be awarded for duplication of credit, to replace course grades, nor to replace a previously completed WSU course. 

Credit from Market-Based Tuition - [Text Addition]

Courses at WSU may be offered at a market-based tuition rate primarily for nondegree bound students. Degreebound undergraduate students seeking additional skills to add value to their degree can take market-based tuition courses but can only apply the credit towards open electives in the overall credit hours of their degree. Market-based tuition courses cannot be applied towards specific college, major or minor course requirements. Nondegree seeking graduate students can take market-based tuition courses at any time. However, if the student later is admitted into a graduate degree program, the market-based tuition courses can only be applied toward degree requirements if the courses were completed as a part of an earned graduate certificate at Wichita State University, and if the courses are accepted by the graduate program through the submission and approval of the plan of study. 

Graduation – Requirements for Graduation - [Text Addition in two paragraphs]

At least 30 hours of course credit (A, B, C, D, Cr or Bg) must be earned at Wichita State (15 credit hours at WSU for associate degrees). Also, at least 24 of the last 30 credit hours or 50 of the last 60 credit hours must be completed at Wichita State. Course credit earned at another university as an approved part of a WSU exchange or study abroad program (e.g., NSE, ISEP) is counted as WSU credit with respect to this rule. Exceptions to this regulation may be made by the university’s exceptions committee.

All official transcripts of other college work must be sent to WSU before a degree will be posted, even if these courses are not needed to meet WSU degree requirements. Partial and unofficial transcripts will not meet this requirement. 

Associate Degree Proactive Awarding - [Text Addition - New]

Current Wichita State University students who have earned between 60-75 credit hours will be evaluated at the end of each semester for eligibility to be proactively awarded the Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree.

Criteria to be proactively awarded an AA or AS degree are:

  • Student is enrolled in the award semester.
  • Student has earned between 60 and 75 credit hours, including a minimum of 15 hours earned at Wichita State University (developmental credit hours are not included).
  • Student is currently seeking a bachelor's degree at WSU.
  • Student meets all AA or AS requirements, including a cumulative grade point average of 2.000 or higher.
  • Student has not received nor is eligible to receive an associate degree via reverse transfer from a Kansas community college.
  • Student has not previously been awarded an associate degree from WSU.

A student may not receive both the AA and AS in the proactive awarding process. In cases where a student has the course work for both the AA and the AS, the student will be conferred the degree which is related to their declared bachelor’s degree. For example, if a student is in a STEM, engineering or health professions field of study, the conferred associate degree will be the AS degree.

For a list of the majors that will default to an AS degree in proactive awarding, visit the registrar's website. 

Credit/No Credit Courses - [Text Addition]

In addition, certain credit courses are graded only Cr/NCr or S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory). Any department in the university may offer courses on a Cr/NCr or S/U basis. Zero-credit hour courses must be graded Cr/NCr or S/U. These courses are also excluded from GPA calculation. 

Final Grade Reports - [Text Removed]