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The Faculty Senate voted unanimously on April 20 to endorse the creation of a campus policy for both the awarding of dual degrees and of posthumous degrees, as well as two modifications to existing policies, one regarding external review and the other dealing with withdrawals, leaves and absences.

The proposals were forwarded to the President’s Cabinet for final approval.

Meeting in the Park Center Hall of Fame Room, the Faculty Senate endorsed its Educational Policy Committee (EPC) recommendation for creating a SUNY Cortland policy, required by the State University of New York, on the awarding of dual degrees.

The approved wording, which was forwarded by EPC Chair Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, reads as follows:

“Degrees offered are Bachelor of Art (B.A.), Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.). Students pursuing curricula that would lead to the award of two degrees must complete all the degree requirements for both programs as delineated in the student’s catalog. The conferral of two baccalaureate degrees is reserved as a means of recognizing that a candidate has competencies in two essentially different areas. To establish that competency the student must complete a minimum of 30 credits that are unique to each program.”

A second EPC recommendation, endorsed by the Senate, creates a policy for the awarding of posthumous degrees and, if approved by the President’s Cabinet, will appear as Chapter 415 in the College Handbook. The proposed addition reads as follows:

“SUNY Cortland may award a degree posthumously when a student has completed a substantial portion of the requirements for the degree and was in good academic standing at the time of death, as determined by the student’s major department and at the discretion of the President of the College. The degree would be awarded in recognition of the student’s work and as a source of solace to the student’s family.”

A third EPC recommendation, also approved by the Senate, modifies some of the wording on the College’s policy for withdrawals, leaves of absence, and readmission.

Lastly, the Senate approved a recommendation from the Academic Affairs Committee to modify Section 210.05 of the College Handbook. The revamped wording reads as follows: “In the case of promotion from the rank of associate professor to full professor, external reviews are required for individuals who have begun their tenure-track academic appointment at SUNY Cortland after Aug. 15, 2009.”