SACS Accreditation

3.6.1 Post-Baccalaureate Program Rigor

Comprehensive Standard:  The institution’s post-baccalaureate professional degree programs, and its master’s and doctoral degree programs, are progressively more advanced in academic content than its undergraduate programs.

X Compliance
    Partial Compliance
    Non-Compliance

Georgia State University clearly distinguishes undergraduate-level work from graduate-level work.  All of the graduate programs taught by the various colleges require work more advanced than undergraduate work.  The Graduate Catalog sets out the requirements for all degrees including a planned program of study, residency requirements, formal admission to candidacy, supervision by an advisory committee, and a culminating experience that includes a comprehensive examination, project, thesis, and/or dissertation.

Georgia State’s course numbering system clearly distinguishes graduate work from undergraduate work.  Undergraduate courses are numbered from 0001 to 4999.  Graduate courses are numbered as 5000 and above. 

Both the curriculum review process (see Standard 3.4.10 above) and the Academic Program Review process [1] ensure the advanced content of graduate work.

A graduate course may meet in conjunction with an undergraduate course.  In these cases, the work required for graduate students is significantly different from the work required of undergraduate students in the course as stated in the Faculty Handbook. [2]  A large sample of syllabi (60%) for 2006 courses in which undergraduate-level and graduate-level courses met together are available for review. [3] They show that Georgia State clearly distinguishes undergraduate-level work from graduate-level work.

1. Academic Program Review
2. Faculty Handbook
3. Syllabi for Cross-Listed (Undergraduate and Graduate) Courses