All Vermont Tech students are required to demonstrate competence in written and oral communication, information literacy, and quantitative reasoning prior to graduation. These graduation standards are evaluated for competency at the associate and bachelor levels.
Students are required to pass each standard only once for their degree level while in the Vermont State Colleges. Completion of each standard is reflected in the student degree audit or program evaluation. Students who have received a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution are waived from this requirement.
Information Literacy
The Information Literacy standard is evaluated in the first-year English sequence. Students must pass the assessment in order to pass first-year English. The evaluation is graded as part of a research writing assignment.
Written Communication
The Written Communication standard is evaluated in the first-year English sequence or in ENG 2080 Technical Communication. Students must pass the assessment in order to pass either first-year English or ENG 2080 Technical Communications.
Oral Communication
The Oral Communication standard is evaluated in a program course in each major or in a general education course selected by the degree granting department
Quantitative Reasoning
The quantitative reasoning standard is evaluated in entry level mathematics courses for non-engineering programs and by placement exams and in the mathematics courses for engineering students. Students must pass the evaluation at the associate level to pass the course in non-engineering mathematics courses.
- Students who achieve placement level 3 (Pre-Calculus 1) will have met the standard at the associate level
- Students who achieve placement level 5 (Calculus) will have met the standard at the bachelor level
- Students who complete the Pre-Calculus sequence or Statistics will have met the bachelor level standard
- The evaluation is graded 1 through 5
- Associate degree students must score a minimum of 3
- Bachelor degree students must score a minimum of 4
- Bachelor students who have completed the required coursework in which the standards are assessed, but who have not met the standard at the bachelor level may take a departmental challenge exam.
Waivers, Challenges, Substitutions, Prior Completions, and Transfer Credit
Students who have completed graduation standards at another VSC school, or who are being awarded credit for course work in which the standard is an integral part of the learning outcome for that course, are waived from the graduation standard requirement at Vermont Tech.
Students who have received a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution are waived from the graduation standard requirement
- If a student transfers into a course where the standard is evaluated and has achieved a B- or better in that course, the standard will have been met at the bachelor’s level.
- If a student has completed the course requirements for a specific program without having satisfied the graduation standards, the student may contact the department chair or director to arrange for further evaluation.
Evaluation Records
The graduation evaluations will be maintained by the individual or party who performs the evaluation for a minimum of 3 years. For faculty who complete the evaluation as part of a course, it is recommended that the evaluations and/or results be maintained with other course grading materials.
Completion of the graduation standards will be reflected in student degree audits and verified prior to graduation. A degree awarded on the Vermont Technical College transcript since 2006 is verification that the standards for that level have been met.