Requirements for Graduation

Bachelor's and associate degrees are awarded at the end of the spring, summer, and fall semesters to those students meeting degree requirements. Participation in the graduation ceremony at the end of the spring and fall semesters is encouraged.

Students must meet the graduation requirements as listed in a single ABAC Catalog that is not more than five years old at the time of their graduation and is in effect for a term during which they earned academic credit at ABAC. There will be no exceptions unless specifically approved by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Students who are candidates for a degree must satisfy the following criteria.

1. Complete the required exams, courses, and credit hours outlined in the Catalog for the degree and major for which they are candidates.

2. Have a 2.0 or higher overall grade point average (OGPA) and have completed a minimum of 60 semester hours of non-Learning Support academic work for an Associate’s degree or a minimum of 120 semester hours of non-Learning Support academic work for a Bachelor’s degree, plus physical education courses (see Physical Education Requirements section). Students who meet requirements for graduation based on a catalog in which eligibility for graduation was calculated using the institutional grade point average (IGPA) will have the option of using the overall grade point average (OGPA) or institutional grade point average (IGPA) to calculate the minimum 2.0 GPA requirement.

3. A baccalaureate degree program requires at least 21 semester hours of upper division courses in the major field and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall. Upper division is defined as 3000- and 4000-level courses.

4. See Residency Requirements for Graduation section.

5. Comply with the Georgia law, which requires a minimum level of competence in Georgia and U.S. History and in Georgia and U.S. Constitution through examination or specified courses.

6. Complete required physical education or have a specifically approved exemption filed with the Registrar’s Office (see Physical Education Requirements section).

7. Satisfy all obligations (financial, equipment, academic, etc.) to the College.

8. If students are completing graduation requirements at another institution, they must have the other institution send an attendance verification letter to ABAC within one week of ABAC’s graduation date. For the students to participate in ABAC’s graduation ceremony, the Registrar’s Office must receive verification that the students remain enrolled in the required course(s) after the other institution’s mid-term withdrawal deadline. This verification should be received no later than the last day of classes for the ABAC graduation term.

9. Apply for graduation with Academic Support.

Apply for graduation one semester prior to completion. The preferred deadline for submitted a graduation application is the 9th Friday of the previous semester after classes begin:

Applications received after the ceremony will be evaluated with the subsequent semester’s applications.

Students who do not satisfy the graduation requirements in the term specified on the graduation application should contact the Registrar’s Office and inform of plans for completing the degree requirements. The graduation application of these students will be kept in the Registrar’s Office for one calendar year. If students do not satisfy all the graduation requirements within one calendar year of the original intended term of graduation, the student will be required to submit another graduation application.

Students may earn any combination of the following degrees.

1. Students may earn B.S. degrees in multiple majors.

2. Students are allowed to receive only one each of A.A., A.S., A.F.A., and A.S.N. degrees.

Students must submit a graduation application for each degree. Students’ legal names will be printed on the diploma (no nicknames).