A catalogue year is the academic year for which a degree candidate must meet documented graduation requirements. College graduation requirements and each academic program’s major and minor requirements are officially documented in the Bethany College Catalogue.
Students must follow the catalogue year in effect at the time of their entry (matriculation) to Bethany College (known as the “catalogue of record”). All Bethany Plan requirements, majors, and minors must be in the same catalogue. The student’s catalogue year does NOT change when the student declares or changes the major. It also does not necessarily change if the student returns to the Bethany College after a period of withdrawal.
During a period of transition regarding Bethany Plan requirements, please see the Split Catalogue Exception below.
Students are responsible for meeting the requirements for the catalogue of record. The student’s official Catalogue year is documented within the Self-Service progress record.
The only times catalogue year MUST be changed are:
- the catalogue the student was following has expired. Catalogues expire after 10 years.
- the student adds another major/minor/certificate that did not exist at the time of their initial catalogue, so in this case they must move all programs to the newer catalogue.
Students can decide to change a catalogue year to follow a newer program of study for a variety of reasons. A thorough discussion with their academic advisor is necessary. Students need to review ALL major, minor, and Bethany Plan requirements for the newer catalogue year to determine if any requirements are significantly different from those requirements the student has been working towards completing. Some questions to consider include:
- Will time to graduation be significantly extended?
- Are there many classes already taken that will now not be used to meet requirements?
- Will extra coursework cause the student to go above the hours attempted for financial aid?
After these considerations, students are faced with three choices:
- Remain in the catalogue under which you entered the institution – If there are a limited number of changes, it will be better for the student if the department makes a substitution through an appeal to the Academic Standards Committee rather than having the student change a catalogue year. For example, a single course requirement for a major has been updated.
- Choose a split catalogue where you would complete the general education requirements from the year that you entered but could choose a major or minor from a subsequent catalogue - For students that matriculated (entered) Bethany College in Fall 2018 through Fall 2022, the Split Catalogue Rule will be an option. The Split Catalogue Option allows students who were already following the Bethany Plan (prior to fall 2022) to move their catalogue year forward for majors or minors but still follow the Bethany Plan core curriculum rather than move to the new general education. The Bethany Plan is defined as all requirements, including 128 credit hours to graduate, except for the requirements for the major or minor. This must be approved by the Provost’s Office. The split catalogue option expires at the end of summer 2026. All students with a split catalogue must graduate by then or move to the newer Bethany Plan. If the decision is made to change a catalogue year, students must officially request to change their catalogue year by completing the Change of Catalogue Form, which may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar’s.
- Choose to move completely to the 2022-2023 catalogue and follow all of the requirements included in that catalogue including the Bethany Trails and the 120 total graduation credits. If the decision is made to change a catalogue year, students must officially request to change their catalogue year by completing the Change of Catalogue Form, which may be which may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar’s.