The Tennessee Board of Regents is lowering the amount of graduating credit hours for a student to earn a baccalaureate degree to 120 credits.
ETSU is one of the 19 TBR schools under the new guidelines. The University of Tennessee already has the credit system in place.
“The purpose for the changes is to reduce cost to students and taxpayers, said Dr. Linda Doran, assistant provost.
“Generally it improves completion rate of graduation as well. The departments will decide which credits to eliminate consolidate or change.” she said.
The changes are expected to reach completion by the fall of 2006.
Some departments are going ahead and implanting the changes before the deadline.
“Hopefully these changes will be in effect for the College of Business by the fall of 2003,” said Dr. Donald Wilkinson, assistant dean for the College of Business.
The courses will be changed from required to electives that the students can still choose for credit toward graduation.
“Committees will decide which classes to change, without damaging the core,” Wilkinson said.
The business core for graduation is now at 128 credits. These committees will be examining all the majors under the College of Business such as finance, marketing, management and economics.
After the committees or departments recommend where to implement changes, the suggestions have to be approved by the university and then the TBR.
“These changes to the curriculum should help students more than hinder them,” Doran said. These changes will “improve advisement, and the student should be more focused toward the pursuit of their degree.

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