To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from Lyon College, students must successfully complete the Core curriculum, the requirements of at least one major, and at least 120 semester credits. They must also earn at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average for all work taken at Lyon College and a 2.00 cumulative grade point average in their major, minor, and concentration. To graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Lyon College, students must successfully complete a minimum of 120 semester credit hours comprised of our required Nursing Core Requirements (45 hours), the requirements of at least one major (credit hours vary per major), and a selection of our Liberal Arts electives. They must also earn at least a 2.75 cumulative grade point average for all work taken at Lyon College and a 2.75 cumulative grade point average in their major, minor, and concentration.
Candidates for a degree must spend at least two semesters in residence as full-time students; attendance during summer terms alone is not sufficient. The last 30 hours toward a degree must be taken at Lyon. Students who are studying abroad and who have had their courses pre-approved to transfer to Lyon are exempt from this policy. Other students may petition, but under no circumstances may they receive relief for more than six hours.
Developmental courses (such as ENG 001 and MTH 001) are transcripted and graded, are counted when determining full-time status, and are counted toward a student's overall Lyon GPA. However, developmental courses do not count toward the 120 hours required for graduation.
Students may count only seven credits of physical education activity classes toward the hours required for graduation. A student may enroll in no more than one physical education activity course per semester.
In order to receive a diploma, all candidates for a degree must be in good academic and social standing and have discharged all financial obligations to the College. Additionally, they must be present at graduation exercises unless exempted from this requirement by the provost.
Degrees are conferred by Lyon College three times per year: in May with commencement ceremonies, in late June, and in December. Students with senior status who have failed to satisfy 6 hours or less of the 120-credit requirement in the spring semester may request permission from the provost to participate in commencement exercises and should complete all degree requirements prior to the start of the next academic year to qualify for either the June or December degree conferrals.
Students earning degrees are normally expected to complete their course of study at Lyon within four years. When this is not possible, students operate under the degree requirements of any single catalog under which they were enrolled during the 10-year period previous to their graduation. However, a student who allows four years to lapse before re-enrollment must re-enroll under the current catalog.
Lyon graduates may re-enroll at the College and complete an additional major and have it added to their transcript. To do so, they must complete at least 30 credits of the additional major at Lyon and must meet the major requirements of the catalog current when they re-enroll. The second major will not lead to a second degree, with the exception of Nursing.