Virginia State University

1 Virginia State University 2020-2022 Undergraduate Catalog Virginia State University 1 Hayden Drive Virginia State University , Virginia Virginia State University UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG 2020-2022 This catalog describes academic courses, programs, and standards for student progress and retention at time of publication. However, the provisions of this publication are not to be regarded as an irrevocable contract between the student and Virginia State University . There are established procedures for making changes, w h i c h protect the institution s right to make changes that are deemed appropriate. A change of curriculum or graduation requirement is not made retroactive unless the alteration is to the student s advantage and can be accommodated within the span of years normally required for graduation.

2 Virginia State University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in education and employment without regard to race, creed, sex or national origin. There are affirmative programs at VSU that support the commitment to this democratic approach to public education. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS BOARD OF VISITORS AND ADMINISTRATION Presidents .. 5 Board of Visitors .. 6 Administration .. 7 THE University History .. 8 The Mission ..9 Accreditation and Affiliations .. 10 Policy Statements .. 12 Academic Sanctions .. 13 Alcohol and Drug Policy .. 15 Americans with Disability Accessibility 16 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 .. 17 Grade Review Procedure and Appeal 19 Policy Exceptions andAppeals.

3 21 Prohibition of Workplace Harassment .. 23 Sexual Harassment Policy .. 27 Student Academic Code .. 29 Transfer Policy .. 31 Veterans Affairs .. 32 Protection from Delayed Veterans Affairs Payment Policy .. 32 Title 38 .. 34 ACADEMIC REGULATIONS PROCEDURES AND TERMS Admissions .. 35 Academic Honors .. 40 Academic Academic 40 Attendance .. 41 Classification of Students .. 41 Continuing Education Student .. 42 Course Waiver and 42 Degree .. 43 Grades .. 43 Grade Point 44 Graduation 44 Last 27 Credits (Residency Requirement) .. 44 Major .. 45 Registration .. 46 Repeat Grade .. 46 Readmission after Academic 46 Transfer Credits .. 47 Validation .. 47 Withdrawal .. 47 GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Learning Outcomes .. 48 General Education Program Provisions, Requirements, and 50 General Education Menus.

4 50 SPECIAL PROGRAMS Virginia State Univeristy at Fort 54 5 Honors Program ..55 Veterans and Military Affairs ..56 UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS College of Agriculture .. 57 College of Education .. 135 College of Engineering and Technology .. 188 College of Humanities and Social Sciences .. 255 College of Natural and Health Sciences .. 398 Reginald F. Lewis College of Business .. 439 GENERAL INFORMATION .. 479 INSTRUCTIONAL FACULTY ..484 6 BOARD OF VISITORS AND ADMINISTRATION PRESIDENTS John Mercer Langston, 1886-1887 William Everett Terry, January-June 1976 (Interim Chief Administration) James Hugo Johnson, 1887-1914 Thomas M. Law, , 1976-1982 John Manuel Gandy, 1914-1942 (President Emeritus 1942-1947) Curtis E.

5 Bryan, 1982-1983 (Interim) Luther Hilton Foster, 1942-1949 Wilbert Greenfield, 1983-1988 James Hugo Johnson, 1949-1950 (Acting) Wesley Corneluis McClure, 1988-1992 Robert Prentiss Daniel, , 1950-1968 Nathaniel Pollard, Jr., 1992-1993(Acting) Walker Henry Quarles, Jr., 1968 (Acting) Eddie Nathaniel Moore, Jr., 1993-2010 James Franklin Tucker, 1968-1970 Keith T. Miller, 2010-2014 Walker Henry Quarles, Jr., 1970 Pamela V. Hammond, 2015-2016 (Interim) Wendell Phillips Russell, 1970-1974 Makola M. Abdullah, 2016-Present Walker Henry Quarles, Jr. 1974-1975 7 BOARD OF VISITORS Mr. Huron F. Winstead*, Rector Charlotte, North Carolina Mr. Charlie W. Hill*, Vice Rector Hampton, Virginia Ms.

6 Thursa Crittenden, Secretary Suffolk, Virginia Dr. Valerie K. Brown* Chesapeake, Virginia Ms. Pamela Currey Richmond, Virginia Dr. Christine M. Darden* Hampton, Virginia Mr. Michael D. Flemming Alexandria, Virignia Ms. Shavonne Gordon Quinton, Virginia Mr. Raul R. Herrera Burke, Virginia Dr. William Murray Henrico, Virginia Mr. Xavier Richardson Spotsylvania, Virginia Mr. Glenn Sessoms* Memphis, Tennessee Mr. James Stegmaier North Chesterfield, Virginia Mr. Wayne Turnage Washington, Mr. Gregory Whirley* North Chesterfield, Virginia *Alumni of the Virginia State University 8 ADMINISTRATION Makola M. Abdullah, President Donald E. Palm, Provost/Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Kevin W.

7 Davenport Vice President for Finance Hubert Harris Chief of Staff Regina Barnett-Tyler Interim Associate Vice President for Student Success and Engagement Charmica Epps Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations Milton O. Faison Associate Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and Graduate Studies 9 THE University HISTORY Virginia State University was founded on March 6, 1882, when the legislature passed a bill to charter the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. The bill was sponsored by Delegate Alfred W. Harris, a Black attorney whose offices were in Petersburg, but who lived in and represented Dinwiddie County in the General Assembly. A hostile lawsuit delayed opening day for nineteen months, until October 1, 1883.

8 In 1902, the legislature revised the charter act to curtail the collegiate program and to change the name to Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1920, the land-grant program for Blacks was moved from a private school, Hampton Institute, where it had been since 1872, to Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1923 the college program was restored, and the name was changed to Virginia State College for Negroes in 1930. The two-year branch in Norfolk was added to the college in 1944; the Norfolk division became a four-year branch in 1956 and gained independence as Norfolk State College in 1969. Meanwhile, the parent school was renamed Virginia State College in 1946. Finally, the legislature passed a law in 1979 to provide the present name, Virginia State University .

9 In the first academic year, 1883-84, the University had 126 students and seven faculty (all of them Black), one building, 33 acres, a 200-book library, and a $20,000 budget. By the centennial year of 1982, the University was fully integrated, with a student body of nearly 5,000, a full-time faculty of about 250, a library containing 200,000 books and 360,000 microform and non-print items, a 236-acre campus and 416- acre farm, more than 50 buildings, including 15 dormitories and 16 classroom buildings, and a biennial budget of $31,000,000, exclusive of capital outlay. The University is situated in Chesterfield County at Ettrick, on a bluff across the Appomattox River from the city of Petersburg.

10 It is accessible via Interstate Highways 95 and 85, which meet in Petersburg. The University is only two and a half hours away from Washington, to the north, the Raleigh-Durham- Chapel Hill area to the southwest, and Charlottesville to the northwest. Virginia State University has a long history of outstanding faculty and administration. The first person to bear the title of President, John Mercer Langston, was one of the best-known blacks of his day. Until 1992, he was the only black ever elected to the United states Congress from Virginia (elected in 1888), and he was the great-uncle of the famed writer Langston Hughes. From 1888 to 1968, four presidents - James H. Johnston, John M. Gandy, Luther H. Foster, Robert P.