Graduation, General Education, and MTA

General Graduation Requirements for Associate in Arts (A.A.) and Associate in Science (A.S.) Degrees

In order to earn an A.A. degree or an A.S. degree from SMC, students must:

• Declare a program of study and adhere to a particular catalog advising year as assigned by the institution.
• Fulfill all requirements as specified on the program of study curriculum document. This will include the completion of at least 18 credits of major-specific courses, except for the General Studies major that will include the completion of at least 18 credits beyond the general education/MTA curriculum.
• Earn a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0, equivalent to a C or higher.
• Earn a minimum grade of C or better in each general education course used to fulfill a general education component.
• Earn a minimum grade of C or better for each prerequisite course in the program of study.
• Complete a minimum of 60 credit hours, satisfying all course and credit hour requirements in an approved A.A. or A.S. curriculum.
• Earn a minimum of 30 credits from SMC or the last 15 credits from SMC. A maximum of 13 credits can be earned through SMC’s Achieved Credit by Examination (ACE) process. ACE tests are written by SMC faculty and reflect the content taught in courses. Please know that credit earned by ACE testing may not transfer to other institutions.
• Take additional general elective courses, if needed, in order to reach a minimum of 60 credit hours. This is likely to occur when competency is demonstrated through testing procedures without resulting in credit for core curriculum courses.
• Understand that courses below the 100 level may not be applied toward meeting any A.A. or A.S. degree requirements.
• Understand that courses above the 100 level and courses deemed as transitional courses (those that are not a part of the curriculum but lead to required courses in the curriculum) may be applied toward meeting graduation requirements. A maximum of 12 credits from transitional courses will count toward graduation requirements.

In order to graduate from SMC with an A.A. or A.S. degree, students must:

• Submit a graduation application the semester before they plan to finish all degree requirements.

General Graduation Requirements for Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) Degrees

In order to earn an A.A.S. degree from SMC, students must:

• Declare a program of study and adhere to a particular catalog advising year as assigned by the institution.
• Fulfill all requirements as specified on the program of study curriculum document. This will include the completion of at least 24 credits of major-specific courses.
• Earn a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0, equivalent to a C or higher.
• Earn a minimum grade of C or better in each general education course used to fulfill a general education component.
• Earn a grade of C or better for each prerequisite course in the program of study.
• Complete a minimum of 60 credit hours, satisfying all course and credit hour requirements in an approved A.A.S curriculum.
• Earn a minimum of 30 credits from SMC or the last 15 credits from SMC. A maximum of 13 credits can be earned through SMC’s Achieved Credit by Examination (ACE) process. ACE tests are written by SMC faculty and reflect the content taught in courses. Please know that credit earned by ACE testing may not transfer to other institutions.
• Take additional general elective courses, if needed, in order to reach a minimum of 60 credit hours. This is likely to occur when competency is demonstrated through testing procedures without resulting in credit for core curriculum courses.
• Understand that courses below the 100 level may not be applied toward meeting any A.A.S. degree requirements.
• Understand that courses above the 100 level and courses deemed as transitional courses, those that are not a part of the curriculum but lead to required courses in the curriculum, may be applied toward meeting graduation requirements. A maximum of 12 credits from transitional courses will count toward graduation requirements.

In order to graduate from SMC with an A.A.S. degree, students must:

• Submit a graduation application the semester before they plan to finish all degree requirements.

General Graduation Requirements for Certificate Programs

In order to earn a certificate from SMC, students must:

• Declare the certificate as their program of study and adhere to a particular catalog advising year as assigned by the institution.
• Earn a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0, equivalent to a C or higher.
• Earn a minimum grade of C for each general education course in the certificate program, as applicable per the specific program of study.
• Earn a grade of C or better for each prerequisite course in the program of study.
• Satisfy at least 21 total credit hours of specific instruction as listed on the approved program curriculum sheet.
• Satisfy all course requirements of the certificate as listed on the approved program curriculum sheet, even if more than 21 credits are listed.
• Complete at least 12 overall credit hours of the certificate at SMC or complete at least the last 8 credits of the certificate program from SMC. A maximum of 9 of the 12 credits or 5 of the last 8 credits can be earned through SMC’s Achieved Credit by Examination (ACE) process. ACE tests are written by SMC faculty and reflect the content taught in courses. Please know that credit earned by ACE testing may not transfer to other institutions.
• Take additional general elective courses, if needed, in order to reach the minimum number of credit hours. This is likely to occur when competency is demonstrated through testing procedures without resulting in credit for core curriculum courses.
• Understand that courses below the 100 level may not be applied toward meeting certificate or graduation requirements.

In order to graduate from SMC with a certificate, students must:

• Submit a graduation application the semester before they plan to finish all certificate requirements.

Guidelines for Completion of Credential Programs

In order to earn a credential from SMC, students must:

• Adhere to all information as outlined on the program curriculum page of this catalog (see specific program page) and any additional regulations as specified by the department in which the program resides.

Students in these programs are considered “completers” and not graduates of SMC. Therefore, these students are not required to fill out a graduation application for their program and will not receive a diploma.

General Education Requirements

The structure of SMC’s general education requirements is presented below. Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees require students to satisfy courses in each of the following categories: English Composition, English Composition or Communication, Mathematics, Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities. Associate in Applied Science degrees may require students to fulfill courses from one or more of these same categories, while certificate programs may or may not have a general education course as a part of completion requirements. Each course that counts toward the general education component of a degree or certificate program must be completed with a minimum grade of C.

General Education Guidelines for Associate in Arts Degree Programs

The general education requirements for an Associate in Arts degree differ from those of any other degree. Please familiarize yourself with these guidelines if you wish to pursue an A.A. degree. Course numbers listed below are approved general education courses and may be substituted for courses listed in a specific A.A. degree program. Please consult an advisor for guidance.

General Education Guidelines for Associate in Science Degree Programs

The general education requirements for an Associate in Science degree differ from those of any other degree. Please familiarize yourself with these guidelines if you wish to pursue an A.S. degree. Course numbers listed below are approved general education courses and may be substituted for courses listed in a specific A.S. degree program. Please consult an advisor for guidance.

Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA)

The Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) is designed to facilitate the transfer of general education requirements between participating Michigan institutions. The agreement provides for the transferability of a block of core requirements. Students are encouraged to complete the MTA as a part of an associate degree but may achieve the distinction without completing a degree. At SMC, most Associate in Arts and all Associate in Science degrees facilitate the completion of the MTA requirements. Some Associate in Applied Science degrees at SMC also facilitate the completion of the MTA, but many more do not because the A.A.S. curriculum, by design, is more focused on helping students move toward employment opportunities rather than transferability.

To secure the MTA stamp of approval from SMC, students must complete a minimum of 30 MTA-approved credit hours, achieve a minimum grade of C for each approved course, and earn at least one of these MTA-approved courses through SMC. Students cannot use CLEP Exam scores to fulfill MTA requirements. The specific courses that meet MTA standards for the 2024-2025 academic year are listed below. Consult your advisor for changes or specific details.