Austin Peay Experience: Four-year Graduation Guarantee

The Austin Peay Experience Four-year Graduation Guarantee applies to all undergraduate degree programs of 128 semester hours or fewer.

Austin Peay State University Responsibilities

• Confirm a student’s eligibility into the four-year guarantee based on chosen program of study and any college preparation deficiencies.
• Provide appropriate courses for the major to ensure that the degree can be completed during the four-year period.
• Provide access to quality advising throughout a student's time at Austin Peay.
• Provide tools, including but not limited to, degree audit reporting to enable the student to monitor degree progression.
• Provide an annual assessment report indicating if the student is on track to graduate within four years (eight semesters) and, if not, what issues need to be addressed to get back into compliance with The Austin Peay Experience Four-year Graduation Guarantee.
• If a student is unable to graduate within four years (eight semesters) because of the unavailability of required courses, the University may, when appropriate, allow the student to graduate by substituting a different course or an independent study assignment, as determined by the department and the college offering the student's major.
• If course substitution is not an option, and the student is unable to graduate after completing four years (eight semesters) and complying with all terms of The Austin Peay Experience Four-year Graduation Guarantee, Austin Peay will pay the tuition and mandatory fees for any additional required courses.*

*The student must request a course substitution or waiver of tuition prior to the beginning of classes for the last semester of the student's four-year (eight semester) plan. The waiver of tuition will be limited to tuition and mandatory fees for the required course(s) and does not extend to any other cost of attendance including room and board fees and textbooks. All other fees will be the responsibility of the student.

Student Responsibilities and Eligibility

• Apply and attend Austin Peay State University as an undergraduate degree-seeking first-time, full-time freshman applicants starting classes for Summer 2024 or after.
• Acknowledge they have read and understood the student responsibilities by authorizing The Austin Peay Experience Four-year Graduation Guarantee Student Responsibilities in their OneStop portal by the end of their first semester.
• Meet with their designated advisor to develop a four-year plan to identify the courses they must complete each semester to stay on course to graduate within four years.
• Students assume responsibility for monitoring their progress-to-degree by using the degree reporting tool and are required to meet with their advisor each semester to ensure that they stay on track.
• Follow appropriate course sequencing (as defined in the plan) and complete prerequisites and required grades for progression.
• Must be admitted to a degree applicable major by the end of their second semester. If a change of major is approved by the student's academic advisor, it must be done in time to meet the requirements of the new major so that the student will graduate within the original four-year time period.
• Complete at least 30-degree applicable credit hours each academic year.*
• Students in the Tennessee Promise program seeking an associate's degree can declare a bachelor's degree upon completion of the associate's degree and be eligible for the Guarantee program.
• Remain in good academic standing (by both institutional and major standards).
• Monitor their progress and email their designated advisor and the Guarantee program at sa@apsu.edu during the priority registration period if unable to register for a required course needed to meet progression/graduation standards.
• Ensure they have no holds blocking registration for courses during the priority registration period.
• Summer applicants must apply for graduation by March 1 prior to their August graduation; Fall applicants must apply for graduation by July 1 prior to their December graduation; Spring applicants must apply for graduation by November 1 prior to their May graduation. 

* If you transfer in credits, those credits may count towards your benchmark completion each year.

At various points, students may fall out of compliance with the agreement because of financial constraints, academic performance, change of major, and/or other issues. Students should work with their advisors to determine what options (summer school, tutoring, etc.) may exist to address those issues and come back into compliance.