Major Field Award Policy

Reason for Policy

• Establish guidelines for major field award eligibility.

Scope of the Policy: Entities or Individuals affected by this policy

In this section, please list the broad job classifications of the individuals who should comply with the policy requirements, individuals who must understand the policy in order to do their jobs, and individuals who are affected by the policy. In many cases, it will be “all members of the Siena College community.” However, to assist you with this section, some other examples are listed below:

• School Deans
• Department Chairs, in consultation with respective departments
• Program Directors

The Official Policy

1. A student must be graduating with minimum honors (3.3 cumulative index) to be considered for the major field award.
2. All credits which count toward the major and which are offered in the major field department will be used in the computation of the major GPA for this award.
3. Because this is a Siena award, transfer students must complete at least 21 credits in the major field at Siena. Courses transferred are not considered.
4. A minimum of 3.3 index in the major field is required to receive the award.
5. Only one award per major field is normally given. However, in case of a tie, a department may designate 2 students for the Major Field Award. In this case, each of the 2 students will receive a major field award. No more than 2 awards will be given per major field in any year.
6. It is possible that no students graduating in a particular major field will have an overall GPA of 3.3 or higher (in this case, no award will be given).
7. It is possible that a department will decide that no award will be given in particular year.
8. Criteria for the final selection should include commitment to and interest in the major field, as well as involvement in the department.
9. Separate major field awards are not given for each track in a major field. 
10. Each department should identify specific measures that evidence the above criteria, and those should be forwarded to Academic Affairs for inclusion in the citations that are read at the annual awards ceremony.

Notes:

Each spring semester, department chairs will be provided with the top 10 students who qualify for the Major Field Award by Major GPA. Overall GPA, the number of Siena credits, and the number of transfer credits will also be provided to the department chairs. 

Department chairs will submit three things in preparation for the annual awards ceremony:

1. The name of the student who is to receive the Major Field Award in your department
2. The criteria used by your department in selecting the recipient
3. A citation of 50 words or less to be read by the Dean at the Awards Ceremony

Adopted:

Reviewed: November 15, 2022

Revised: November 18, 2022