Academic Awards Policy
Graduation with Honors
Bachelor’s degrees are conferred with honors upon those students who attain academic distinction. To be eligible for graduation honors, a student must have completed 60 credit hours of graded work at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. In calculating grade point average for honors, all college course work, including that transferred from other institutions, is considered. The calculation of eligibility for recognition is based upon completion of all work required for the degree. A cumulative GPA of 3.5 – 3.749 merits graduation cum laude; 3.75m – 3.899 merits magna cum laude; 3.9 – 4.0 merits summa cum laude.
Associate degrees are conferred with honors upon those students who complete a minimum of 45 credit hours of graded course work at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and who earn a cumulative GPA of 3.5, including the grades of all transferred classes which are accepted toward graduation.
Senior Awards
Two Maud Helm Rockwell Medals for superior scholarship are awarded each year, one in the campus program and one in the distance education programs. The recipients are the graduating seniors who have achieved the highest honors in their respective programs.
Seniors who have earned a 3.5 average or above at the end of seven semesters (or the equivalent in the distance programs), and who have demonstrated leadership qualities through volunteer and extra-curricular activities, may be nominated for membership in Kappa Gamma Pi, the national Catholic women’s honor society. Two Kappa Gamma Pi St. Catherine medals are awarded each year, one in the campus program and one in the distance programs, to two graduating students who represent the high ideals of a Catholic college education.
Alumni Leadership and Service Medals are awarded each year by the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Alumni Association to two graduating seniors, one from the campus program and one from the Woods Online program. One student completing a graduate program is also awarded an Alumni Leadership and Service Medal. Each student is selected on the basis of outstanding leadership and service.