Academic Plans & Benchmarks
- Each student at UM must complete an Academic Plan to ensure timely degree completion at one of two times:
- Prior to registering for second semester courses for incoming freshmen and transfer students;
- At the time of degree declaration for change of majors
- Benchmarks establish certain courses inside and outside of the major that must be completed by specific semesters throughout an undergraduate's ARHU experience. These benchmarks are designed to keep students on track for timely degree completion.
- Students sign benchmark contracts at the time of their academic plan submissions.
- Course deadlines are listed in the Benchmark contract detailing when students must complete courses.
- For Benchmark violations, students must contact the department and/or ARHU as appropriate to rectify the situation.
To learn more about the University’s Academic Plans, visit academic success.
For the University's policy toward Benchmark requirements and/or semester deadlines for courses, please visit Benchmarks and refer to items two and three.
Benchmark Violations
Students in violation will meet with their academic advisors to redraw their academic plans in order to ensure timely degree completion.
Students not showing timely progress will be asked to select a new major using one of the following resources:
- Letters & Sciences: Change the major to Letters & Sciences-Undeclared and meet with an advisor to explore possible majors on campus.
- Career Center: Schedule an appointment with a staff member to discuss options for a new major;
- Focus 2 Interest Inventory: Use this tool to gauge interests and abilities and to locate jobs that may match their personality.;
- Counseling Center: Meet with a staff psychologist to identify possible majors that best fit their interests and abilities or attend a course designed to help in the selection of a new major; or
Academic Plan Templates
Each of the following links contains a Academic Plan Template. These forms are intended to facilitate your development of an Academic Plan and do not replace actual advising. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining your plans in consultation with your ARHU College and Departmental advisors.
To see which plan applies to your degree, please visit:
http://www.gened.umd.edu/documents/GenEdTransferPolicy.pdf.
