Graduation With Honors
To be designated as an honor graduate, a student must

• have completed at least 30 semester hours at Lamar State College-Orange; and
• have a grade point average of at least 3.5 for all coursework attempted at Lamar State College-Orange and all attempted work at other institutions attended.
• grade point average of 3.5-3.64 qualifies a student for "honors" (cum laude), 3.65-3.79 for "high honors" (magna cum laude), and 3.80-4.00 for "highest honors" (summa cum laude).

Grades earned the semester of graduation are included in the calculation of grade point averages for honors. Both diplomas and permanent records indicate graduation honors.

Second Associate Degree
When another associate degree is taken simultaneously or has been taken previously, the second associate degree may be granted upon the completion of all required work for the second degree. A total of 15 semester hours above the number required for the degree having the greater semester hour requirements must be completed.

Graduation Under A Particular Catalog
A student normally is entitled to graduate under the degree provisions of the catalog in effect at the time of the first completed semester of enrollment, with this exception: a catalog more than seven years old shall not be used.

The program of the student who interrupts enrollment for reasons other than involuntary military service for more than one calendar year shall be governed by the catalog in effect at the time of the student's re-entry to the college. The student who interrupts enrollment for involuntary military service must re-enroll within one year from the date of separation from military service in order for this provision to apply. For these purposes, enrollment shall be defined as registration for and successful completion of at least one course during an academic term. A student forced to withdraw for adequate cause before completion of a course may petition for a waiver of this provision at the time of withdrawal.

The program of the student who changes a major from one department to another within the college shall be governed by the degree requirements in effect at the time the change of major becomes effective.

At the discretion of the division chair, the student will be required to comply with all changes in the curriculum made subsequent to the year in which the student was enrolled. Deletions and additions of courses will be of approximately equal credit so that no student will have an overall appreciable increase of total credits required for graduation.

Graduate Guarantee Policy
Lamar State College-Orange guarantees that students who successfully complete a two-year program of study in a vocational/technical field will have the job skills for entry-level employment in the occupational field for which they have been trained. Graduates with Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees who are judged by their employers to lack these basic skills will be entitled to a maximum of twelve (12) additional credit hours of tuition-free training in their field of study.

The following conditions apply to this graduate guarantee policy:

• The graduate must have earned the AAS degree beginning May 1993 or thereafter in a technical, vocational, or occupational program published in the college catalog.
• The graduate must have completed the AAS degree at Lamar State College-Orange with a minimum of 75 percent of the necessary credits earned at Lamar State College-Orange and must have completed the degree program within a four-year time span from the date of initial enrollment.
• Graduates must be employed full time in job fields directly related to their AAS programs of study as certified by the appropriate academic officer.
• Employment must commence within 12 months of graduation.
• The employer must certify in writing that the employee is lacking entry-level skills identified by Lamar State College-Orange as program exit competencies and must specify the areas of deficiency within 90 days of the graduate's initial employment.
• The employer, graduate, division chair, and other appropriate academic officers will agree upon a written plan for educational retraining.
• Retraining will be limited to 12 credit hours related to the identified skill deficiency and to those classes regularly scheduled during the period covered by the retraining plan.
• All retraining must be completed within a calendar year from the time the educational plan is agreed upon.
• The graduate and/or employer is responsible for all costs associated with enrollment except tuition. This includes fees, books, insurance, uniforms, and other course-related expenses.
• The guarantee does not imply that a graduate will pass any licensing or qualifying examinations for a particular career.
• A graduate's sole remedy against the institution and its employees for skill deficiencies shall be limited to 12 hours of tuition-free education as outlined under the conditions described above.
• A request to implement the graduate guarantee policy can be initiated through a written contract with the President's Office within 90 days of the graduate's initial employment.