Computer & Writing Proficiency

Writing Proficiency Requirement
Students are required to earn at least a C- in ENG 206 prior to achieving senior status.  The department has developed a set of guidelines by which ENG 206 instructors will assess writing proficiency.  Students are required to master the following skills:  the ability to consistently and spontaneously write grammatically correct sentences; the ability to consistently and spontaneously construct cohesive and effective paragraphs; the ability to integrate information related to business or economics (including statistics) from multiple sources; and the ability to develop and write well-reasoned arguments of moderate complexity relating to business or economic matters.

Computer Proficiency Requirement
Upon completion of the requirements for a degree in economics, a student should be able to: 

• research economic and financial information using e-mail and the Internet; 
• prove competence with a word processing software package, i.e. Word; and 
• use appropriate statistics software. 

Because many 200-level courses and all seminar courses require students to demonstrate the aforementioned skills, computer proficiency is achieved by completion of the major requirements for the degree.

Qualificiations Required to Graduate with Department Honors
Departmental honors are decided by a vote of the faculty just prior to Commencement each year.  The following guidelines are used: 

• Students must achieve a grade point average of at least a 3.67 in all courses that count toward the major and concentration at the 200-level and above including any statistics course substituted for EC 206, in order to be considered for Honors. 
  
• The student must have demonstrated to the department faculty a superior grasp of economic theory and its applications. 
  
• Once requirements for the major and concentration have been met, students may elect to take additional courses without penalizing eligibility for honors.