The goal of the Department of Retailing of the University of South Carolina is to become one of the top five retailing programs (in Retail Management, Fashion Merchandising, and Information Management) in the country excelling in teaching, research, and service.

1. Students will proceed through an educational program that will insure quality and completeness.
2. Only students who can reasonably be expected to succeed in an undergraduate program in retailing will be allowed to proceed in the program.
3. Students will be satisfied with the learning opportunities afforded to them by the department.
4. Course requirements will reflect the current and anticipated needs of the profession or occupation.
5. Students will be provided the best possible undergraduate experience in retailing in the Southeast.

1. All students will complete a curriculum that insures breadth in the form of a general education requirements in addition to Major requirements.
2. A minimum of "C" will be obtained for all Major courses and no course will be repeated more than twice.
3. All students will complete an introductory retailing course (RETL 265 or RETL 268) before being allowed to proceed to upper division courses in order to insure proper preparation for advanced subject matter.
4. Average scores on student teaching evaluations of undergraduate courses will be 4.0 or higher (on a scale of I to 5).
5. All students will be assured access to teaching faculty in order to ask questions and resolve conflicts.
6. All students will have an academic advisor and mentor who will meet with the student a minimum of once a semester to review the student's progress and future plans.
7. All students will complete an internship as a requirement to graduate.

1. Standards for general education requirements are set by the College of Hospitality, Retailing and Sport Management and enforced through a Senior check system involving both the assistant chair and the associate dean.
2. The quality of the undergraduate teaching faculty is under the purview of the Department Chair who sees that minimum qualifications for all faculty are met.
3. Minimum progression requirements are supervised by the Chair in coordination with individual faculty members.
4. Course evaluations are implemented by the College of Hospitality, Retailing and Sport Management and results presented to individual faculty and included as part of the departmental annual faculty review procedures.
5. Academic office hours are required by both College and Departmental regulations and are monitored by the Chair of the Department.
6. Student academic advisors are assigned and monitored by the Chair to insure that all majors have been advised a minimum of once each semester. Registration of a student is blocked for the following semester until the advisement activity has been verified.
7. Statistical data on entering students is maintained by the Office of Institutional Planning and Assessment and made available to the Department on an annual basis.
8. All faculty are evaluated by performance criteria related to teaching, research, and service.

1. Educational Quality and Completeness

All students in the College of Hospitality, Retailing and Sport Management are required to complete a set of course requirements in English, History, Foreign Language, Science, Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences prior to graduation. To insure quality of instruction in the Major, all core retailing courses are taught by permanent Retailing faculty.

2. Course Progression and Grade Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to meet the minimum progression of the Department. Overall grade point requirements and grade point deficit actions are monitored and acted upon by the College of Hospitality, Retailing and Sport Management.

3. Student Satisfaction

1. Student Course Evaluations
   
   The average course evaluation for the college is consistently above 4.0 on a 5.0 scale for the past five years. These results are consistent with the high quality of our teaching faculty, and with our commitment to providing the best undergraduate retailing program available in the Southeast.
   
   
2. Academic Advisement/Mentorship
   
   

   All faculty are required to post office hours on their course syllabus or beside their office doors and to be available in their office a minimum of one hour for each hour of class taught. Furthermore, all undergraduates are assigned to a faculty advisor when entering the department. Although students are free to change advisors; under normal circumstances one faculty member will be the student's mentor and advisor for his/her entire undergraduate career. All faculty are involved in this advisement process and no professional or student advisors are used. Students must meet with their advisor a minimum of once per semester. Failure to do so results in the inability of the student to register for the following semester's classes.