The Department of Chemistry does not evaluate credit hours from the transfer institution — this is the responsibility of the Office of Admissions. However, the Director of Undergraduate Studies is able to make value judgments concerning whether or not a departmental degree requirement has been completed. The judgment is made primarily on the basis of exposure to the subject matter and not merely on the basis of the number of credit hours earned or the title of the course. Rather, prerequisites and the number of lectures and laboratory sessions per week are used as a general guide. In almost every case the director finds that the students have correctly evaluated the course in question. If there is a disagreement, a petitioning procedure is available to the student. Difficulties are very seldom serious enough to delay graduation beyond the fourth year of academic study.