  The existence of a Noether symmetry for a given minisuperspace cosmological
model is a sort of selection rule to recover classical behaviours in cosmic
evolution since oscillatory regimes for the wave function of the universe come
out. The so called Hartle criterion to select correlated regions in the
configuration space of dynamical variables can be directly connected to the
presence of a Noether symmetry and we show that such a statement works for
generic extended theories of gravity in the framework of minisuperspace
approximation. Examples and exact cosmological solutions are given for
nonminimally coupled and higher--order theories.
