Academic Policies
Open Enrollment Every course offered at College of San Mateo (unless specifically exempted by legal statute) is open for enrollment and participation by any person who has been admitted to the College and who meets the prerequisites of the course provided that space is available. Enrollment Limitations: Multiple and Overlapping Enrollments • A college district may not allow a student to enroll in two or more sections of the same credit course during the same term. • A college district may not allow a student to enroll in two courses that overlap unless the following requirements are met. 1. The student must provide sound justification other than mere convenience, 2. An appropriate district official must review justification and enrollment for approval, 3. The college must collect documentation that shows how the student made of the hours of overlap under the supervision of the instructor of the course. Enrollment Limitations: Limit of Withdrawals • Students are limited to receiving no more than three “W”s from the same credit course. • A “W” shall not be assigned or may be removed if the student withdrew due to discriminatory treatment or retaliation for alleging discriminatory treatment.
Sequential Courses A student may not enroll in or receive credit for a course that is lower in a sequence of courses after successful completion of a course that is higher or more advanced. As an example, after successful completion of Scalable .25 cannot inches: Spanishabove 120, a student enroll in a lower course (i.e., Spanish 110) in the sequence. Also, a student may not enroll in or receive credit for a course taken after successful completion of an equivalent course— e.g. French 111 cannot be taken after successful completion of French 110.
Credit by Examination External Examinations: Advanced Placement test (AP), International Baccalaureate Examination (IB) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) The chart on pages 44–48 shows how College of San Mateo award credits based on the results of the Advanced Placement tests, the International Baccalaureate Examinations, and Scalable between .25 inches and .18 College Level Examination Program (CLEP). The student is responsible for sending official
AP, IB or CLEP results to College of San Mateo Admissions and Records Office. Credit by Examination for College of San Mateo Courses (CBE) A currently enrolled student in good standing may be permitted to obtain credit for courses if he/she is especially qualified through previous training or instruction and can demonstrate such qualifications by successfully completing an examination approved by the faculty and dean of the appropriate division. College of San Mateo faculty determine which courses are eligible for CBE and if an examination can be provided. They determine if an examination can adequately measure mastery of the course content as set forth in the course outline of record. Credit may be awarded for prior experience or prior learning only in terms of individually identified courses for which faculty approve credit by exam. A student may challenge a course for credit by examination only one time. The student’s academic record shall be clearly annotated to reflect that credit was earned by examination. Grading shall be according to the regular grading system. Students shall be offered a “pass/no pass” option if that option is ordinarily available for the course. A maximum of 12 units toward the Associate degree or 6 units toward the certificate may be earned by courses for which credit has been earned by examination. Units for which credit is given shall not be counted in determining the 12 semester units in residence required for the associate degree.
Academic Review Committee The Academic Review Committee considers requests for waivers and/or exceptions with respect to academic policies. Inquiries should be directed to the Office of Admissions and Records.
Course Repetition Regulations Course Repetition Definition A “course repetition” occurs when a student attempts a course and receives an evaluative or non-evaluative symbol for the course (i.e. A, A-,B+, B, B-, C+, C, D+, D, D-, F, W, P/NP, CR/ NC, RD, I) and wishes to enroll again in the same course. Course repetition includes the following components. (Title 5 Section 55040) Course Repetition To Alleviate Substandard Work A student who has earned a substandard grade (D+, D, D-, F, NP, NC) may repeat the course to improve the grade. A student may attempt a course a maximum of three times. All course attempts in a student’s academic history count toward this enrollment limitainches wide: tion. The first or first and second substandard grades and units are excluded in computing
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the student’s GPA and the grade and units of the final attempt are included in the student’s GPA. (Title 5 Section 55042) Course Repetition as a Result of a Withdrawal A “W” counts as a course attempt. A student may attempt a course a maximum of three times. All course attempts in a student’s academic history count toward this enrollment limitation. (A student, with a combination of substandard grades and W’s, cannot attempt a course more than three times.) A Student Earning A Satisfactory Grade May Not Enroll In The Same Course Again Unless One Of The Following Five Exceptions Applies • Significant Lapse of Time - A student may enroll for one additional attempt if he/she successfully completed the course and a significant lapse of time of more than 36 months has occurred since the student was awarded a grade in the course AND the district has established a recency prerequisite for the course or an institution of higher education to which the student seeks to transfer has established a recency requirement that applies to the course. (Example: Biology 250 was completed with a grade of C in Fall 2011. The student is preparing to apply to a nursing program that requires Biology 250 to be completed within the last three years. The student is eligible to repeat the course in Spring 2015 with documentation of the recency requirement.) The grade and units from the first course completion will be disregarded in computing the GPA. (Title 5 Section 55043) • Variable Unit Courses - A student may enroll in a variable unit course as many times as necessary to complete one time the entire curriculum and unit value of the course. However, a student may not repeat any portion of a variable unit course that has already be completed and evaluated. (Title 5 Section 55044) • Extenuating Circumstances - A student may enroll for one additional attempt only if documentable extenuating circumstances exist that match the dates of the course for the previous enrollment. Examples of extenuating circumstances are natural disaster, accident, illness, or other extraordinary documentable experience beyond the student’s control. (Title 5 Section 55045) • Students with Disabilities Repeating a Special Class - A student with a verifiable disability may repeat a special class for students with disabilities any number of times based on achieving progress in the class and an individualized determination that such repetition is required as
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