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SLCC is authorized by the Louisiana Board of Regents, LCTCS Board of Supervisors and its college accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC), to offer Associate Degrees, Technical Diplomas, and Certificates in both transfer and technical educational domains. A detailed listing can be found later in this catalog.
Associate Degrees, Technical Diplomas, and Certificates Structure
At SLCC degrees are broken up into a series of blocks. Associate Degree programs contain a block of general education courses applicable to the Associate Degree title. They further contain a block of courses in the major area of study and may additionally include an elective block that can be used to enhance or expand the major.
SLCC’s Technical Diplomas contain a block of major courses in the occupational or professional area and may additionally include an elective block that can be used to enhance or expand the core studies. SLCC’s Certificates are composed of a relatively short series of courses (major, general education or elective blocks) that provide a broad foundation of fundamental academic skills or a technical competency in a professional or occupational area.
Degree, Diploma, and Certificate Completion Requirements
SLCC’s academic catalog prescribes the requirements for each program as well as services offered by the College. The catalog is published yearly in the Summer and it becomes effective with the beginning of the Fall semester and the start of a new academic year. Former and continuing students must adhere to all changes in college-wide policies, rules, and regulations each year changes are made. The educational programs and academic courses described herein may be altered by SLCC to carry out its stated mission.
Students should meet on a regular basis with their academic advisors to assure progress is being made toward completion of their academic program.
To qualify for an award, each student must meet the following requirements:
A student must
- Satisfy the degree requirements in place at the time they declare a major.
- Note: If the student does not enroll at SLCC for one semester or more, the student must satisfy the degree requirements as approved by the college and generally described, or amended, in the catalog at the time they re-enroll. If degree requirements change during a period in which a student is continuously enrolled (no interruption), the student has the option of satisfying the new degree requirement, as amended, or completing those described in the catalog when the student first declared their major.
- Have a degree program adjusted SLCC cumulative average of 2.0.
- Note: The degree program adjusted grade point average is based on grades earned on all courses (adjusted for repeats), which are applied to a degree to meet graduation requirements at SLCC. The courses included may be from both transfer work and SLCC or only SLCC.
- Have earned at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the credit hours required for the degree through SLCC courses. Note: CTC degree are exempt from the twenty-five percent (25%) rule.
- Have earned at least a “C” in each course unless stated by a specific program.
- Note: For repeated courses, the most recent passing grade earned will be used to determine the acceptability of the course for degree requirements.
- Use no more than forty percent (40%) credit in required major courses and no more than fifty percent (50%) of credit hours total from non-traditional sources (CPL) to meet the degree requirements unless required by a specific program.
- Complete at least the number of credits stipulated in the degree program. In cases where programs are revised and a course is no longer available, an appropriate substitution may be made.
- Receive in writing through all administrative channels approval for any deviation from the curriculum, as stated in the Catalog being followed.
Note: Remedial/developmental, community education, continuing education, and/or adult education courses do not apply toward degree programs.
Graduation Requirements
Students assume full responsibility for awareness and completion of all procedural requirements for graduation. The following procedures and conditions apply to all students seeking to graduate from SLCC:
- A candidate for a degree is required to submit a graduation application no later than the final semester of enrollment with the Registrar’s Office. Application deadlines are listed on the Academic Calendar. Graduation applications and other associated documents are available from the Registrar’s Office.
- A student is expected to be enrolled at SLCC when applying for graduation.
- Each student participating in the graduation ceremony is responsible for ordering a cap and gown by the deadline.
- A student is expected to fulfill all other obligations and regulations including financial obligations to the College. Students should contact the Office of Financial Aid and/or Student Accounts for details.
- A student may not graduate from SLCC while on disciplinary action.
- A student is not permitted to participate in commencement ceremonies until all academic and procedural graduation requirements have been met with the following exception. Students who anticipate completing requirements in a summer term may apply to participate in the preceding Spring commencement if they meet certain criteria, including:
- having a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0,
- within no more than 6 credit hours of completing degree requirements.
- See the Registrar’s Office for additional information regarding Authorization to Participate in Commencement.
A student may apply for “Graduation Only” if the student has completed all graduation requirements of the program in their assigned Catalog by completing the graduation application. Upon application and verification of the degree requirements, the degree will be awarded within the semester in which the student applies for graduation, and a program completion date will also be noted on the diploma.
Requirements for a Second Degree
A student may pursue a second degree concurrently or after completion of the first degree. However, the student must meet all graduation requirements for the second degree. If the second degree is an associate degree, the student must earn an additional 15 credit hours in the second degree that was not applied toward the first degree. In addition, an official declaration of major must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office, so that the appropriate Catalog requirements can be determined.
Discontinued Program/Degree Plan
Any student who has completed three-fourths of the required courses at SLCC in a program that is no longer available may be allowed to transfer credits from another institution of higher education to complete the degree requirements. The student must complete all the missing requirements within two years after the semester in which the program was discontinued to be considered for the degree award.
Students currently enrolled in programs at SLCC that are discontinued will be offered a pathway to completion through a directed teach-out. The teach-out sequence is generally offered once. Students must:
- continue their enrollment during the teach-out period;
- not miss any directed semester
- follow the directed sequence of courses, substitutions, or cross enrollments required to complete the major/program.
Students who fail courses or fail to follow the directed pathway will not complete the discontinued major/program.
No degree will be awarded in a discontinued program greater than two years after its conclusion. Students who find themselves incomplete after this time may seek an assessment of their transcripts by an appropriate Divisional Dean to evaluate their possible standing in other current SLCC programs.
Graduation with Distinction
SLCC designates two levels of distinction at graduation:
- Chancellor’s Honor Graduates
- Cumulative average of at least 3.8 on the combination of all college work attempted at SLCC and all college work from other institutions applied to the degree.
- Honor Graduate
- Cumulative average of 3.5 to 3.79 on the combination of all college work attempted at SLCC and all college work from other institutions applied to the degree.
Awarding of a Degree Posthumously
SLCC will award degrees or certificates posthumously to a student who has meet all of the following conditions:
- The student must be registered or enrolled for classes at the time of death.
- Registered or enrolled courses must be those that, if completed, would have fulfilled graduation requirements.
- The student must have a grade point average at the time of death that meets SLCC’s graduation requirements.
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