Program Completion and Graduation
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, Certificates and Technical Competency Areas in both transfer and technical educational domains. A detailed listing can be found later in this catalog.
Associate Degrees, Technical Diplomas and Certificates
All SLCC’s Associate Degrees programs contain a series of general education courses applicable to the Associate Degree title. They further contain courses in the major or concentration or in the occupational or professional area and may additionally include electives that can be used to enhance or expand the major or occupational or professional major studies.
SLCC’s Technical Diplomas contain a series of mandatory courses in the occupational or professional area and may additionally include electives that can be used to enhance or expand the major or occupational or professional core studies. SLCC’s Certificates are composed of a relatively short series of mandatory courses in the occupational or professional area allowing the student focused occupational or professional studies and skills.
Degree/Diploma/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 May 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, 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 s/he declares 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 s/he re-enrolls. 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 25 percent of the credit hours required for the degree through SLCC courses.
- Have earned at least a “C” in each course unless stated by a specific program.
- Note: The last successful grade (A, B, C) earned is the official grade in any repeated course.
- Used no more than one-third credit in required major courses and no more than 50 percent of credit hours total from non-traditional sources (CPL) to meet the degree requirements, unless required by a specific program.
- Completed 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.
- Received in writing through all administrative channels approval for any deviation from the curriculum, as stated in the Catalog being followed.
Note: remedial/developmental courses are not acceptable as electives toward an associate degree program. Neither are community education, continuing education, and/or adult education courses.
Graduation
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 file a formal graduation application in his/her final semester or session of enrollment with the Registrar’s Office prior to the deadline listed in the Academic Schedule of Classes. This form and other associated documents are available from the Registrar’s Office.
- A student is expected to be enrolled at SLCC when applying for graduation. Students who apply for degrees after leaving school must have completed course requirements for graduation. Students who apply for degrees after leaving SLCC will be required to have completed all the degree requirements of the program in the Catalog in which they commenced if continuous or of the Catalog of the last semester of attendance at SLCC. They will however be awarded the degree that is in effect at the time of their application.
- A student may apply for “Graduation Only” if the student has completed all graduation requirements of the program in the Catalog in which they commenced if continuous or of the Catalog of the last semester of attendance at SLCC by completing the application and paying the graduation fee.
- Each student participating in the graduation ceremony is responsible for completing an order for cap and gown by the deadline stated in the graduation notification letter.
- A student is expected to fulfill all other obligations and regulations including financial obligations to the College. Students should contact the office of Student Financial Assistance and/or Student Accounts for details.
- A student may not graduate from SLCC while on academic probation or suspension.
- A student is not permitted to participate in commencement ceremonies until all academic and procedural graduation requirements have been met.
Requirements for a Second Degree
A student may work toward a second degree concurrently with work on the first degree or after completion of the first degree. However, the student must meet all graduation requirements for the second degree and must earn an additional 15 semester hours for an associate degree in the second program. These fifteen hours cannot have been applied toward the first degree. In addition, an official declaration of major must be on file prior to applying for a second degree so that the appropriate Catalog requirements can be determined. In degree programs where there are several options, a different option is not considered a second degree. For example, more than one General Studies’ degree will not be awarded even when a different area of concentration has been completed.
Discontinued Major/Programs: Reentry Students and Students in a Teach Out
Any student who has completed two thirds of the required courses at SLCC in a major that is no longer available may be allowed to transfer credits from another institution of higher education into SLCC 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 or majors at SLCC that are discontinued will be offered a pathway to completion through a directed teach out. Students must continue his/her enrollment during the teach-out period; they may not miss any directed semester and must follow the directed sequence of courses, substitutions or cross enrollments required to complete the major/program. The teach-out sequence is generally offered once and students who fail courses or fail to follow the directed pathway will not complete the discontinued major/program. Students may be readmitted into a discontinued major/program only if they able to complete their required courses during the established teach out period otherwise re-admittance is not allowed. No degree will be awarded in a discontinued program, excluding very extra ordinary circumstances, greater than two years after its conclusion. Students who find themselves incomplete after this time may seek assessment of their transcripts by an appropriate Divisional Dean to evaluate their possible standing in other current SLCC programs.
Graduation with Distinction
Students with the highest academic achievement are designated as Chancellor Honor Graduates. Their academic record must consist of a 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. In order to receive the distinction of Honor Graduate, the student’s academic record must consists of a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on the combination of 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 completed all graduation requirements with the exception of participation in the graduation ceremony or to a student who meets 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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