Academic Regulations - Admissions & Records

It is the student's responsibility to be aware of the Academic Regulations listed in the Class Schedule, the Student Handbook, and the Ohlone College Catalog.

• Holds on Records
• Registration and Attendance
• Attendance
• Auditing
• Class Selection Limits
• Prerequisites
• Repeating Classes
• Credit / No Credit (Pass / No Pass)
• Student Load / Overload Guidelines
• Catalog Rights
• Academic Standing
• Student Classifications
• Grades
• Credit by Examination
• Basic Skills Classes
• Waitlisting, Adding, Dropping Classes

Holds on Records

Students with unfulfilled obligations to Ohlone College may not be allowed to register until their obligations are fulfilled. Registration holds may be placed on student records for financial obligations such as unpaid enrollment, fees, library fines, bad checks, or for disciplinary actions. Students must arrange for removal of all holds in order to register for classes and/or request transcripts.

It is the student's responsibility to be aware of the Academic Regulations listed in the printed Class Schedule, the Student Handbook, and the Ohlone College Catalog.

Registration and Attendance

Students are responsible for ensuring that they are officially enrolled in classes, that course prerequisites have been met, and for attending the first and all subsequent classes. Students may be dropped by their instructor for not attending the first class meeting or for excessive absences.

Although instructors have the right to drop students for non-attendance at the first or subsequent class meetings, it is the student's responsibility to drop. Students who do not attend class, do not drop the class, and have not been dropped by the instructor are held responsible for fees, grades, or other obligations.

Students should not stop payment on their checks. Students who stop payment on a check for Enrollment Fees will be assessed the fee for a returned check and will be responsible for all fees other than enrollment in dropped classes. This action will create an unpaid obligation to the College and the student will be unable to receive transcripts or register for future courses until the debt is satisfied.

Adding / Dropping / Waitlisting

See Waitlisting, Adding, Dropping Classes, Non Payment Policy.

Attendance

Students who do not attend the first or second class meeting may be dropped by the instructor to allow room for other students.

The instructor establishes the attendance policy for each class. Students are responsible for knowing the attendance policy for their classes. Students are responsible for dropping classes they are unable to complete.

Auditing

Students who wish to audit a graded credit class may do so under the following conditions:

• Class attendance as an auditor shall be permitted only after students otherwise desiring to enroll in the class for credit toward a degree or certificate have had an opportunity to enroll.
• Class attendance as an auditor shall be permitted only after approval has been obtained from the instructor and the division dean.
• The Audit Form (PDF) must be submitted to the Office of Admissions & Records on the Fremont campus or the Student Services Center on the Newark campus by the add deadline for the class (see the appropriate Academic Calendar).
• No student auditing a class shall be permitted to change enrollment status in that class to receive credit.
• Auditors must pay the appropriate audit fees. Enrollment Fees may not be used to pay for auditing a class.
• The non-refundable audit fee is $15 USD per unit per term.
• Students enrolled in credit classes for 10 or more semester units shall not be charged a fee to audit 3 or fewer units per term. To obtain this credit, students must contact the Cashier's Office (Room 1211, Building 1, second floor on the Fremont campus) after the third week of a full term.

Class Selection Limits

1. Students may register for only one section of any class per semester.
2. Students may not register for a class in which an Incomplete grade was received in a prior semester.
3. Students may not register for classes meeting at the same time.
4. Students may not be able to register for more than 17.5 units during Fall and Spring semesters and 8.5 units during Summer term without permission from the Counseling Department. See Student Load / Overload Guidelines.

Prerequisites

Many courses have prerequisites that must be successfully completed prior to enrollment. If students have registered for a course yet are still completing a prerequisite, they will be dropped from the course after final grades are posted if they have not met the requirement of a grade of C or better in the prerequisite course.

Students who have completed the course prerequisite at another college or university must speak to a counselor (Room 7322, Building 7, third floor on the Fremont campus or at the Newark Student Services Center in Room NC-1312 on the Newark campus) about getting the prerequisite waived. Information about clearing prerequisites is available on the Counseling website.

Students will not be able to register in classes in which Ohlone does not have record that they have successfully completed the course prerequisites. Per Title 5 of the California Education Code, K-12 classes cannot be used to meet college prerequisites.

Repeating Classes

Courses that may be repeated for credit are designated by the word “repeatable” in the Ohlone College Catalog. Students cannot register for a course for which the repeatable limit has been reached. Enrollment in a non-repeatable class that was previously completed with a grade of C or better, or in a course that has already been repeated the maximum times allowed, will not be allowed, per Title 5 of the California Education Code.

Any course may be repeated one time to improve a substandard grade (D, F, or NP) previously received in the course. In such cases, only the most recent grade and units will be computed in the student's GPA and unit totals. However, by law both grades must appear on the student's transcript.

Pass / No Pass (Credit / No Credit)

Many courses offer students the option of a letter grade or pass/no pass. This allows students the opportunity to explore courses outside the current major interest without undue concern for the grade point average.

A student is limited to one pass/no pass course per semester, in addition to remedial, guidance, and P.E. classes and/or to courses offered for credit/no credit only.

Students must submit the Pass/No Pass Authorization Form (PDF) to the Office of Admissions & Records on the Fremont campus or the Student Services Center on the Newark campus by the deadline listed in the appropriate Academic Calendar.

A maximum of 15 units of pass/no pass courses may be attempted and applied to the associate degree. Courses taken on a pass/no pass basis cannot be used to satisfy the major field requirements for an associate degree or Certificate of Achievement. Refer to the current Catalog for further details.

Student Load / Overload Guidelines

Student Load

Semester	Half Time	Full Time	Overload
Fall / Spring	6 units	12 - 17.5 units	18+ units
Summer	3 units	6 - 8.5 units	9+ units

A student load is defined as the total subjects and units carried in a program in any one semester. Fifteen units constitute the normal semester program. Permission to carry an excess load of more than 18 units for Fall and Spring semesters and of more than 9 units for Summer term may be granted upon submission and approval of a student petition through the Counseling Department. Information about overloads is available online.

The following Grade Point Average (GPA) guidelines from completed College courses will be used to determine student eligibility for student overloads; courses taken in grades K-12 cannot be used for college GPA calculations.

• Students must have a minimum of a 2.60 cumulative GPA to be considered for an overload for 18.0 or more units.
• Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher may be eligible for an overload of up to 18.5 units.
• Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher may be eligible for an overload of 18.5 to 21.5 units.
• Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher may be eligible for an overload of 22.0 or more units.

Student enrollment history will also be considered. For example, students who have withdrawn from several classes, especially during terms in which previous overloads have been granted, may be denied permission to enroll in an overload for the following term.

Catalog Rights

Pursuant to California Education Code Section 40401, a student pursuing an associate degree or Certificate of Achievement may follow the General Education and major requirements for the degree or requirements for the certificate which are published in the Catalog effective for the academic year in which the student first began attendance at Ohlone College, or regulations current at the time the student files for and receives the degree or certificate. Exceptions to this would be by the petition process.

Students pursuing academic programs that require a separate application process are assigned to the catalog year in which the student is accepted into the program.

A course in which a student receives a W grade is not considered to have been completed.

The preceding catalog rights are subject to the following limitation: a student who completes no Ohlone College course(s) during a period of six consecutive terms, including Summer terms, forfeits the right to follow the degree or certificate requirements set forth in any catalog prior to the resumption of studies. For the purpose of this section, the effective period of a Catalog extends from the beginning of a Fall semester to the close of the subsequent Summer term. Please note that the College may require substitutions for required courses that have been discontinued.

Academic Standing

A student’s status may fall within several categories ranging from the acknowledgment of highest honors to dismissal, the latter resulting in separationfrom Ohlone College. The categories are as follows: Honors (President’s List, WithHonors, and With Highest Honors), Clear Standing, Probation (Academic andProgress), and Dismissal (Academic and Progress).

Honors

A student who achieves outstanding scholarship in any semester (3.20 or abovein six or more units and whose cumulative GPA is 2.00 or above) will receive thedistinction of being placed on the President’s List. A student with a cumulative grade point average in all college work applied toward the degree between 3.20 and 3.49 inclusive will graduate “With Honors.” A student with a cumulative GPA between 3.50 and 4.00 inclusive will graduate “With Highest Honors.” These notations will be included on the diploma and the transcript.

Clear Standing

A student whose last completed semester GPA and cumulative GPA are 2.00 or above and whose accumulated units of W (Withdrawal), NC (No Credit), and/or I (Incomplete) do not reach or exceed 50 percent shall be in Clear Standing.

Probation and Dismissal Standings, Reinstatment

See Probation and Dismissal Information on the Counseling website for information.

Student Classifications

Students are classified in terms of the number of units they have completed and the number of units in which they are currently enrolled.

• Freshman: A student who has earned from 0 to 29.5 semester units of collegework credit
• Sophomore: A student who has earned from 30 to 60 semester units of collegework credit
• Full time: A student enrolled in 12 or more semester units
• Part time: A student enrolled in 11.5 or fewer units
• Half-time:A student enrolled in 6 units or less

Grades

In any course offered at Ohlone College, the instructor of the course shall determine the grade earned by each student in accordance with grading symbols authorized for use by the Education Code of California and adopted by the Board of Trustees of Ohlone College.

The awarding of a grade to a student is the responsibility of the instructor of the course in which the student is registered. The earned grade as assigned by the instructor shall be final and shall become a part of the student’s permanent record. The determination of the student’s grade by the instructor shall be final in the absence of clerical or evaluative error.

Grades are available to students via WebAdvisor within four weeks after the semester ends.

Refer to the latest Ohlone College Catalog for additional information about Grades and Repetition of Courses for credit or to improve a grade.

Grading Systems

(Per California Code of Regulations, Title T, 55758.)

Ohlone College uses the following letter grade system for evaluating the quality of students’ work:

Evaluative Grades

Symbol	Definition	Grade Points
A	Excellent	4
B	Good	3
C	Satisfactory	2
D	Passing, less than satisfactory	1
F	Failing	0
CR	Credit (at least satisfactory)	0
NC	No Credit (less than satisfactory or failing)	0

Non-Evaluative Grades

Symbol	Definition	Grade Points
I	Incomplete	0
IP	In Progress	0
MW	Military Withdrawal	0
RD	Report Delayed	0
W	Withdrawal	0

Credit by Examination

A student who has achieved knowledge elsewhere or who has an understanding equivalent to that required by one or more college courses may receive academic credit by successfully completing a comprehensive course examination. To apply for Credit by Examination a student must be registered at Ohlone and be in good academic standing. Not all Ohlone College courses are offered for Credit by Examination. Final determination of which courses are available for credit byexamination will be made by the faculty member(s) who teaches the course and the appropriate Division Dean. Credit may only be granted for a course listed in the Ohlone College catalog.

Petitions for Credit by Examination are available in the Office of Admissions & Records on the Fremont campus and may be submitted during the first three weeks of any semester. Credit by Examination shall not be used to establish the 12 unit residency requirement for graduation, nor be considered Ohlone College credit for the purpose of meeting the 6 unit requirement for a Certificate of Achievement and the 50% requirement for a Certificate of Accomplishment.

Units awarded through Credit by Examination are so annotated on the student’stranscript and assigned a grade of CR. Credit is not given for any class which the student has previously attempted and failed or for which he/she has previously sought Credit by Examination.

See the latest Ohlone College Catalog for additional information about Credit by Examination, as well as Credit for Military and Non-collegiate Courses/Training and Advanced Placement (AP) Credit.

Basic Skills Classes

Basic Skills classes include classes that are non-transferable and are not associate degree applicable. Starting in Fall 1989 the units attempted, units completed, and grade points for these classes will not be included in a student’s cumulative totals nor will they be used in calculation of the grade point average. All units, grades, and grade points will still appear on the student’s permanent record; however, these courses will be identified by an ND printed under the heading CSU/GE and a number sign (#) sign printed after the grade.

Skip over plugin info.