Academic Regulations - Admissions and Records

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

Adobe Reader (free) must be installed on your computer to view the documents marked "PDF." (If you have difficulty opening these files, please clear the browser cache then try again.)

• Holds on Records
• Registration and Attendance
• Adding Classes
• Waitlists
• My Preferred Classes in WebAdvisor
• Drops / Withdrawals
• Attendance
• Auditing
• Class Selection Limits
• Prerequisites
• Repeating Classes
• Credit / No Credit
• Student Load / Overload Guidelines
• Catalog Rights

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 or request transcripts.

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.

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 courses. This 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 Classes

Students should refer to the appropriate Academic Calendar for important registration dates.

Students are expected to enroll in full-term classes by the date listed in the appropriate Academic Calendar. To add a class after the last day to add without the instructor's signature, students must obtain an Add/Drop Form (PDF) (view with the free Adobe Reader software) and return the completed form with the instructor's signature to the Office of Admissions and Records on the Fremont campus or the Student Services Center on the Newark campus. Students will not be able to register for full-term classes online via WebAdvisor after the last day to add without the instructor's signature.

Add/Drop Forms are available from the Information Center in the Building 1 Lobby on the Fremont campus, the Office of Admissions and Records on the Fremont campus, the Student Services Center on the Newark campus, and online [Add/Drop Form (PDF)].

Adds after the last day to add with the instructor's signature require a special Late Add Form (PDF) (view with the free Adobe Reader software) with signatures of the instructor and the Division Dean.

Add/Drop Forms entered into the Admissions and Records Drop Box in the Building 1 Lobby on the Fremont campus over the weekend will be processed as if they were submitted on Friday.

Per Title 5 of the California Education Code, under no circumstances will a student be allowed to enroll in a class after the last date to drop the class with a W.

Waitlists

During the registration period students may place themselves on waitlists for specific classes which are filled. Students on the waitlist will be registered into classes as vacancies occur and will receive an email once they have been added into the class. Students who have errors preventing registration such as an outstanding balance, unmet prerequisites, class conflicts, or overload issues will not be added into the class from the waitlist until the error is resolved.

Specific details about how to best take advantage of waitlists are available online.

After the last day to add without the instructor's signature, the faculty control who is registered from the waitlist. Students are not automatically added into classes from the waitlist after the last day to add without the instructor's signature. Students on waitlists should plan to attend any class for which they are waitlisted.

Use WebAdvisor to view your waitlist.

My Preferred Classes in WebAdvisor

You can save your classes in WebAdvisor as soon as the Class Schedule is published online or when you receive it in the mail!

Use the online Class Schedule and/or WebAdvisor to find the classes you want, add them to My Preferred Classes, and then you can register during your registration appointment with just a click of your mouse. Using a Preferred List will make registering faster once your registration appointment arrives.

Drops / Withdrawals

Students should refer to the appropriate Academic Calendar for add and drop deadlines for full-term classes. These Academic Calendars do not apply to self-paced classes, short-term classes, year-long classes, or classes meeting more or less than the full semester. For classes with 10 or fewer meeting times, the drop deadline is BEFORE classes begin. Students may use WebAdvisor to drop a semester-length class through the last day to drop with a W. Students who drop classes after the 20% point of class meetings will receive a W grade. However, a W grade is not punitive.

Students are responsible for the proper revision of their class schedules. Students who stop attending a class are responsible for verifying the drop through WebAdvisor. If this is not done the student may be registered in the class to the end of the semester and receive an F grade, and be charged for the class.

Download an Add/Drop Form (PDF) and return the completed form with the instructor's signature to Admissions and Records on the Fremont campus or the Student Services Center on the Newark campus.

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 to know the attendance policy for their classes. However, 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) (view with the free Adobe Reader software) must be submitted to the Office of Admissions and 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 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 Department (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.

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 class.

Students who have completed the course prerequisite at another college or university must speak to a counselor (Building 1, first floor on the Fremont campus or at the Student Services Center 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 NC) 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.

Credit / No Credit

Many courses offer students the option of a letter grade or credit/no credit. 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 credit/no credit 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 Credit/No Credit Authorization Form (PDF) (view with the free Adobe Reader software) to the Office of Admissions and 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 credit/no credit courses may be attempted and applied to the associate degree. Courses taken on a credit/no credit 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

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.

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.