Academic Advising

The College requires that all full-time students be advised by faculty every semester in order to ensure that they are meeting degree requirements. Full-time students will not be permitted to register without advisor clearance. Academic advising is also recommended for part-time students and is available upon request. Please refer to the Academic Advising listing under Services for Student Success for complete information.

Attendance and Religious Absences

Regular attendance is essential for successful study. Speci.c attendance regulations are established by individual instructors and are presented to students at the beginning of the semester. A poor attendance record can result in failing a course, receiving a lower grade or jeopardizing financial aid eligibility.

Please note that failure to attend cannot be used as a basis for tuition refunds.

Section 224-a, Paragraph 6a of the New York State Education Law regarding absences from class due to religious observance states that "... each student who is absent from school, because of his religious beliefs, must be given an equivalent opportunity to make up any examination, study or work requirements which he or she may have missed because of such an absence on any particular day or days. No fees of any kind shall be charged by the institution for making available to the said student such equivalent opportunity."

Credit Definitions

Courses at Rockland Community College are measured in semester credit-hours.

Physical Education Credit

Credit granted for Physical Education courses counts towards credits completed but are not used in GPA calculations.

Credit Equivalents

ESL courses, pre-ENG 101, pre-MAT 101 courses and other reinforcement modules are credit equivalents and are not included in GPA calculations. These credits count toward fulltime status for the semester and for tuition urposes, but do not count toward degree or certi.cate requirements.

Credit Load

Students enrolled for 12 or more credits (or credit equivalents) are considered full-time. Students enrolled for fewer than 12 credits (or credit equivalents) are part-time. A typical full-time credit-hour load for a semester is 15-16 credit hours. However, students may register for up to 18 credits (or credit equivalents). If students wish to enroll for more than 18 credits, they must have written approval from an advisor. For Summer sessions or Wintersession, the limits are as follows:

Course Length Maximum Number of Credits

3 or 4 weeks 4 credits

5 weeks 7 credits

8 weeks 9 credits

No more than 12 total credits may be taken in the combined summer sessions without an advisor’s approval. For Wintersession, students may not register for more than 4 credits.

P/F: Pass/Fail

• Students should consult with an academic advisor or the instructor since many degree programs, particularly in the Health Sciences or English Composition, do not permit students to select the P/F option for certain required courses.
• A student may elect to utilize the Pass/ Fail Option towards a degree for a maximum of two (2) courses or eight (8) credits excluding Skills Studies and Physical Education. A student cannot request a Pass/ Fail grade for a course that would be intended for use as a rerequisite to another course.
• A student must file the appropriate forms in the Records Office to Pass/Fail a course by the deadline published in the Schedule of Classes. The faculty will give a student timely and sufficient information about grades so that an informed decision can be made. Once these forms are filed, the student may not change his/her option.
• A grade of P indicates performance at a level of D or better. A grade of F indicates a failure. A grade of P does not affect a student’s grade point average, but a grade of F is calculated into the student’s GPA, except for physical education or credit equivalent courses. Students should be aware that courses graded P/F may not be granted transfer credit by other colleges.

AU: Audit
To audit a course means to register, pay and attend the class sessions, but not be responsible for written assignments or examinations and not receive a grade. A student registers to audit a course by submitting an approved request form to the Records Office by the deadline published in the Schedule of Classes. Once these forms are filed, the student may not change his/her option.