Academic Regulations on Registration and Attendance

Class Attendance

• Regular attendance is expected of students who are registered in face-to-face courses and in distance education classroom environments.
• For hybrid courses, attendance is defined as regular and substantive student participation in virtual learning activities as well as attendance at required face-to-face meetings.
• For online courses, attendance is defined as regular and substantive student participation in virtual learning activities.
• Attendance requirements and policies specific to each course are stated in the course syllabus. Students should be aware that lack of regular attendance and/or lack of substantive student participation as appropriate for the course format will adversely affect their grades in those classes in which attendance is a stated requirement. For courses in which attendance is not a stated requirement, student grades may be adversely affected by failure to satisfactorily complete assignments and course work.
• Regular attendance and active participation promote student success.

Visitors (Guests)

• Only students officially registered for a course may attend.

• No visitors (including children, family members or substitutes) shall be allowed to attend or participate in any course without the permission of the faculty member.

Attendance Records

Attendance is taken and recorded in all classes. Instructors are required to submit student attendance for all students enrolled in all sections through the MyAACC portal. For sections with scheduled meeting days and times, student attendance is recorded for each class meeting. For online, online blended, hybrid, clinicals, practicums, and independent study sections, participation is recorded once a week. Attendance is not recorded separately for lab classes associated with a lecture class. Several times each term, Assistant Deans and department chairs are notified of instructors who fail to submit attendance. Students with questions about attendance will be referred to their instructor.

Determining Placement

AACC offers many ways for students to place into courses. These include high school GPA, high school standardized testing, and the Accuplacer placement exam. All students who wish to earn a degree or certificate must be assessed. Prior to assessment, students are placed in a provisional status and may enroll in courses that do not require English and/or math eligibility.

Students using Accuplacer for placement may retest for English one time. Retesting in English is not allowed after attending or starting English or Academic Literacies classes. Students wishing to retest in mathematics must take a refresher course or seek permission from the math department. Retesting in mathematics is not allowed after enrollment in mathematics classes. Attempting to take an assessment test more than the approved policy allows violates the college’s Academic Integrity Policy. Any assessment test score which is found to be the result of unauthorized repeat testing will be discarded.

Credit Limitations

Placement Status Maximum Concurrent Credit Hours Limits by Session Length

The chart below documents the maximum number of credits for which a student may be concurrently enrolled based on their placement status and the length of session in which the course(s) is scheduled.

Note: Academic standing also impacts the maximum credit hours per term.                   

An exception to the limitation on credit hours may be granted by an academic advisor for a student with English Composition Eligible status if the student has an adjusted cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher that includes at least one full-time term of courses for which a GPA of 3.00 has been earned.

Credit and equivalent hours are noted near course titles in the Courses section of this catalog. Limitations on credit hours are calculated as the sum of all the credit hours and equivalent hours for which a student registers for a given term.

Registration/Enrollment/Changing a Schedule

Audit/Auditing Courses

Students who wish to be under no obligation for regular attendance, preparation, recitation or examination, and who do not wish to receive any credit, may register for a course for audit (AU). In a 15-week term, students may change registration status between credit and audit during the first three weeks of classes. For terms shorter than 15 weeks, the audit period will be defined proportionately.

Since no credit hours are attempted or earned and no quality points are given for an audited class, the course will not be included in calculation of the student’s grade point average. Audited courses are not eligible for graduation requirements, calculation toward students’ full-time or part-time enrollment status or toward financial aid. The designator AU will be entered on the student’s academic record. Regular tuition and fees apply to audited courses. A student may not receive credit for a course that is audited.

Honors Versions of Classes (Registrar’s Guidelines)

AACC offers qualified students the opportunity to participate in an Honors Program.  Honors versions of courses are identified by the letter H at the end of the course prefix. For example, SPA-111H, Elementary Spanish is the honors version of SPA 111. The prerequisites, lab fees, and other characteristics for the non-honors version of a course also pertain to the honors version. The honors version of the course has additional requirements as described in the course listing of the College catalog. Furthermore, if the non-honors version of the course serves as a prerequisite, corequisite or requirement for a major or program, the honors version of the course will also meet the same requirements. Credit cannot be awarded for both the non-honors and honors version of the same course.

Change Between Noncredit and Credit

Some courses are offered as both credit and continuing education noncredit. Students who register may wish to change from one status to the other. In a regular term, students who wish to make this change must do so during the first three weeks of a 15-week term. For terms shorter than 15 weeks, the change period will be defined proportionately.

Register/Add/Adding Classes/Class Enrollment

Students must register for class before the first scheduled class meeting. In the case of online or hybrid classes, a student must register the day before the first day of the session. Students must register for a course before they enter or participate in the class and may not enroll after the established last day to add a class. Students must switch class sections of a course or add a course during the add period. Visit https://www.aacc.edu/apply-and-register/credit-application/register-for-credit-classes/ for details about on-time registration deadlines.

Drop/Dropping Courses

On or before the drop deadline (see chart), students may drop a course, which means that all entries for the course are dropped completely from students’ transcripts. To accomplish this, a student must drop the course through MyAACC or submit a Credit Registration • Add • Drop Form to the Records and Registration office. All courses in which a student is enrolled after the final drop date will be entered permanently into their academic record.

When students stop attending and do not drop or withdraw from a class, they will receive a failing grade and they will continue to be financially responsible for all tuition and fees.

Withdraw/Withdrawal from Courses

A student may withdraw from a class after the final drop date through the 12th week of a 15 week session or the equivalent date in a shorter session. When a student withdraws an entry of W signifying withdrawal is entered into their record. To accomplish this, a student must withdraw from the course through MyAACC or submit a Credit Registration • Add • Drop Form to the Records and Registration office. For additional information, contact the Records and Registration office at records@aacc.edu.

Late Withdraw

After the final withdrawal date and through the last day of classes, as specified in the academic calendar, students may make a request to withdraw from the college or from individual courses by consulting with an academic advisor in the Advising & Transfer Advising office, obtaining an advisor’s signature on a late withdrawal form, and filing the late withdrawal form at the Records and Registration office. Students who are passing on the date of the withdrawal will be assigned a grade indicator of WP (withdraw passing) on their permanent record. Students who are failing on the date of the withdrawal will receive a grade of F.

Students who have withdrawn and received a grade of F may petition the Committee on Academic Standards (see Petitions to Committee on Academic Standards  ) to authorize the instructor to change the grade of F to WF (withdraw failing). Such students must provide verification to the committee that they could not complete the course for one of the following reasons:

1. Death in immediate family.

2. Student incapacitated due to serious illness.

3. Change in hours or location of employment.

4. Uncontrollable circumstances of a serious nature.

Students who have more than 10 entries of W, WP and WF may be required to meet with an academic advisor to review their educational plan before their next registration.

Students receiving financial aid should consult the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy before withdrawing from any courses.

Drop/Withdraw/Refund Deadlines