2016-2017 College Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Rules and Regulations


Academic Regulations

Students’ Rights and Responsibilities


Course Repeatability and Repetition

(Also see Registration  and Announcement of Courses  sections of this catalog)

State regulations (Title 5, sections 55040-55045) restrict the number of times a student may enroll in a course within a community college district. The number of times a student may enroll in a course is based on whether the course is designated “repeatable” or “non-repeatable.” Any student registering to repeat a course not identified as repeatable or repeating a course more often than permitted may be dropped from the course.

Non-Repeatable Courses

Most credit courses are designated as “non-repeatable” in accordance with Title 5 thereby limiting students to a single enrollment if the student receives a satisfactory grade (A, B, C, P, or CR) or an Incomplete. Under current repetition rules, students are permitted
to enroll in a non-repeatable course up to a maximum of two additional times to replace a substandard grade (D, F, NP, or NC) or if they withdrew from the course and received a W on their transcript. Students may not exceed three enrollments in a nonrepeatable
course. An enrollment is defined by the assignment of a passing or a substandard grade; Incompletes and Withdrawals are included in this limitation. Non-repeatable courses are designated “NR” in their course description within this catalog.

This enrollment limitation for non-repeatable courses is enforced within the South Orange County Community College District, which includes Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges. Additional enrollments beyond the maximum of three may be permitted on a very limited basis through the formal petition process at the Office of Admissions and Records (see Repetition for Special Circumstances).

Repeatable Courses

As of January 2013, only three types of courses are repeatable (Title 5 § 55040(b)(1), 55041):

 

  1. Courses for which additional enrollments are necessary to meet the major requirement of California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) for completion of a bachelor’s degree. Such courses may allow for additional enrollments to allow the student to meet the lower division component of these major requirements. The number of maximum enrollments may not exceed four and might be fewer if the transfer institution requires fewer than four enrollments or if the course is related in content to other courses offered at the college.
  2. Intercollegiate athletics. These courses include those in which student athletes are enrolled to participate in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the district or a conditioning course which supports the organized competitive sport. Student athletes are limited to no more than 350 contact hours within a fiscal year (July 1-June 30); they are permitted a maximum of 175 hours in courses dedicated to the sport and 175 hours in courses focusing on skill development and conditioning.
  3. Intercollegiate academic or vocational competition. Such courses must be designed specifically for students to participate in non-athletic competitive events, the competition must be between students from different colleges, the competition must be sanctioned by a formal collegiate or industry governing body, and participation in the event must be directly related to the course content. Students enrolled in these courses are required to participate in the academic or vocational competition.

Those courses that allow for additional enrollments beyond the first successful completion are designated by an “R” code followed by a number indicating the number of enrollments permitted. For example, a course with the designation R-E-3 allows for a maximum of four enrollments (the original enrollment plus an additional three) regardless of whether the student received a grade (A, B, C, D, F, P(C), NP (NC)) or a W. An explanation of the repeat codes is contained within the Announcement of Courses section of this catalog.

Repetition to Alleviate Previously Earned Substandard Grade

To alleviate a substandard grade in calculating the GPA from a non-repeatable course, the student should re-enroll in the same course at Saddleback College or take an equivalent course at Irvine Valley College. The student must ensure that the IVC course taken is deemed equivalent prior to enrolling in it by consulting with a counselor at Saddleback College. Because courses are sometimes discontinued, students should re-enroll in the same course in the following term after receiving the substandard grade. If the course is no longer offered, the ability to re-enroll and suppress the substandard grade is lost.

A student may request to have the substandard grade disregarded in the computation of their GPA by submitting a Request for Transcript Repeat Notation to the Office of Admissions and Records. The form is available to download from the Admissions and Records website at www.saddleback.edu/admissions/forms.html.

The previously recorded course and grade will remain on the student’s transcript and the transcript will show which course was excluded for purposes of grade point calculation. Only the most recent course grade earned will be used in calculating the student’s grade point average. A maximum of two previous grades per course may be disregarded in computing the student’s grade point average. All previous work will remain on the student’s transcript to ensure a true and complete academic history.

Repetition for Special Circumstances

Significant Lapse of Time

Students may be considered for an additional enrollment after they have successfully completed a course if:

  1. There has been a significant lapse of time (not less than 36 months) AND
  2. The student can provide documentation that
    1. The SOCCC District has established a recency prerequisite for a course or program OR
    2. Another institution of higher education to which the student seeks to transfer has established a recency requirement which the student will not be able to satisfy without repeating the course in question.

Students wishing to request an additional enrollment due to a significant lapse of time must complete an Academic Appeal Form. The form may be downloaded at www.saddleback.edu/admissions/forms.html. The form must be filed at least two weeks prior to the start of the semester in which the student seeks the course repetition.

Extenuating Circumstances

Students may petition to enroll in a course one additional time due to extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances are verified cases of accidents, illness, or other circumstances beyond the student’s control resulting in either a passing or a substandard grade; students receiving an I, IP, or W cannot re-enroll in a course as a result of extenuating circumstances. Students may only be approved for this reason one time per course. Students may file an Academic Appeal Form for course repetition in the Office of Admissions and Records. The form may be downloaded at www.saddleback.edu/admissions/forms.html and must be filed two weeks prior to the semester in which the student seeks the course repetition.

Legally Mandated Training

Students may repeat courses to meet legally mandated training requirements if the course is required by statute or regulation as a condition of continued paid or volunteer employment (§55000(k)); they may be required to certify or document that such re-enrollment is necessary. A student needing to repeat a course required for employment/certification (e.g. CPR class) must provide documentation of the mandate to Admissions and Records and petition for enrollment.

Significant Change in Industry or Licensure Standards

Students may be permitted to repeat a previously completed course if there has been a significant change in industry or licensure standards since the student last took the course such that the student could not obtain or maintain employment or license without retaking the course. Students may be required to provide a letter from their current or prospective employer stating the course must be taken again for employment as well as provide documentation of the significant change in industry standard since the course was last completed. Students should contact the Office of Admissions and Records for additional information.

Special Classes for Students with Disabilities

Pursuant to state and federal nondiscrimination laws, repetition of special classes designated to provide accommodations to a student’s educational limitations may be permitted for any of the following reasons:

  1. The student’s continuing success in general and/or special classes is dependent upon additional enrollments in a specific special class,
  2. Additional enrollments in a specific special class are essential to completing the student’s preparation for enrollment into other special or general courses,
    or
  3. The student’s educational contract includes a specific goal (other than completion of the special class in question) and additional enrollments will help further that goal.

Active Participatory Courses

Active participatory courses in physical education, visual arts, or performing arts (including - but not limited to - Dance, Theatre, Kinesiology, Visual Arts, and most Music courses) that are related in content to one or more other courses have additional restrictions on repeatability and repetition. Courses are defined as being related in content when they have “similar primary educational activities in which skill levels or variations are separated into distinct courses with different student learning outcomes for each level or variation” (§55000). Students are limited to four semester enrollments in courses that are related in content; this limitation applies even if an active participatory course is designated as repeatable. Students may repeat active participatory courses in which a substandard grade or W was received, however all enrollments count toward the four enrollment maximum.