Academic Information

Instruction Office

Walton Science Center • Room 120
360-623-8929

Unit SYSTEM

Centralia College divides the academic year into four quarters. Fall, winter, and spring quarters are approximately 11 weeks each. Summer quarter is six to eight weeks.

In general, a class that meets one hour per week for one quarter earns one credit; a class that meets five hours per week for one quarter earns five units. Laboratory and certain other courses vary. The unit hours for each course are listed after the course titles in the Course Description section of this catalog. Some classes, particularly those offered through Transitional Education, offer variable unit (generally from 1 to 15 units). With assistance from an advisor and/or the course instructor, students decide how many units they can reasonably carry in one quarter and register for that amount.

To earn units, students must officially register for a course and successfully complete it with a passing grade.

Unit Hour Policy

In compliance with U.S. Department of Education regulation and Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities policy, college level courses at Centralia College, regardless of modality, shall be at a level of rigor such that the average adequately prepared student will invest approximately 30 hours of effort for each quarter unit earned.

Units represent time. Each quarter, students must realistically assess their time commitments. Students are encouraged to take a unit load that can be managed successfully. To estimate the time needed to commit to college, students can figure three hours per week for each unit (combined class and study time). For example, a 15-unit load represents approximately 45 hours per week. Some students want to complete their associate degree in two school years. They register for an average of 15 to 18 units each quarter. Other students take fewer units each quarter, graduating when their requirements are satisfied.

Grades

Centralia College uses a numerical grading system. Instructors report passing grades from 4.0 to 1.0 in .1 increments. Instructors assign the number 0.0 for failing work and must assign a date of last attendance. Numerical grades are equivalent to letter grades as follow: 4.0-3.8 A Superior achievement

3.7-3.5 A-
3.4-3.2 B+
3.1-2.8 B High achievement
2.7-2.5 B-
2.4-2.2 C+
2.1-1.8 C Average achievement

Note: 1.8 and 1.9 are below the 2.0 minimum requirement for program entrance or completion.

1.7-1.5 C-
1.4-1.2 D+
1.1-1.0 D Minimum achievement
0.0 F Failure to meet minimum course requirements.

W • Withdrawal

May be awarded only on or before the last class day. May only be student initiated. Requires dated signature of student. Not calculated in the grade point average. The college encourages students to speak with their instructor(s) before withdrawal.

I • Incomplete

No grade points calculated. The student must have finished a substantial portion of the work, attended past the 35th class day, be passing the course (1.0 or above), and because of circumstances not ordinarily controllable by the student, was not able to finish the course prior to grading. The instructor and student must complete a detailed contract that specifies what work is remaining, and when it is due. The contract must specify the default grade, if the additional work is not accomplished by the time limit. The grade shall revert to the default grade, if no new grade is turned in by the instructor by the time limit. The instructor, student, and Enrollment Services receive copies of the contract. If there is no contract, or an incomplete contract when an “I” has been requested by the instructor, the grade shall be recorded as an *, until a complete contract is on file with Enrollment Services. Incomplete work must be completed and submitted to the instructor by the deadline established by the instructor but not to exceed 180 days past the end of the quarter.

N • Audit

No credit. Not calculated in grade point average.

S • Passing with unit

Not calculated in grade point average. Used only by approved departments. Degrees and certificates may limit the use of S units.

U • Unsatisfactory progress

Not calculated in grade point average. Used only by approved departments.

Y • In progress

No grade point calculated. Used in courses, such as correspondence, that do not begin and end with the regular quarter calendar. Not calculated in grade point average. A student has two quarters to complete the class (an extension for a third quarter is available for an additional fee). The instructor will submit a change of grade form to Enrollment Services at the completion of the coursework within the time limit. If no new grade is turned in by the instructor a grade of 0.0 will be issued.

Time Limitation to Change a Grade

Instructor may authorize a grade change within the next quarter of the academic year. Summer quarter is excluded (i.e., spring quarter grade changes must be made by end of fall quarter; summer quarter changes must be made by end of fall quarter).

Course Audit

Students that are interested in auditing a course can observe class activities and receive instruction with an instructor’s permission without being required to complete assignments or take exams. To audit a course, the student must complete the Schedule Change form with the instructor’s signature, enroll by the census date, and pay appropriate tuition and/or fees. Auditing a course results in the class not being awarded credit or a grade. The transcript will show an “N” for an audited course and will not factor into the GPA.

Grade Forgiveness

Grade forgiveness provides the student an opportunity to request to have specific class(es) not calculate into the GPA.

Grade forgiveness will be granted by meeting the following criteria:

• Only grades below a 2.0 GPA can be requested.
• Grade(s) must be at least one year old.
• The student must have completed a minimum of 24 units, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher, from Centralia College and/or another regionally accredited college/university since the quarter of the grade forgiveness requested.

Forgiven courses

• will remain on the student’s transcript but will not be calculated in their GPA or units at Centralia College,
• cannot be used as units in any degree, certificate, diploma, or course requirement, and
• cannot be reinstated later.

Academic renewal

provides the student an opportunity to have entire quarter(s) not calculate toward the GPA.

Students may request for any quarter(s) for academic renewal under the following conditions:

• The quarter(s) requested must be at least one year old.
• The requested quarter(s) cannot be used previously as units in any degree, certificate or diploma.

Academic renewal grades will remain on the student’s transcript but will not calculate in their GPA or units at Centralia College and cannot be reinstated later. The request must include all courses in the quarter.

Advising Note: Forgiven grades may not be recognized by other colleges. Staff at another college could recalculate a transfer student’s GPA, counting all their grades for admission and transfer purposes.

Repeating a Course

Students who repeat a class will receive credit for taking it once with a few exceptions. The higher grade will count toward their GPA. Both grades will remain on the student’s permanent record. Enrollment Services may adjust for educational or regulatory reasons.

A student can repeat a credit-bearing course, a fourth time, only to fulfill a skills requirement or academic progress in accordance with the State Board for Community and Technical College’s Repeat Course Rules^1,2. Students enrolled in a course, for a fourth time, will be unenrolled from that class unless the student appeals to the Director of Enrollment Services before the third business day before the start of the quarter.

¹SBCTC Policy Manual Chapter 4 Appendix A
²SBCTC Policy Manual Chapter 5 Appendix A Reporting Enrollment

Advising Tip: Transfer colleges may choose either grade or the average of two grades.

Transcripts

An official transcript is a copy of a student’s academic record signed by the Director of Enrollment Services. There is a small processing fee for each official transcript. Centralia College works with the National Student Clearinghouse to provide online transcript ordering. More information is available on the college’s website.

Student Records

Enrollment Services Office

TransAlta Commons Building, Second Floor
360-623-8976

Student Identification Number

All students are assigned a student identifier known as a ctcLink ID when they apply for admission to Centralia College. This number provides access to a number of services at the college.

If a student has transferred from another college in the Washington State community and technical college system, that number will be transferred.

Confidentiality of Student Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 affords students certain rights with respect to their records. FERPA affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records. (An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who is 18 years of age or older or who attends a postsecondary institution.)

These rights include:

• Inspect and review their education records. Students may contact Enrollment Services to request an inspection of their records. A request must be submitted in writing to the Registrar. Centralia College has 45 days from the receipt of the request to arrange for access.
• Request an amendment of their education records. Students may submit a written request to the Registrar if they wish to have an amendment made to their education records. If Centralia College decides not to amend the student’s record as requested, the student will be notified and advised of the student’s right to a hearing regarding the request for an amendment.
• Consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. Disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests does not require the student’s consent. A school official is a person employed by Centralia College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position; a person or company with whom Centralia College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agency); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, or assisting another school official in performing their tasks. Volunteers and interns serving in any of these capacities are also considered school officials. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibility. Upon request, Centralia College may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which you are currently enrolled, receive services, or seek or intend to enroll.
• Prevent disclosure of directory information. Centralia College routinely publishes and discloses directory information about students to various requestors. FERPA defines directory information as information contained in the education records of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
  • Directory information consists of:
    • Name
    • Field of study
    • Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
    • Dates of attendance
    • Enrollment status
    • Degree or certificate earned
    • Term Degree or certificate earned
    • Honors
  • Students who would like to block Centralia College from releasing their directory information must submit a request in writing by utilizing the Student Directory Restriction Request form provided by Enrollment Services or through their ctcLink profile.
    • Please note - If a restriction request is in place, Centralia College could be restricted from including the student’s name in the commencement program or from providing verification of enrollment, graduation, or degrees awarded to third parties, including potential employers, insurance companies and sports recruiters. No directory information would be released to any person. Requests for confidentiality are permanent until removed in writing by the student.
• File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Centralia College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
  • The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:
    Family Policy Compliance Office
    U.S. Department of Education
    600 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20202-4605

Additionally, the Solomon Amendment, a federal law, authorizes representatives from the Department of Defense to request the following information: level of education, age, date of birth, place of birth, and phone number for recruiting purposes.

Photo Consent Statement

All students are advised that Centralia College, through the College Relations Office, takes photographs and shoots videos throughout the year, which may include images (as well as audio/video recordings of voices) of members of the student body and reserves the right to use them for publicity, promotional, and marketing purposes.

The College also reserves the right to take photographs of campus facilities and scenes, events, faculty, staff, and students for promotional purposes in any areas on campus or at any Centralia College-sponsored event off campus where subjects do not have a normal and reasonable expectation of privacy. All such photographs and videos are the property of Centralia College and may be used for Centralia College promotional purposes (e.g. electronic and printed publications, websites, classroom use, college ads, etc.) without prior permission of the subjects.

As a general practice, there is no attempt to collect individual photo release forms from students. Instead, College Relations makes the assumption that Centralia College students welcome involvement in these activities. However, students who do not wish to have their images/voices used for this purpose must stipulate this in writing to the College Relations Office at the beginning of the quarter. It is also expected that such students will excuse themselves from photo/video sessions and inform the Centralia College photographer/videographer that they do not wish to be included.

Change of Address

When their address changes, students must notify the Enrollment Services Office by completing the Student Update Form or making the changes in their ctcLink account.

Name Change

It is important that students’ names are accurately reflected on their records. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Enrollment Services Office of any name change. Enrollment Services can change a name with government-issued documentation.

Emergency Messages

Centralia College has no way to relay messages into classrooms or buildings. Only messages relating to accident, illness of a child, or death will be relayed to students. Contact the Enrollment Services Office. Please disclose the nature of the emergency and the college will attempt to locate the student.

Emergency Notifications

The possibility of an emergency exists on the Centralia College campus. There are natural and human-caused situations that require all students, employees, and others to be notified. The college uses Singlewire Informacast to deliver mass emergency notifications to students, employees, and volunteers. This is the primary means of mass notification when emergency and selected other events and situations arise that impact normal operation of the college. To get text alerts for only Centralia College, text #ccalerts to 360-347-2347. To get text alerts for only CCEast only, text #cceastupdates to 360-347-2908.

Right to Know

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report
Centralia College publishes the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report each year on the college website. The report contains crime and fire statistics from the previous three years for certain on-campus, non-campus, and residential college facilities. All current and prospective students and staff are notified of this report annually. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, contact Facilities Operations and Maintenance at 360-623-8947.

Graduation and Transfer Rate ReportThe annual graduation and transfer rate report has the percentage of Centralia College students who graduate or transfer to other colleges. A copy of this report is available by contacting the Office of the Vice President of Student Services, or by accessing it online on the college website.

Academic Standards Policy

Centralia College is a state supported public institution. Tuition covers about 34 percent of the cost of education. Tax dollars provide the rest. The college expects students to be serious about their education and to plan for their success. The college provides many ways to help; one is by setting standards for academic success.

Students must earn a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above to be in good academic standing. If a student does not receive a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above then the college will place the student on warning, probation, suspension, or conditional probation.

The category depends upon how many times the student’s GPA falls below 2.0. If the student raises their cumulative GPA to 2.0 or above then the college will remove any warning, probation, or suspension status. The college reserves the right to place enrollment conditions on students anytime their cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0.

Warning

The first term the student’s cumulative GPA falls below 2.0, the college will place the student on Academic Warning. There is no appeal.

Probation

The second term that a student’s cumulative GPA falls below 2.0, the college will place the student on Academic Probation. This is the final warning prior to suspension. There is no appeal.

One-Quarter Suspension

The third term a student’s cumulative GPA remains below 2.0, the college will suspend the student for one term. During the suspension, the student may not register for any course, and may not participate in events or activities reserved for students. The student has the right to appeal the suspension.

Conditional Probation

Suspended students who return from one-term or one-year suspension or were granted an appeal will be placed on conditional probation status. Students on conditional probation status must increase their cumulative GPA to above 2.0 or meet the conditions outlined in their approved appeal. Students who meet the conditions of the appeal but do not raise their cumulative GPA to above a 2.0 will remain on conditional probation status. Students who fail to increase their cumulative GPA to above 2.0 or fail to meet the conditions of their appeal will be suspended for one year. During the suspension, the student may not register for any course, and may not participate in events or activities reserved for students. The college will remove all warning, probation, suspension or conditional probation status from students increasing their cumulative GPA to above 2.0.

Appeals

Suspended students can submit an appeal to the Vice President of Student Services as long as they have not filed any previous appeals or have received above a 2.0 GPA in every course. In an approved appeal, the student must show proof of circumstances over which the student had no control and/or show proof of making measurable and substantial progress toward raising their GPA. The Vice President reviews appeals on a case-by-case basis. The Vice President may take the following actions on an appeal:

• Grant the appeal and move the student to conditional probation status
• Grant the appeal under certain conditions and move the student to conditional probation status
• Deny the appeal

The decision of the Vice President is final.

Graduation And Academic Honors

Students planning to graduate need to submit an Application for Degree/Certificate form for priority evaluation. The application for Degree/Certificate is available online. Centralia College will mail diplomas or certificates approximately 60 days after the grades post at the end of the quarter.

Priority Deadline to Submit Application for Degree/Certificate

Time Restriction for Graduation

Students’ graduation requirements are determined by the academic catalog when they began their degree programs. Students may also elect to take advantage of later changes to their degree programs by electing to use catalog requirements after time of admittance. For special admissions programs, the active catalog is when the student was admitted into the program. Students who stop attending over one year (four quarters) must reapply to the college and use the current catalog requirements at the time of readmission to the college/program. For discontinued programs, Centralia College will honor discontinued program degree requirements for five years after discontinuation of the program.

Academic Residency

Students must earn at least 15 credits or 25 percent (whichever is lower) of the credits being applied towards the degree or certificate from Centralia College. Credit granted through academic credit for prior learning is excluded from fulfilling the academic residency requirement.

Commencement Ceremony

A commencement ceremony is held at the end of the academic year. Students who applied for graduation during that year may take part in the ceremony. There is a fee for a graduation cap and gown.

Academic Honors

Quarterly Honors
Quarterly honors will be documented on the transcript in the appropriate term for all students who take 12 or more decimal graded units and qualify based on their GPA. Students who take less than 12 decimal graded units are not eligible for quarterly honors. Students with a quarterly GPA of 3.9 to 4.0 will be on the President’s List. Students with a quarterly GPA of 3.75 to 3.89 will be on the Vice President’s List. Students with a quarterly GPA of 3.50 to 3.74 will be on the Dean’s List.

Graduation Honors
This applies to any student who earns a degree or certificate of proficiency.

• HIGHEST HONORS: Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.90 to 4.0 will graduate with HIGHEST HONORS and receive a medallion and gold cord.
• HIGH HONORS: Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.75 to 3.89 will graduate with HIGH HONORS and will receive a gold cord.
• HONORS: Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 to 3.74 will graduate with HONORS and receive a silver cord.

Individuals receiving the honors listed above will be recognized in the commencement program and have the honor stated when their name is announced at the commencement ceremony. Honor grades are calculated through winter quarter for the commencement program and ceremony.

Directory Restriction and Graduation/Commencement
If a directory restriction request is in place, Centralia College is prevented from including the student’s name in the commencement program and public notifications. No directory information would be released to any person. Requests for confidentiality are permanent until removed in writing by the student. If a student would like to revoke the restriction for commencement purposes, they will need to contact Enrollment Services.