Approved by the Board of Trustees of Rockland Community College on April 21, 1960. Amended on April 15, 2004. Amended on June 26, 2014. Degree Requirements amended August 19, 2021.
Degree Requirements
Completion of an Associate Degree Program requires a minimum of 60 credits exclusive of credit equivalent courses, such as ESL, with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0.
Completion of a Certificate Program requires a minimum of 30 credits, a program GPA of 2.0, is in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 1.5 and above), and adheres to all accreditation standards where appropriate.
For those programs that require students to a complete Exercise and Human Performance course(s) a waiver from this requirement may be requested, for medical reasons, from the Program Director from the Exercise and Human Performance Studies department. Students seeking a medical waiver must present a doctor’s statement indicating why such a waiver is necessary. Students that are granted a waiver for Exercise and Human Performance will still need to complete the required number of degree credits. Students can take no more than three (3) credits of Exercise and Human Performance activity courses towards a degree or certificate requirement.
In an extenuating circumstance, a substitution for a graduation requirement may be requested from the Program Director. Substitutions may be granted for no more than three (3) courses for a maximum of eleven (11) credits. All course substitutions must comply with General Education, SUNY Student Mobility and the New York State Department of Education policies. In addition, course substitutions can only be done when the courses are equivalent, for example, a liberal arts course can only be substituted with another liberal arts course.
In addition, student may elect to take a course on a pass/fail basis. The maximum number of pass/fail courses that can be used toward degree/certificate requirements shall not exceed two (2) classes for a maximum of eight (8) credits. Please refer to the College’s approved Pass/Fail policy for further information.
Courses that are repeated in order to earn a higher grade can only be used one time to fulfill a degree requirement.
All students seeking an Associate degree or Certificate must provide documentation indicating that the graduation applicant has received a high school diploma or its equivalent before the degree/certificate will be conferred.
(Please also refer to Dual Degree Policy)
Program Graduation Requirements
The program requirements published in the College Catalog are accurate at the time of publication. The most up-to-date requirements for each program are published annually in the form of a Degree Sheet. While students are well-advised to follow the most recent Degree Sheet, students are permitted to graduate under the program requirements of any Degree Sheet published since the student started at the College; however, no student is permitted to graduate using a Degree Sheet that is more than five (5) years old. A student must have successfully completed at least one course in order for the five year period to begin. A part-time student who spends more than five years at the College should work closely with an academic advisor or a counselor in the Student Development Center to be certain that all graduation requirements are met.
Commencement Requirements
Candidates for graduation will be allowed to participate in the commencement ceremony if they have six or fewer credits remaining toward completion of a degree program and if they have satisfied all other graduation requirements. Candidates who have credits remaining toward completion of a degree program will be appropriately differentiated on the commencement program from those who have completed all requirements for graduation.
Candidates having six or fewer credits remaining toward completion of a degree program who are allowed to participate in the commencement ceremony must first be registered to complete the necessary courses at the earliest opportunity.