Graduation Requirements
To qualify for an associate’s or bachelor's degree, a student must be admitted to a degree program, complete the program requirements as identified in the Degree Audit curriculum, and attain at least a 2.0 cumulative and program grade point average (GPA). Completion is defined as earning the grade A, B, C, D, or S for any course. An earned D may not count toward graduation, depending on program and/or division policies.
To qualify for a certificate, a student must be admitted to a certificate program, complete the program requirements as identified in the Degree Audit curriculum, and attain at least a 2.0 cumulative and program GPA. Completion is defined as earning the grade A, B, C, D, or S for any course. An earned D may not count toward graduation, depending on program and/or division policies.
General Education Requirements
Students seeking the degree Associate of Applied Business (AAB), Associate of Applied Science (AAS), Associate of Individualized Study (AIS), Associate of Technical Study (ATS), Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS), or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) should consult the curriculum for their program, published in the Academic Divisions section of this Catalog, to determine how the general education requirements should be met. Individual degree programs may require students to complete program-specified general education courses, or may permit students to choose some general education elective courses.
Transfer credit for social sciences or humanities courses completed at another institution, in disciplines not listed below, may be applied toward Cincinnati State graduation requirements, with the program chair's and division dean’s permission.
As part of the graduation requirements for the Associate of Applied Business (AAB), Associate of Applied Science (AAS), Associate of Individualized Study (AIS), Associate of Technical Study (ATS), Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS), and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees, a student must complete at least 15 credit hours in general education areas, distributed as follows:
| Communication Skills | 6 credits | |
| Arts/Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences | 6 credits | |
| Mathematics | 3 credits | |
Written/Oral Communication - 6 credits
| 3 credits Written Communication | ENG 101 or ENG 101A |
| 3 Credits Written or Oral Communication | department code ENG or COMM 110 |
Arts/Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences - 6 credits selected from two of these areas:
Arts/Humanities, including:
| Art | department code ART2 |
| Communication | department code COMM1 |
| Culture Studies | department code CULT |
| Foreign Languages | department code ASL,FRN,SPN |
| Literature | department code LIT |
| Music | department code MUS2 |
| Philosophy | department code PHI |
| Religion | department code REL |
| Theatre | department code THE2 |
- 1
Excluding COMM 110
- 2
Excluding studio or performance-based courses.
Natural Sciences, including:
| Biology | department code BIO |
| Chemistry | department code CHE |
| Environmental Science | department code EVS |
| Physics | department code PHY |
| Physical Science | department code PSC |
Social/Behavioral Sciences, including:
| Economics | department code ECO |
| Geography | department code GEO |
| History | department code HST |
| Labor Relations | department code LBR |
| Political Science | department code POL |
| Psychology | department code PSY |
| Sociology | department code SOC |
Mathematics - 3 credits
| 3 credits Mathematics | department code MAT |
Students seeking the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree must meet the general education requirements described for these degrees elsewhere in this Catalog.
Alternative Versions of Courses
Cincinnati State offers some courses in more than one version. Alternative versions are identified with a letter after the course number-- for example, ENG 101 and ENG 101A.
- The "A" version of a course has additional class time for activities to support student success.
- The "A" version of the course meets all requirements of the course without the added letter.
- In curriculum information within this Catalog, only the course number without the added letter is displayed.
First Year Experience (FYE) Requirement
All Cincinnati State students who enroll in a degree program are required to complete a First Year Experience (FYE) course as part of the first semester of classes taken at Cincinnati State. Course options include:
- FYE 100 College Success Strategies: Overview (Placement into ENG 101 is required)
- FYE 105 College Success Strategies: Overview and Application
- FYE 110 College Success Strategies: Practice and Application
- FYE 120 College Success Strategies: Campus Integration
FYE courses introduce students to the college experience and to Cincinnati State’s expectations and resources for new students, as well as college and life success skills. Students should work closely with an academic advisor to select and enroll in the appropriate FYE course.
Students in the Cincinnati State Honors Program fulfill the FYE course requirement by completing HNR 100 Orientation to Honors.
Some certificate programs also require students to complete an FYE course. The curriculum published in the Academic Divisions section of this Catalog for each certificate program indicates if an FYE course is required.
Degree-seeking or certificate-seeking students who have already successfully completed 18 or more semester credits of college-level courses at another college or university, and have received Cincinnati State transfer credit for these courses, are not required to complete an FYE course. Students who have earned an associate's or bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university will be exempt from the FYE requirement.
Graduation Honors
Associate’s or Bachelor's degree candidates who earn at least 30 semester credit hours at Cincinnati State and achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.500 or higher will graduate with honors. Honors are classified as follows:
| Cum Laude | 3.500 - 3.799 |
| Magna Cum Laude | 3.800 - 3.899 |
| Summa Cum Laude | 3.900 - 4.000 |
Honors designations in the printed program at the commencement ceremony are projected based on cumulative GPA calculations made at the end of the Fall semester. The student’s GPA at the conclusion of their degree requirements will determine the final honors designation.
Graduation Process
The Office of the Registrar is responsible for monitoring student progress in completing degree and certificate requirements.
Students will be graduated at the end of the semester in which they complete all requirements for a degree or certificate. A student cannot reverse their graduated status after it has been conferred by the Office of the Registrar.
A student who graduates will receive their diploma or certificate by mail after the conclusion of the semester when requirements were completed.
Note: Graduation conferred by the Office of the Registrar is not the same as participating in the College’s annual commencement ceremony. (See Participation in Commencement, below.)
Registrar’s notification to pending graduates: Students will receive email notification from the Registrar during the sixth week of the semester in which they are enrolled in the courses needed to complete their degree or certificate. The notification will confirm that pending successful completion of those courses, the student will graduate from applicable degree or certificate programs.
If a student does not wish to graduate, for any reason, the student may opt out for the current semester. The student will automatically be placed in the group of those eligible for graduation at the end of the next semester.
Student preparation for graduation: During the semester when they expect to complete their final courses required for graduation, students should:
- Check their personal data in Self-Service to make sure these items are accurate:
- academic degree and/or certificate programs
- mailing address
- Monitor Cincinnati State email for communication from the Registrar regarding graduation.
Participation in Commencement
A student may participate in the annual commencement ceremony if they meet all of the following requirements:
- The student will satisfactorily complete all requirements for an associate’s or bachelor's degree during or before the semester immediately preceding commencement, or the student can complete all remaining degree requirements during the semester immediately following commencement. The ability to complete requirements in the semester immediately following commencement is defined as needing no more than 15 credits, which may include the final cooperative education, clinical, or internship placement.
- Students earning a certificate which requires 24 or more credits may participate in commencement if all certificate requirements will be completed during or before the semester immediately preceding commencement.
- The student has submitted an "Intent to Participate in Commencement" eform by the published deadline. The form is available online via the College's Self-Service website.
Program Graduation Requirements (Degree Audit Curriculum)
Requirements for each degree and certificate program at Cincinnati State are published each year in this Catalog. A student is expected to fulfill the requirements in effect for the catalog year in which they are admitted to the program. This set of requirements may be referred to as the student’s Academic Evaluation or Degree Audit curriculum. Students can review a copy of their Degree Audit curriculum by logging in to the College's Self-Service website.
A student readmitted to the College after an absence of a year or more is expected to fulfill the requirements in effect at the time of readmission. Any course substitutions or waivers granted prior to readmission will not carry forward and apply toward the new requirements. Students who requested course substitutions or waivers previously must request them again and ask that they be applied toward the new catalog year.
Students should consult with their program chair or academic advisor to discuss any changes made to program requirements that could affect progress toward completing the degree or certificate program.
In situations where coursework is five years old or older, or where requisite skills may have been lost, courses previously taken are subject to review by the program chair and dean. Those courses reviewed that do not meet current program requirements and standards will not count toward degree or certificate requirements.
Using the Same Course to Meet Multiple Degree or Certificate Requirements (“Double Dipping”)
In determining the credits earned for a degree or certificate, a single course cannot be used to satisfy two different requirements for one degree or certificate. Courses designated in the College catalog as “repeatable for credit” may be applied as appropriate to satisfy differing degree/certificate requirements.
A student who previously completed a degree or certificate at Cincinnati State, and is now earning a different degree or certificate, may be able to apply courses completed for the previous degree or certificate to the requirements for the current degree or certificate.
Students should consult with their program chair or academic advisor to ensure that courses are appropriately applied to meet degree or certificate requirements.
Residency Requirement for Certificate Programs
To qualify for a certificate, students must be admitted to a certificate program, fulfill the certificate program requirements, complete a minimum of 50 percent of their certificate program requirements at Cincinnati State, attain at least a 2.0 cumulative and program grade point average (GPA), and (if applicable) submit a petition to graduate.
Residency Requirement for Degree Programs
Students seeking a degree at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, except those seeking the Associate of Technical Study degree or Associate of Individualized Study degree, must complete at least 30 credit hours of college-level coursework at Cincinnati State.
For students seeking an Associate of Applied Business or Associate of Applied Science degree, at least 15 of the 30 credit hours described above must be college-level, technical coursework (as identified in the associate's degree program Academic Evaluation) required for their program at Cincinnati State. The resident credit hours required for the degree program are applicable to the College residency requirement.
Advanced standing credit is not applicable to the College residency requirement. Credit earned at Cincinnati State through the Greater Cincinnati Collegiate Connection (formerly the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities) is applicable to the College residency requirement.
In Associate of Technical Study and Associate of Individualized Study programs, the residency requirement is that no fewer than 20 credits must be completed at Cincinnati State.
Students who transfer to Cincinnati State from another accredited Ohio college or university with a completed Ohio Transfer 36 are subject to the guidelines for Transferring College Credit found elsewhere in this Catalog.