Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements

To qualify for an associate’s degree, a student must be admitted to a degree or certificate program, complete the program requirements as identified in the audit curriculum, attain at least a 2.0 cumulative and program GPA, and petition to graduate. 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.Students seeking an AAB, AAS, AIS, or ATS degree should consult the curriculum for their program, published elsewhere in 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 above, may be applied toward Cincinnati State graduation requirements, with the program chair 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), and Associate of Technical Study (ATS) degrees, a student must complete at least 15 credit hours in general education areas, distributed as follows:

Communication Skills		9 credits
Social Sciences and Humanities		6 credits

Communication Skills - 9 credits

6 credits written communication	department code ENG
3 credits oral communication	department code COMM

Social Sciences and Humanities - 6 credits selected from these areas:

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

Arts/Humanities, including:

art	department code ART
communication	department code COMM1
culture studies	department code CULT
foreign languages	department code FRN,SPN
literature	department code LIT
music	department code MUS
philosophy	department code PHI
religion	department code REL
theatre	department code THE

1	but not including course taken to meet oral communication requirement

Students seeking the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree must meet the general education requirements described for these degrees in the Humanities and Sciences division section of this catalog.

College Orientation Requirement

All Cincinnati State students who enroll in a degree program are required to complete one college orientation course: FYE 100 College Survival Skills; FYE 105 College Success Strategies; or FYE 110 Community College Experience.

The orientation course must be completed as part of the first semester of classes taken at Cincinnati State. Students in the Cincinnati State Honors Program fulfill the orientation course requirement by completing HNR 100 Orientation to Honors.

Some certificate programs also require students to complete FYE 100 College Survival Skills, FYE 105 College Success Strategies, or FYE 110 Community College Experience. Each certificate program that requires completion of an orientation course is indicated in the curriculum published in this catalog.

Degree-seeking or certificate-seeking students who have already successfully completed 12 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 orientation course.

The orientation courses FYE 100 College Survival Skills, FYE 105 College Success Strategies, and FYE 110 Community College Experience introduce students to the college experience and to Cincinnati State’s expectations and resources for new students. The orientation course earns college credit, but it does not fulfill general education or core course requirements for degree or certificate programs.

Graduation Honors

Associate’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 commencement 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 Petition

All students who wish to graduate from Cincinnati State must file a Petition to Graduate with the Office of the Registrar. The purpose of this Petition is to verify that the student will meet all degree or certificate requirements prior to graduation. The petition must be filed in the Office of the Registrar during the registration period of the student’s last semester. Students should check their Degree Audit and meet with their academic advisor regularly to make sure they are on track to graduate. Specific graduation petition deadlines can be found on the Calendar of Important Dates in the Registrar’s section of the College website.

A student’s graduation date is the last day of the academic semester in which the student completes all requirements. This date is the official date of graduation that is listed on the student’s academic transcript.

If a student does not meet all requirements for graduation during the semester in which they petition, the Office of the Registrar or academic advisor may move the petition to the next semester. The College holds only one commencement ceremony each year.

Participation in Commencement

A student may participate in the annual commencement ceremony if he or she meets all of the following requirements:

• The student will satisfactorily complete all requirements for an associate’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 30 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 a petition to graduate to the Office of the Registrar, by the published deadline applicable to the semester when the student will complete all degree requirements.
• The student has submitted an Intent to Participate form by the published deadline.

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 using the MyServices section of the Cincinnati State 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 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.

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% of their certificate program requirements at Cincinnati State, attain at least a 2.0 cumulative and program GPA, and 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 Studies or Associate of Individualized Study degrees, must complete at least 30 credit hours of college-level, non-co-op/non-clinical credit hours at Cincinnati State. Credit hours earned in courses which combine class and lab hours will be considered non-clinical credit hours for the purpose of the residency requirement.

Students seeking an Associate of Applied Business or Associate of Applied Science degree must earn a minimum of 15 credit hours of college-level, non-co-op-/non-clinical technical coursework (as identified in the Associate Degree Program Summary/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 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 shall be no less than 20 credits at Cincinnati State.

Students who transfer to Cincinnati State from another accredited Ohio college or university with a completed Transfer Module are subject to the guidelines in the “State of Ohio Policy for Institutional Transfer ” statement found elsewhere in this catalog.