Graduation Requirements
Graduation Requirements
To qualify for an associate’s degree, a student must be admitted to a degree program, complete the program requirements as identified in the Degree Audit curriculum, attain at least a 2.0 cumulative and program grade point average (GPA), and (if applicable) submit a 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.
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, attain at least a 2.0 cumulative and program GPA, and (if applicable) submit a 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.
General Education Requirements
Students seeking the degree Associate of Applied Business (AAB), Associate of Applied Science (AAS), Associate of Individualized Study (AIS), or Associate of Technical Study (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 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), 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 | 6 credits | |
| Arts/Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences | 6 credits | |
| Mathematics | 3 credits | |
Communication Skills - 6 credits
| 6 credits Written Communication | department code ENG |
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 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.
First Year Experience (FYE) Requirement
All Cincinnati State students who enroll in a degree program are required to complete one First Year Experience (FYE) 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.
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 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 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 his/her 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, he/she 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.
Graduation petition: Students who believe they are eligible for graduation at the end of the current semester who do not receive notification from the Office of the Registrar can complete a “Petition to Graduate” eform available through MyServices. The Registrar and the appropriate academic program chair will review the petition and the student will be notified of the petition outcome.
Student preparation for graduation: During the semester when they expect to complete their final courses required for graduation, students should:
- Check My Profile in MyServices 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 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.
- If applicable, 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 in Commencement form online in MyServices 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 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 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, 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'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 Transfer Module are subject to the guidelines in the State of Ohio Policy for Institutional Transfer statement found elsewhere in this Catalog.