Academic Counseling FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
General
Westchester Community College mandates “common curriculum experiences stressing those areas of knowledge and skill which form a base for establishing lifelong learning patterns.” The College has established two core curricula, one for the A.A. and A.S. degrees and the other for the A.A.S. degree. Consult your catalog or Academic Advisor for further information.
Humanities are those courses listed under Arts, Dance, Drama, Film, Music, Philosophy, Foreign Language and, in the Humanities curriculum, Literature. Behavioral Sciences are those courses listed under Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology and Social Sciences are those courses listed under Economics, Geography, History and Political Sciences.
Yes. For the A.A. and A.S. degree, two mathematics and two science courses are required. For the A.A.S. degree, one mathematics and two science courses or two mathematics and one science course are required.
Some curricula either require or recommend Foreign Language courses. Consult the online catalog, Academic Counselor or Faculty Advisor.
Yes. Please contact the Transfer Evaluator in the Admissions Office.
Westchester Community College does not give credit for “Life Experience”; however, credit may be available at the four-year College when you transfer.
Placement Information
All new matriculated students, except those that meet the waiver guidelines, must take the Placement surveys. All transfer students are required to take the Placement surveys unless proof is provided of completion of college-level math, reading, and writing courses with a grade of “C” or better from a regionally accredited college or university (or if other waiver guidelines are met). For more information about how to waive the placement surveys, please see http://www.sunywcc.edu/testingcenter. For information about placement testing requirements for other groups of students, including students applying into the Early Admit Program, 24-credit GED program, and others, please see www.sunywcc.edu/testingcenter
Please see: www.sunywcc.edu/testingcenter
Only ESL Introduction to Academic Writing 2 and Advanced Reading count toward graduation as free electives. However, they many not transfer to four-year institutions. Other preparatory courses DO NOT COUNT toward graduation but will appear on your transcript together with the grade for the course. They are also used to determine enrollment status and financial aid eligibility.
It depends on your placement results. Your responses to the Directed Self-Placement Questionnaires will determine your academic placements for English, reading, and mathematics. It is required that you enroll in skills courses first, if needed, before taking college level courses.
You may challenge the results of your placements by taking a challenge exam. Challenge exams are offered for all placement areas. For more information on challenge exams please visit, Additional Placement Services – Westchester Community College (sunywcc.edu). You may only take a challenge exam prior to the start of the course. Please speak with a counselor for more information.
All students who are placed into basic skills courses are required to take that course even though they have already taken a similar course at another college. You may not proceed to a college level course until a satisfactory grade in the preparatory course is achieved. Please note, Challenge exams are offered for all placement areas. For more information on challenge exams please visit, Additional Placement Services. You may only take a challenge exam prior to the start of the course. Please speak with a counselor for more information.
Transfer Courses
You may transfer a maximum of 32 credits as long as they are a C grade or better and are the grade point equivalent of 2.0.
Your official transcript will be evaluated after you have formally enrolled. However, a counselor can give you an informal evaluation. If you are currently a student, ask the registrar to send a copy of your other college’s transcript to the evaluator in the Admissions office.
The names of your transferred courses will not appear on your Westchester Community College transcript. Specific classes that have transferred into Westchester Community College are available and you may request a copy of the evaluation at your Counselor’s Office.
Yes. Request at the Registrar’s Office to have the Transfer Evaluator, reevaluate the credits.
It is recommended that you start looking into the process and exploring your plans as early as possible. The Transfer Office, your Counselor and Curriculum Chairperson can assist you with your decision.
Grades and Credits
If you are a full time student, you may take up to 19 credits. On rare occasions, permission to take more may be obtained from the Associate Dean and the Curriculum Chairperson. Part-time students may take up to 11 credits. Students in good academic standing, may register for up to 6 credits in each summer session without special permission from the appropriate Associate Dean and the Curriculum Chairperson.
Westchester Community College does not endorse overloading of classes. If you have a concern see your Counselor or the appropriate Associate Dean.
Schedule changes for on-campus classes must be completed during the first week of the semester. We call this the Add/Drop time. If you are dropping a class, no refunds will be given after the third week of class.
It is official College policy that at the closing of the Add/Drop time, no further changes may be made or processed.
A student whose academic record does not meet College Standards shall be academically dismissed and may only register for a maximum of 2 courses or eight (8) charged credits per semester. A matriculated student’s status will be changed to non-matriculated.
Academic Standards for Dismissal
| Attempted Academic Credits | Cumulative GPA | Last Semester of Attendance GPA | Academic Status |
| 0-31 | Less than 2.00 | Any | Academic Probation |
| 32-47 | Less than 2.00 | 2.00 and greater | Academic Probation |
| 32-47 | Less than 2.00 | Less than 2.00 | Academic Restriction |
| 48+ | Less than 2.00 | 2.00 and greater | Academic Probation |
| 48+ | Less than 2.00 | Less than 2.00 (first time in this category) | Academic Restriction |
| 48+ | Less than 2.00 | Less than 2.00 (second time in this category) | Academic Dismissal |
To petition for reinstatement from academic dismissal, the application process is as follows:
- Complete a Re-entry Application for Academically Dismissed Students available in the Registrar’s Office, the Counseling Office, and online by clicking on the above link. The application must be filed at least 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the regular fall or spring semester.
- Submit any transcripts from other colleges attended in the interim.
- Make an appointment with the Curriculum Chair assigned to the program of study you seek to enter or re-enter.
- Make an appointment with the Academic Dean (or Dean’s designee) of the Division that houses the program of study. The application and information will be evaluated by the Academic Dean or Dean’s designee. If the application for re-entry is approved, the student will be reinstated as a non-matriculated student on academic restriction.
To be reinstated as a matriculated student, a student must have a semester GPA of 2.0 and have a minimum status of academic probation. Reinstatement to matriculated status does not automatically mean financial aid reinstatement, since financial aid eligibility is governed by separate standards.
Reinstatement to matriculated status does not automatically mean reinstatement into a student’s former curriculum, since reinstatement or entry into certain curricula requires the permission of the Curriculum Chair. Curricula that require special permission from the Curriculum Chair include, but are not limited to, Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Radiologic Technology, Food Service Administration, Veterinary Technology and Human Services.
You must repeat the course if it is required for graduation. You may repeat any course in which you received an F. Your failing grade will always remain on your transcript, but your new grade will be the grade used in computing your GPA. However, a four-year college may recompute the average including the F grade. Courses repeated after graduation will not change the graduation average.
Yes. Help is available through the Academic Support Center. Subject tutorials are also available. Speak with your instructor about your needs. Look for the brochure “Don’t Drop Out, Drop In” which is available throughout the campus or see your Counselor.
Speak to your instructor about why you received an Incomplete. You have one semester to complete the work of the course.
Other
Contact the Counseling Office for assistance in making an appointment to see a Counselor for academic advisement or to find out who your Faculty Chairperson is.
The following services are available: Career and Transfer Counseling, Academic and Personal Counseling, Disability Services, Financial Aid, International Student Services, Honors Program, Student Activates, Women’s Forum and more. See your Counselor for additional assistance.
You may change your major by seeing a Counselor who will advise the Registrar’s Office of the change.
Absolutely. You may withdraw from a course without penalty during the first nine weeks of the semester by completing a withdrawal form and bringing it to the Registrar’s Office.
See your Counselor for information about withdrawing and/or a complete College withdrawal. To leave the College without academic penalty you must withdraw from all courses before the last day of classes.
You must file for graduation in the Registrar’s Office usually by the end of February for the May Commencement Exercises. Students who complete their graduation requirements in the summer must also file for graduation in the Registrar’s Office and are invited to participate in the Commencement ceremony the following May. It is important to see your Curriculum Chairperson to make sure that you have fulfilled the requirements to graduate.
See the Westchester Community College catalog and the Course Schedule and/or go to the Counseling Office, Room 217A in the Student Center, for additional assistance.
For students returning to Westchester Community College after a prior unsuccessful start and a lengthy absence, our institution offers the Fresh Start Program. Achieving success after an unsuccessful first try is not uncommon. Students find themselves unable to continue college for different reasons. The Fresh Start Program provides eligible students with an opportunity for academic success.
- To be Eligible: Student must not have enrolled for undergraduate courses at Westchester Community College for, at least, 2 consecutive years prior to returning.
- Criteria required to apply a student must:
- complete 12 undergraduate academic credits with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
- be matriculated in a degree or certificate program.
- Application process: After completing 12 or more undergraduate academic credits with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, a student must see the counselor(s) responsible for the Fresh Start Program in the Office of Academic Counseling & Student Success to complete an application.
- Forgiveness after meeting Eligibility and Application process:
-
- Once approved for a Fresh Start, all of a student’s grades of “D” and “F” earned prior to his/her return are excluded from their cumulative GPA and given asterisks (*) on the transcript. The excluded course grades cannot be re-included later to complete academic requirements. From the forgiveness point the transcript will be marked with the term “Fresh Start”
Caveats:
- Fresh Start can be used by each student only once.
- An Academic Fresh Start will NOT automatically make a student eligible for financial aid. Please contact the Financial Aid office for further information.
- Fresh Start does not apply to any completed degree or certificate.