Academic Persistence and Catalog Requirements

Students attending Howard Community College will follow the catalog requirements in effect during the semester they enrolled, or any catalog thereafter, provided they maintain continuous enrollment and do not have enrollment sanctions related to academic standing or the Student Code of Conduct. Students may take up to two calendar years off and still graduate under the catalog requirements they had been following as long as they complete a course in the last semester attended and complete a course in the semester they return (some exceptions can apply to nursing and allied health programs). Students who take more than two calendar years off must be readmitted to the college though they do not need to pay another standard application fee.

All students who change their areas of study must follow the curriculum requirements of the catalog in place when the change is made. (Exceptions are possible only in extraordinary circumstances such as military deployment.)

Even when students select the same learning program, they must follow the program requirements in place when they are readmitted.

To officially change an area of study, students must complete a Change Area of Study form with an advisor in the office of admissions and advising. This form is available in this office or on the college’s advising website (howardcc.edu/advising).

Students who have been granted course substitutions or who previously transferred credits into the college must also officially request a re-evaluation of their academic record based upon their new area of study and/or the new catalog they are following.