Registration

Student Classification

The classification of a student depends upon the number of college credits the student has earned or the number of semester hours credit (SHC) in which the student is enrolled.

Full-time

A student enrolled in at least twelve (12) semester hours credit of curriculum classes during the semester.

Part-time

A student enrolled in fewer than twelve (12) semester hours credit of curriculum classes during the semester.

Freshman

A student with fewer than thirty (30) semester hours of earned credits.

Sophomore

A student with thirty (30) or more semester hours of earned credits.

Special

A student enrolled in credit courses but not in a specified program of study.

Academic Year

The academic year is made up of two sixteen week semesters (fall and spring) and an eight week summer semester. Certain courses each semester may be offered on abbreviated schedules. The course schedule for each term will indicate beginning and ending dates for these mini-semesters. Students may enter at the beginning of any semester if students meet the course/program entrance requirements. Some programs may be entered only at the beginning of the fall semester. For specific dates, see the College Academic Calendar published in this catalog.

Credit and Contact Hours

Credit for college work is recorded in semester hour credit (SHC). One SHC is awarded for one contact hour of classroom work, two or three contact hours of laboratory, three contact hours of clinical/shop or ten hours of work experience per week for a term of sixteen weeks or the equivalent. A contact hour is the actual class time that students attend class, laboratory, clinical, or shop per week. This information is given for each course in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog.

Registration Changes (Schedule Adjustments)

Necessary changes in registration may be made during the schedule adjustment period. Schedule adjustment periods are published in our Semester Guide, located on our website Class Schedules page

Students must complete the schedule adjustment form for all courses or course sections changed. The form is not official until all procedures have been completed, including payment of additional tuition and/or other financial obligations. A course dropped during the add-drop period does not appear on student transcript.

Program Changes

Curriculum students considering a program change are encouraged to discuss objectives with their assigned advisor or a counselor.  A Profile/Program Change form must be completed by the student and returned to Student Services. To process a Program Change, students may download a Program Change form and follow the provided directions for submission or visit Student Services to complete the form. 

When students change from one program to another, courses taken in the previous program may be applicable within the new program as well as the grade earned in the course.  These course grades will be used in the calculation of the new program GPA.

The courses allowed for transfer into the new program will be determined by the coordinator of that program in consultation with the student and the Director of Records and Registration. This policy shall also apply to students who change from a “Visiting/Special Credit Student” into a program major. Veterans must receive approval from the Veterans Affairs Office on campus to change programs.

Multiple program changes may place a student's Financial Aid in jeopardy. It is recommended that students consult with Financial Aid before making a change to their program of study.

Course Substitutions

Core course substitutions may be made only for courses in the arts and sciences discipline areas. All other substitutions must be approved by student petition or course substitution form. In no case shall the combined total of any transfer credit hours, credit by exam hours and course substitution hours represent more than seventy-five percent (75%) of the specified number of hours required for the degree or diploma toward which students are applying those credits.

Schedule Overloads

The minimum number of semester hours credit required to qualify as a full-time student is twelve (12). No student may take more than twenty-one (21) semester hours credit without written permission of the Vice President for Academic Affairs & Workforce Development. Students enrolled in two or more segments of a condensed course sequence must obtain written permission to register for more than fourteen (14) credit hours.

Students requesting to take overloads must meet the following criteria:

1. Students cannot register into an overload status in their first semester at Western Piedmont Community College,
2. Cumulative GPA must be at least 3.0; and,
3. Students cannot be taking developmental courses during an overload status.

Students must complete a “Curriculum Overload Approval Form” with their academic advisor. The form must then be approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs & Workforce Development and forwarded to the Office of Records and Registration. If this form is not completed, and submitted as required, the student’s schedule may be adjusted by the Director of Records and Registration in order to drop the total credit hours below overload status.

Curriculum Prerequisites

The purpose of a prerequisite and/or a co-requisite is to insure student success in subsequent coursework. State prerequisites and co-requisites may not be waived. Local prerequisites or co-requisites may be waived with appropriate approvals and permission of the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development. Documentation of the approved waiver will be maintained on file.

Prerequisites or co-requisites may be met or waived with appropriate approvals and/or permission of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs & Workforce Development (“Vice President”).   The college recognizes the following ways for awarding credits to meet prerequisite or co-requisite requirements:

Credit by Examination

A student may petition the course instructor by written application for permission to seek course credit by examination.  No more than 75 percent of the specified number of hours required for the degree or diploma may be earned through proficiency examination.  To obtain permission to take a credit by examination test, students should follow these steps:

1. The student must contact the Coordinator or Department Chair to request for a credit by examination.
2. Approval must be granted from the Coordinator or Department chair.
3. The Coordinator or Department chair will arrange a time for the test to be given no later than two weeks after receiving the student’s request.          
4. If the student passes the proficiency exam, a grade of “NC” is assigned. If the student does not pass the proficiency exam, the student must complete the course with a passing grade to earn credit.

Credit hours will be recorded in the Total Hours Earned and will count towards hours for graduation; however, there will be no Quality Points assigned, the grade will not affect the student’s GPA and Financial Aid or Veteran’s Benefits shall pay for courses in which a grade of “NC” is earned.

Joint Services Transcript Evaluation

Joint Services Transcript (“JST”) is an academically accepted document approved by the American Council on Education (“ACE”) to validate a service member's military occupational experience and training along with the corresponding ACE college credit recommendations.  When the College receives an official copy of a JST, the Director of Records and Registration will review and apply appropriate course credit.  The Vice President will be consulted if there is need for further discussion regarding proposed course credit.

College Board Advance Placement Program (“AP”)  

Students wishing to receive credit for advanced placement tests must submit an official AP score report to the Office of Records and Registration. Students achieving a minimum score of three on an AP test of the College Board will be given credit for the course covered by the test. Scores of four or five may receive advanced credit.

College-Level Examination Program (“CLEP”)        

Students wishing to receive credit for CLEP tests must submit an official CLEP transcript to the Office of Records and Registration. Students achieving a score at or above the minimum score set by the American Council on Education will receive the appropriate credit for the subject covered by the test.

Course Placement           

Western Piedmont Community College uses multiple methods - such as high school grade point average, ACT and SAT scores, GED, and HiSET exam scores, placement test scores and/or transfer course credit - to determine whether students need additional preparation before attempting college-level math and English courses. Credit will be given based on exam scores as determined by the Office of Records & Registration.

Postsecondary Institution Transfer Credit (Amended 6/6/23)

Course work transferred or accepted for credit must represent collegiate course work with course content and level of instruction resulting in student competencies at least equivalent to those of students enrolled in the course offered at the College.

Courses taken more than seven (7) years ago may not be applicable to a student’s current program or major.  No technical or vocational courses that were completed more than seven years ago will satisfy prerequisite or corequisite requirements.

Any such earned credit must meet the minimum College academic standards of a grade of “C” or better and must parallel the content of similar courses offered. Transfer credit may be awarded at the 100 level or above. Grades and quality points do not transfer. The maximum amount of credit allowed to be transferred or accepted is seventy-five percent (75%) of the total semester hours credit listed in the Core or Required Major Hours category of the College’s program of study;

For all others, the following criteria will be considered in determining the acceptability of the transfer course work:

1. Accreditation of the school by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. Accreditation does not guarantee acceptance of transfer credit.
2. Equivalency of course descriptions, outcomes and analysis of course level, content, quality and comparability. It shall be the student’s responsibility to provide documentation of this equivalency, which may include, but is not limited to, syllabi, course catalogs, course outcomes, etc.
3. If the school was not accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education at the time the course was taken, additional documentation will be required. It shall be the student’s responsibility to provide any additional documentation requested. Transcripts written in a language other than English must be translated by an evaluation service recognized by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). A certified copy of the English translation and evaluation should be submitted with the transcript. The College does not provide translation services.

The responsibility for determining transfer credit from other colleges and universities rests with the Records and Registration department. When there is doubt about the appropriateness of transfer credit or when a student wishes to appeal a transfer credit decision, the transcript will be referred to the appropriate faculty member(s) and Dean, whose decision will be final. In such cases, the Dean will notify Records and Registration who will note the decision in the student's academic file. Time limits may be imposed in certain situations, such as for allied health program courses.

Withdrawal from Courses or College

Student Withdrawal from Course(s)

1. Ten Percent (10%) Date

   Students may withdraw after the ten percent point of the semester, or after the official refund period of the term, by contacting the instructor of the course, either in person or by email. The instructor will process the withdrawal information through WPCC’s electronic forms process, sending the information to Student Services.

2. Fifty Percent (50%) Date

A grade of “W” or “IW” will be recorded if withdrawal is on or before the fifty-percent point of the course, regardless of the procedure used for the withdrawal. After the fifty-percent point, a “W” or  “IW” grade will be recorded if students were satisfactorily achieving the course objectives at the time of withdrawal; otherwise a grade of “F” may be recorded.  No student-initiated withdrawals  will be processed the last week of the term.

Violation of Attendance Policy

Students who violate the attendance policy of a course may be withdrawn from that course by the instructor. All obligations to the College must be met by the withdrawing student.  The College reserves the right to withhold records and to deny registration until all obligations are met.

Student Reinstatement to Course(s)

Students who have personally withdrawn from a course, or who have been withdrawn for whatever reason, must obtain permission from the original instructor before reinstatement to the course.

Student Withdrawal from the College

Students contemplating withdrawal from the College are encouraged to talk with an advisor or success coach before completing the withdrawal process.