Registration and Enrollment

Auditing Courses

An audit designation must be specified at the time of registration. No credit will be given. Audit status can ONLY be converted to credit status and credit status can ONLY be converted to audit status during the first twenty percent of scheduled meeting dates of a section. Students may convert their status only once during that period. Audited courses do not count as part of the semester’s credit hour load nor as credit towards graduation. Audited courses will appear on the transcript with a grade of N. Students must meet course prerequisites to audit.

CustomClass

CustomClass is an enrollment option that allows students to enroll in credit classes without having been admitted as credit students or meeting the normal prerequisites. CustomClass students select this option at the time of registration and CANNOT later change to credit or audit status. They will be exposed to the material and instruction in a credit course but will not receive grades or transcripts for the course. Some courses may be eligible for CEUs (continuing education units) or certifications from the Continuing Education Division. Students may take up to 8 credits per semester as CustomClasses. For more information, call 443-518-4659, or visit www.howardcc.edu and search for “CustomClass.”

Cancellation of Courses

Howard Community College builds its schedule of courses based on enrollment trends and community needs. The college may cancel any course at its sole discretion. Sometimes courses are canceled due to insufficient enrollment. Early registration and payment helps ensure that a course will run. If a student is affected by a course cancellation, the student will be notified via e-mail.

Credits

One semester hour of credit is generally assigned for each lecture period or laboratory session. Lecture periods are 52 minutes and laboratory sessions are two to three hours in length per credit.

Academic Schedule (Full-Time/Part-Time)

A full-time student schedule for either the fall semester or the spring semester of the winter/spring term generally consists of 12 to 18 credit hours. A student registered for fewer than 12 credit hours is classified as part-time. A schedule in excess of 18 credit hours must be approved by an academic advisor. Except in extraordinary circumstances, such approval will not extend beyond a load of 21 credit hours and will be based on a student’s demonstrated ability to be successful with a full load of 18 (non-audit) credit hours. During the summer term, a student may take no more than 12 credit hours across all sessions. During the winter intersession, a student may take no more than eight credit hours.

Students enrolled in certain allied health programs with a schedule of fewer than 12 credit hours, during the clinical phase, may be considered full-time from a program perspective. However, for financial aid purposes, a student must enroll in 12 aid-eligible credit hours to be considered full-time. Total developmental coursework in excess of 30 credit hours is not aid-eligible. More than one repeat of a previously passed class is not aid-eligible credit hours.