Graduation
All students expecting to meet graduation requirements for a degree or diploma must present a petition to the Director of Records and Registration during final semester registration and fulfill financial obligations to the College prior to graduation. Graduating students are required to meet program requirements specified in the semester based curriculum standard.
- Courses taken more than seven (7) years prior to graduation may not be applicable to certain majors. Final action is taken by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and validation of competencies may be required by oral or written tests and/or demonstration of skills.
- Students must have a program grade point average of not less than 2.0 to graduate.
- To qualify for any degree or diploma, a student must take 30 SHC at Western Piedmont Community College, including the final 10 SHC. In addition, 50 percent of the total semester hour’s credit listed in the Core or Required Major Hours category of the program of study must be taken at WPCC.
- In no case shall the combined total of any transfer credit hours, credits by examination, credit for external examinations, or course substitutions represent more than one-half of the specified number of hours required for the degree or diploma toward which students are applying those credits.
- To qualify for any certificate, a student must complete 50 percent of the total semester hours credit of the program at WPCC. Certificates of the same disciplined degree or diploma will not be awarded during the graduating semester or after.
- To qualify for an Associate Degree or diploma, students must complete an approved curriculum:
- For the Associate in Arts (AA), the Associate in Science (AS), the Associate in Fine Arts (AFA), or the Associate in General Education (AGE) Degree, the total SHC required is 60-64.
- For the Associate in Applied Science Degree (AAS) or a diploma, the specific curriculum standard for the program must be followed.
- Students petitioning for graduation shall meet the program requirements of the catalog in effect during the year of their original attendance in that program (as long the student remains consistently enrolled) or the catalog in effect during the year of their graduation from that program.
Degrees and diplomas are awarded during graduation exercises. Permission to graduate in absentia must be obtained from the Dean of Student Services. Graduation fees will not be refunded. Exceptions to the stated graduation requirements may be authorized in unusual circumstances, provided the student submits a formal petition to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Five graduation marshals are selected for each ceremony, a Chief Marshal, two Faculty Marshals and two Student Marshals. The Chief Marshal is the previous year Excellence in Teaching Recipient; the Student Marshals are the top two juniors enrolled in Burke Middle College. Selection for the Faculty Marshals is made on the basis of the highest grade point average, non-graduating student, of classes earned at Western Piedmont Community College. All efforts are made to select a freshman and a sophomore student.
Students who are candidates for any degree cannot be eligible for the Associate in General Education or the Associate in Applied Science in General Occupational Technology.
Consistent Enrollment
Students are considered consistently enrolled unless there is a non-enrollment period of two consecutive semesters. Students will be required to update their program information in Student Records upon their return to WPCC.
Physical Education Requirement
Most AA, AFA, AS, and AGE programs require 2 SHC of physical education. Students may not audit physical education classes.
Students seeking a waiver of physical education requirements must petition the Coordinator of Physical Education and include a letter on the student’s health diagnosis/prognosis or physical limitations. Students granted a waiver will be required to enroll in HEA 110.