Graduation Requirements
All students expecting to meet graduation requirements for a degree or diploma must present a Graduation Application to the Director of Records and Registration and fulfill all financial obligations to the College prior to graduation. Graduating students are required to meet program requirements specified in the semester based curriculum standard. Students who have been identified using FinishFirst, that have met all program requirements, will be contacted by the Records and Registration Department to receive their degree and/or diploma and confirm if they plan to participate in the Spring graduation ceremony.
1. 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 of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development and validation of competencies may be required by oral or written tests and/or demonstration of skills.
2. Students must have a program grade point average of no less than 2.0 to graduate.
3. To qualify for any degree or diploma a student must take at least 25 percent semester hours credit at Western Piedmont Community College, including the final 10 semester hours credit. In addition, 75 percent of the total semester hours credit listed in the Core or Required Major Hours category of the program of study must be taken at WPCC.
4. In no case shall the combined total of any transfer credit hours, credit by examinations, credit for external examinations, or course substitutions represent more than 75 percent of the specified number of hours required for the degree or diploma toward which students are applying those credits. (Amended 6/7/23)
5. To qualify for any certificate, a student must complete 25 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. (Amended 12/19/23.)
6. To qualify for an Associate Degree or diploma, students must complete an approved curriculum:
a. 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 semester hours credit required is 60-64.
b. For the Associate in Applied Science Degree (AAS) or a diploma, the specific curriculum standard for the program must be followed.
7. Students applying 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.
Permission to graduate in absentia must be obtained from the Dean of Student Services. Exceptions to the stated graduation requirements may be authorized in extenuating circumstances. For consideration, a student petition must be completed and submitted to the Office of the Director of Records and Registration for processing.
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 degree or General Occupational Technology degree.