Academic Advising
Academic Advising for New and Re-admitted Students
To truly succeed at PCC, all new or readmitted students enrolling in more than six credits must take an Accuplacer test (or have ACT/SAT scores on file with the Testing Center), attend a Getting Started Session and meet with an academic advisor before registering for classes. Here is what you can expect an advisor to do during a session:
- Review your academic program and test scores
- Assist you in developing an educational pathway plan
- Help you register for first-semester classes
- Assign a faculty advisor for guidance in future semesters
- Discuss and understand academic goals and how they relate to your career interests
- Help you transfer to a four-year college or university
- Refer you to the career center for career exploration, clarification and development
The Center for Academic Advising is also responsible for early advising programs, early grade check follow-up, attendance, working with financial aid suspension/probation students, basic skills advising, advising health professions students (until they transition to a health program), change of majors and advisor reassignments.
Advising for Continuing Students
Continuing students (generally students who have completed 15 or more credits) will have an assigned faculty advisor in their major who is familiar with that program’s requirements. The Center for Academic Advising will provide the student his or her faculty advisor contact information. Students who want to change their faculty advisor must go to the Center for Academic Advising for approval. Advising is an ongoing process and students should consult regularly with their faculty advisor before registering for courses each semester. On the Fremont Campus, please meet with an academic advisor in the Go!Zone.
Undeclared Students
An undeclared student is one who has not declared a major and is not working toward a certificate or degree at PCC. Undeclared students generally are not eligible for financial aid. Students who are not sure what major best suits their goals will meet with a career counselor and be advised through the Center for Academic Advising until a major is selected. On the Fremont Campus, please meet with an academic advisor in the Go!Zone.
Registration
Registering for Courses
Once you are admitted to PCC and have met with an academic advisor, you may register for classes on campus or online through the myPCC Portal. (See registration information on the Portal.) You may not register if you owe money to PCC or any other Colorado Community College System school, are a male over the age of 18 not registered with the Selective Service, or if you are on academic suspension.
Required Signatures for:
Entry into closed classes – instructor and department chair
Unmet prerequisites – department chair
Late registration – instructor and department chair
Class time conflicts – both instructors
Registration in excess of 18 credit hours – division dean
Class Schedule Changes and Course Registration
You should secure your advisor’s approval for all schedule changes.
The responsibility for changing your schedule is yours; no instructor or staff member can do it for you. To change your schedule, you must follow college regulations and obtain the appropriate signatures. You can change your schedule only during the schedule adjustment periods each semester.
Adding Courses
You may add regular courses only during the period specified on the myPCC Portal. You may add mini-courses or special-length courses up to the day the class starts. Registration after the census date is not permitted due to Colorado Opportunity Fund restrictions.
Dropping Courses
If you drop a regular course during the refund period listed on the Portal, you do not have to pay for the course. The dropped course will not appear on your permanent record. You may drop short courses, mini-courses or special-length courses without penalty before 15 percent of the course duration has passed.
You may add and drop courses in one of two ways:
- Visit any campus registration station. To add or drop a class in person, you must submit a signed schedule adjustment form.
- Log on to the myPCC Portal on PCC’s website.
For add and drop deadlines for special-length courses, contact any registration station or the Admissions and Records offices, or refer to the class schedule/bill you received when you registered.
A student will be identified as a “no-show” and dropped from a course if he or she has not attended any class sessions between the start of the course and the census date or attended but did not participate in any academically related activity prior to the census. (For online courses, simply logging in is not “academically related activity.”) Students will receive a full refund.
Withdrawing from a class after the drop deadline but before the withdrawal deadline will result in a W grade, and the student will be charged the full amount of tuition and fees. Students who are forced to withdraw from a class due to circumstances beyond their control (death of a family member, extended illness, employer-mandated change in work hours, etc.) can appeal tuition charges by submitting a Tuition Credit Request. Students must complete the Tuition Credit Request and submit it to the Records Office with documentation supporting the issue that forced the student to withdraw. The Tuition Credit Appeals Committee meets monthly to review and approve or deny the appeal. If the credit request is granted, the student balance will NOT be written off, refunded to the student, or reversed but will be processed in the following order:
- Refunded to any 3rd party that paid the original tuition;
- Repay to any federal financial aid owed to the college as a result of the appeal;
- Credit the student account for any remaining balance due caused by the withdrawal.
For any remaining tuition credit, the student may receive a voucher for tuition (not fees) for a future term to be used within the following three terms, or later as deemed appropriate in the circumstances. If the student is unable to attend in any future term and use their voucher by the expiration date, the student forfeits the value of such voucher. Please contact the Records Office at 719.549.3018 for additional information.
For a statement about PCC’s refund policy, see the Tuition and Fees section of the catalog or the current PCC Schedule of Classes.
Withdrawal Policy
PCC has instituted the following policy on class withdrawals: It is the student’s responsibility to initiate all withdrawals – from a course or the college – after meeting with their instructor. After that meeting, you should contact the Financial Aid office and begin the withdrawal process electronically or go to the college Go!Zone for assistance.
Withdrawing from Courses
Following the end of the refund period, you may withdraw from any or all of your courses and receive a grade of “W” if you withdraw before 80 percent of the course duration has passed. You may not withdraw from a course during the last 20 percent of the course duration. When you withdraw from a course, you must still pay tuition and fees. It is your responsibility to withdraw yourself from courses; instructors will not withdraw you.
- You may withdraw from individual courses through the myPCC Portal. It is recommended you meet with your instructor prior to withdrawing.
- To withdraw from all courses, you must initiate the official withdrawal form in the Go!Zone Enrollment Office. Telephone requests cannot be honored.
- In emergency cases, write to the Records Office by certified mail to Pueblo Community College, 900 W. Orman Ave., Pueblo, CO 81004-1499, indicating the reason for withdrawal and requesting this matter be completed by mail. You may also email the Registrar’s inbox from your college-issued student email account to request a withdrawal.
Military Withdrawal
If you are a current member of the armed forces and your academic work is interrupted by TDY or other military obligations, we will make every effort to accommodate you. When you present valid military orders to the Records Office, you may choose one of the following options:
- Challenge a course by taking the final examination any time after midterm.
- Receive an incomplete grade for the term. Please see the Incomplete Grades section of the catalog.
- Receive a refund of tuition and fees (if you select this option, you must contact the Financial Aid Office prior to departure).
Students who are activated, voluntarily or involuntarily, are eligible to be readmitted to PCC with the same academic status and program as when they last attended. This applies to active duty in the armed forces, including the National Guard or Reserve, for a period of more than 30 days under a call or order to active duty of more than 30 days.
Degree requirements in effect at the time of each service member’s enrollment will remain in effect for a period of at least one year beyond the program’s standard length, provided the service member is in good academic standing and has been continuously enrolled or received an approved academic leave of absence. Adjustments to degree requirements may be made as a result of formal changes to academic policy determined by the institution or department.
In instances when courses or programs are no longer available or changes have been mandated by a state or accrediting body, the institution will work with affected service members to identify substitutions that would not hinder the student from graduating in a timely manner.
Course Cancellation for Low Enrollment
PCC may cancel or alter programs or course offerings when enrollments are too low. In such cases, we will make every effort to notify you as soon as possible to offer course alternatives.
Course Load
Normal course load is defined as follows:
- Full-length semester – 12-15 credits
- Eight-week term – 6 credits
You must get written permission from your dean to register for an overload (more than 18 credits). To be eligible to take an overload, you must have a 3.000 cumulative grade point average unless admitted into a program with defined GPA and course load requirements.
Course Prerequisites and Corequisites (Also Known as Concurrent Prerequisites)
PCC has two kinds of enforceable entry requirements for particular courses:
- Prerequisites – Prerequisites are requirements that must be met before you can enroll in a certain course.
- Corequisites – These are classes that should be taken at the same time. In most cases, you can register for one of the courses if you have already successfully completed the corequisite.
Course Numbering
Courses are numbered to indicate the level of instruction. Lower-division courses are numbered in the 1000s and 2000s; courses numbered 3000-4000 are upper division courses that apply to PCC’s bachelor programs. Students may not enroll in upper-division courses without Department Chair permission.
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