Graduation Requirements for Certificates and Credentials

General Graduation Requirements for Certificate Programs

In order to earn a certificate from SMC, students must:

• Declare the certificate as their program of study and adhere to a particular catalog advising year as assigned by the institution.
• Earn a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0, equivalent to a C or higher.
• Earn a minimum grade of C for each general education course in the certificate program, as applicable per the specific program of study.
• Earn a grade of C or better for each prerequisite course in the program of study. Review the Course Descriptions to understand prerequisite requirements.
• Satisfy at least 21 total credit hours of specific instruction as listed on the approved program curriculum sheet.
• Satisfy all course requirements of the certificate as listed on the approved program curriculum sheet, even if more than 21 credits are listed.
• Complete at least 12 overall credit hours of the certificate at SMC or complete at least the last 8 credits of the certificate program from SMC. A maximum of 9 of the 12 credits or 5 of the last 8 credits can be earned through SMC’s Achieved Credit by Examination (ACE) process. ACE tests are written by SMC faculty and reflect the content taught in courses. Please know that credit earned by ACE testing may not transfer to other institutions.
• Take additional general elective courses, if needed, in order to reach the minimum number of credit hours. This is likely to occur when competency is demonstrated through testing procedures without resulting in credit for core curriculum courses.
• Understand that courses below the 100 level may not be applied toward meeting certificate or graduation requirements.
• Submit a graduation application the semester before the student plans to finish all certificate requirements.

Guidelines for Completion of Credential Programs

In order to earn a credential from SMC, students must:

• Adhere to all information as outlined on the program page of this catalog and any additional regulations as specified by the department in which the program resides.

Students in these programs are considered “completers” and not graduates of SMC. Therefore, these students are not required to fill out a graduation application for their program and will not receive a diploma.