Degrees

Grossmont College provides occupational as well as general education for the student who plans to complete formal education at the community college level. In addition, the College provides the lower division requirements in general education and in preprofessional majors for those students who plan to transfer to upper-division colleges and universities.

To assist the student in educational planning, this section of the catalog describes the graduation requirements for the Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees, the requirements for certificate programs and information on transfer requirements.

Students may follow the catalog under which they enter, or any subsequent catalog, as long as they are in continuous attendance. A student not in continuous attendance must meet degree requirements listed in the catalog in effect at the time of readmission.

Catalog Rights: The courses required for a specific degree or certificate, or general education may change from one catalog to the next and, therefore, may change during the period that a student attends the college. Catalog rights protect the student from being held to additional requirements that may be added to a later catalog.  

 Retroactive Awards: Students who are no longer enrolled at Grossmont and who have previously met all the requirements for a degree or certificate, but never applied for graduation shall, upon request: 

Continuous Enrollment: Continuous Enrollment is defined as attendance in one semester or two quarters within an academic year at a California Community College, California State University, or a University of California campus. An official grade (e.g. A,B,C,D, F,W, EW, P,NP, Inc.), must be noted on the permanent record or official transcript.  Students who do not attend at least one semester during an academic year or miss two consecutive semesters are not eligible for “continuing student” status. Summer sessions can be used to establish catalog rights as well as to maintain continuous enrollment status. 

Exception: Students of the Allied Health and Nursing Division – catalog rights are based on entrance to that particular program.

Certification of a student’s completion of CSU general education requirements or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is not a graduation requirement. Therefore, students do not have catalog rights to a certification pattern used by a certifying institution or a CSU or UC campus.

High School Students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university after taking the first two years of academic work at a community college should be aware that high school preparation normally must include, as a minimum, the following: English, four years; Math, three years, to include a minimum of Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, and Geometry. In addition, the University of California requires two years of a foreign language as well as U.S. History, government, and a laboratory science. In the event that the student, at the time of graduation from high school, lacks one or more of these prerequisites, they may be completed in a community college. The student should realize that it is advantageous to have chosen, at the time of enrollment, the four-year institution to which he/she contemplates transfer. More information on transferring to a four-year college or university is available in the Counseling and Transfer Centers.

Granting of the Associate in Arts Degree, or the Associate in Science Degree to a student indicates successful completion of general education requirements plus evidence of proficiency in a specialized field. In addition, certificates are available to those who have attained well-defined levels of competency in designated academic/occupational areas. As a member of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the National Commission on Accrediting, many courses taken at Grossmont College are fully accepted as transferable to the University of California, the California State University and by most independent four-year colleges and universities throughout the United States.

The General Education Program offers the following opportunities to:

1. Develop verbal and quantitative learning skills.
2. Experience a wide spectrum of beliefs, principles or knowledge in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities.
3. Understand and critically examine the cultural heritage and its implications for the future.
4. Develop the abilities for critical thinking, evaluating personal values and understanding and responding to general audience media presentations on general education subjects.
5. Approach learning in an interdisciplinary manner and develop the ability to integrate general education knowledge.
6. Establish a broad base of intellectual and physical skills for a lifetime of continued learning.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Each program at Grossmont College has developed specific outcomes to convey the knowledge, skills, and abilities students will obtain upon completion of his or her major. The Program Outcomes are listed with the description of each major.

Fitness/Wellness Requirement

Two courses involving physical exercise and/or dance are required as part of the general education requirements for an associate degree. These courses will be indicated by the following statement below the course description: “Satisfies General Education for Grossmont College Area E.” The Exercise Science and Wellness Department at Grossmont College encourages all students to enroll in exercise science classes each semester. The fitness activity courses address critical components of health and allow the development of an information base for students continuing wellness pursuits. The skill activity courses are designed to develop students’ competency in activities which promote lifetime movement.

The mandatory health fee provides accident insurance for the protection of any student who may experience an injury while participating in a college sponsored credit or non-credit class, or other activity. The sponsored class or activity must be during a directly supervised, on-campus or school-related activity.

Students who depend exclusively upon prayer for healing according to the teaching of a bona fide religious sect, denomination or organization may petition for an exemption from the health fee by submitting a written request to the Office of Student Affairs. Waiver forms may be obtained in Admissions and Records or the Student Affairs office. Requests for exemption will be reviewed by the Dean of Admissions and Records and Financial Aid and the Dean of Student Affairs.

Veterans or active military refer to "Veterans" in the Admission Information.