All prerequisites or corequisites identified in Coastline’s catalog and class schedule were established according to state laws as outlined in the Coast Community College District’s Model Plan. The following information is provided in compliance with those laws.

Except for District priority registration procedures for continuing students and courses or programs with prerequisites or corequisites, all Coastline classes are open to enrollment on a first-come, first-served basis until they are filled to maximum capacity.

Definitions: “Prerequisite” means a condition of enrollment that a student is required to meet in order to demonstrate current readiness for enrollment in a course or educational program. Grades of C- (C minus) do not meet the grade of C or better requirement as defined for this purpose. “Corequisite” means a condition of enrollment consisting of a course that a student is required to simultaneously take in order to enroll in another course. “Advisory” means a condition of enrollment that a student is advised, but not required, to meet before or in conjunction with enrollment in a course or educational program.

Challenging Limitations on Enrollment

Closed classes without prerequisites or corequisites: For courses that do not have prerequisites or corequisites, students may attend the first-class meeting for on-site classes or email the instructor for online classes and ask the instructor for permission to enroll in class.

Closed Classes with Prerequisites or Corequisites

For courses that do have prerequisites or corequisites, students must have completed all prerequisites or corequisites. Students who have not met the appropriate prerequisites or corequisites and who complete in-class registration may not be officially enrolled or may be involuntarily dropped from the course.

Open Courses with Prerequisites or Corequisites

Students may challenge prerequisites or corequisites based on the types of challenges listed below, which are established by law. It is the student’s responsibility, however, to provide satisfactory evidence that the challenge should be upheld. “Prerequisite/Corequisite Challenge Petition” forms are available at the Admissions Office or may be printed from the Coastline Prerequisite Clearance webpage. Students wishing to challenge prerequisites or corequisites should first speak with the Dean of Counseling. They must then complete the petition form and submit it, along with supporting documentation, to the Admissions Office. Petitions will be approved or denied within five working days. If approved, the petitioner will be allowed to enroll in the course of choice. If the desired course is already closed when the challenge is filed, the challenge shall be resolved prior to the beginning of the registration for the next term. If the challenge is upheld, the student shall be permitted to enroll if space is available when the student registers for that subsequent term.

Authorized Grounds for Challenge (Title V—Section 55201): Colleges are required to notify students about the types of challenges that are established by law, and to advise students of the circumstances under which they are encouraged to make a challenge.

Any prerequisite or corequisite may be challenged by a student on one or more of the grounds listed below. The student shall bear the initial burden of showing with documentation that grounds exist for the challenge. Challenges shall be resolved in a timely manner, and, if the challenge is upheld, the student shall be permitted to enroll in the course or program in question. Grounds for challenge are:

1. The prerequisite or corequisite has not been established in accordance with the District’s process for establishing prerequisites and corequisites;
2. The prerequisite or corequisite is a violation of this article;
3. The prerequisite or corequisite is either unlawfully discriminatory or is being applied in an unlawfully discriminatory manner;
4. The student has the knowledge or ability to succeed in the course or program despite not meeting the prerequisite or corequisite;
5. The student will be subject to undue delay in attaining the goal of his or her educational plan because the prerequisite or corequisite course has not been made reasonably available; and
6. Such other grounds for challenge as may be established by the District governing board.

Coastline has established all prerequisites or corequisites in full compliance with the District’s process for establishing prerequisites and corequisites. The existing prerequisites and corequisites are not in violation of state law. The District has not established any grounds for challenge other than those already permitted by law. Therefore, students are not advised to challenge a prerequisite or corequisite based on items 1, 2, or 6 above. Coastline students are encouraged to submit their official transcripts as documentation of prerequisite or corequisite completion at the time of registration. The transcripts will usually indicate which completed coursework from other colleges is equivalent to the prerequisite or corequisite. This action will avoid the need to file the Prerequisite/Corequisite Challenge Petition.

Student Rights to Appeal

If a challenge is denied based upon the determination of one person and not a committee, the student has the opportunity to appeal to the Dean of Counseling and Matriculation.