Graduation Requirements
Catalog Rights and Continuous Enrollment
Catalog Rights
Coastline College issues a catalog each year. The information published in the catalog is in effect for the academic year, beginning with the fall semester and concluding with the summer term. Because course requirements for degree and certificate completion may change from one catalog to the next, students should check the catalog each year to determine requirements for graduation and/or transfer.
A student’s “catalog rights” at Coastline begin when they first enroll in a credit course in a fall or spring semester at the college. Those rights are maintained by the student’s continuous enrollment, as defined below. Establishing catalog rights protects the student from being held for additional requirements that may be added to a later catalog. Policies printed in the college catalog are in effect for the academic year.
When students enroll in courses at Coastline College prior to high school graduation, four-year institutions may honor catalog rights only after students graduate high school. Courses taken prior to high school graduation should be checked to confirm that they meet the California A-G requirements for high school graduation and admission to a California college or university.
Once catalog rights have been established, students may elect to meet certificate or degree requirements of any of the following:
- The catalog was in effect at the time they began taking credit courses at Coastline College, or
- Any catalog the student has rights to while maintaining continuous enrollment.
Catalog rights may be superseded if:
- A program requires courses completed within an established time frame.
- Career and technical education requirements change due to licensure or industry standards.
- A program requires supplemental acceptance in addition to admission to the college.
When program required courses in a catalog year are discontinued, college authorities may authorize or require substitutions for those courses. In rare circumstances, Coastline may require a student to change their program of study to complete the requirements in effect at the time of the change. Students should meet with a Counselor to review their program requirements when these situations occur.
Continuous Enrollment
Continuous enrollment is defined as being enrolled in at least one credit course within the Coast District during a calendar year and receiving an A, B, C, D, F, P, NP, I, IP, W, or EW. If there is an interruption in enrollment, the student will be held to the new requirements listed in the catalog at the time of re-enrollment. The following are not considered interruptions of enrollment:
- Absence from a summer term
- Documented military leave
- Documented medical leave
Attendance at another institutionally accredited institution of higher learning for no more than one calendar year shall not be considered an interruption in enrollment.
In extenuating circumstances, a student may submit a request for an exception to the Director of Enrollment Services for consideration to retain previous catalog rights.
If transferring to a California State University (CSU), University of California (UC), or other university, continuous enrollment policies may be defined by the receiving institution.
Certification of a Transfer General Education (GE) Pattern: Cal-GETC, CSU GE, and/or IGETC
Catalog rights and continuous enrollment for certification of a transfer general education pattern can be established when a student enrolls and remains in attendance in regular sessions (fall/spring) at any California State University campus, at any California community college, or any combination thereof. Courses used for GE certification must be approved for the general education area at the time the course was taken. Courses taken at other non-California Community College campuses must meet the Cal-GETC Standards and the GE category approval for Coastline College to be given Cal-GETC credit.
Classification of Students
Students are classified as follows:
- Freshman: A student who has completed fewer than 30 units.
- Sophomore: A student who has completed 30 or more units.
- Part-time Student: A student enrolled in fewer than 12 units.
- Full-time Student: A student enrolled in 12 or more units.
Student Status
- New Student: No previous enrollment record at Coastline College.
- Continuing Student: Enrolled continuously at Coastline College from one primary semester to the next primary semester.
- Returning Student: Previously enrolled at Coastline College, however missed at least two primary semesters of attendance.
General Education Philosophy
General Education Degree-Level Student Learning Outcomes
The term “general education” refers to a broad-based and comprehensive program that introduces students to the major areas of higher education: the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. The general education program is the basis for all degree programs at Coastline College and is designed to help students develop the knowledge and skills that will contribute to their intellectual, personal, and professional growth.
Upon completion of a degree-level program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding and appreciation for the visual and performing arts
- Demonstrate ethical civic, environmental, and social responsibility
- Demonstrate ability to apply critical thinking and analysis
- Demonstrate innovative thinking, adaptability, and creative problem-solving skills
- Demonstrate understanding and respect for cultural and global diversity
- Demonstrate information competency
- Use effective communication and interpersonal skills
- Use scientific and quantitative reasoning
Multiple Majors
A student who completes the requirements for more than one major may be awarded multiple Associate degrees and/or Certificates. When completing multiple majors, the student must complete all academic requirements for for each major and may graduate with two (or more) degrees and/or Certificates in the same term. Students must list all desired degrees on the Graduation Petition form.
Additional Associate Degrees
Students who already possess an Associate degree from Coastline College may be awarded an additional degree upon completion of the following:
- All requirements of a major or area of emphasis in a different field of study. Coursework from the previous major may be applied toward the new major.
- General Education units earned from a previous Associate degree may be applied toward subsequent Associate degrees. If there has been a break in enrollment from when the last Associate degree was awarded, the student must complete the General Education requirements in effect at the time the student re-enrolls.
Duplicate Degrees
Students may not earn duplicate Associate Degrees (AA/AS) or Associate Degrees for Transfer (AA-T/AS-T) in the same major, within the Coast Colleges District.
Petition for Graduation
An Associate Degree, Associate Degree for Transfer, Certificate of Achievement, and/or Certificate of Specialization are not automatically awarded. To receive their degree, a student must file a petition for graduation during their final semester prior to the application deadline as noted on the Coastline Graduation Webpage.
Petitions are available in the Admissions Office and online in the Graduation page. Military and corporate program students may obtain a graduation petition online at the Coastline Military Programs and Services website.
All official transcripts from other educational institutions must be on file at the time students submit the graduation petition. If final courses are being completed at another school, this must be indicated on your Petition to Graduate form and official transcripts must be sent to Coastline once final grades are received. It is the responsibility of the student to have transcripts sent to Coastline College.
Students may petition for graduation during the Spring, Summer, or Fall terms. Degrees are awarded based on the term on which the graduation petition is submitted, not the term in which they completed the requirements. Students should visit the Coastline Graduation webpage for current petition filing deadlines and procedures.
Note: If a break in enrollment occurs (resulting in the loss of Catalog Rights) students must comply with the competency, general education and major course requirements in effect at the time the student applies for graduation.
Career Education Programs
Career Education programs can be found on the Coastline College Career Education webpage.
Global Society Requirement*
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Complete at least 2.5 units of the following: | ||
| ANTH C100 | Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH C150 | World Cultures | 3 |
| ANTH C175 | Global Perspectives of Food and Culture | 3 |
| ARAB C180 | Elementary Arabic 1 | 5 |
| ARAB C180A | Elementary Arabic 1A | 2.5 |
| ARAB C180B | Elementary Arabic 1B | 2.5 |
| ARAB C182 | Conversational Arabic | 3 |
| ARAB C185 | Elementary Arabic 2 | 5 |
| ARAB C185A | Elementary Arabic 2A | 2.5 |
| ARAB C185B | Elementary Arabic 2B | 2.5 |
| ARAB C280A | Intermediate Arabic 1A | 2 |
| ARAB C280B | Intermediate Arabic 1B | 2 |
| ARAB C285A | Intermediate Arabic 2A | 2 |
| ARAB C285B | Intermediate Arabic 2B | 2 |
| ARTH C1100 | Survey of Art from Prehistory to the Medieval Era | 3 |
| ARTH C1200 | Survey of Art from the Renaissance to Contemporary | 3 |
| ART C103 | History of Asian Art | 3 |
| ART C104 | The History of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art | 3 |
| ART C105 | Introduction to Art | 3 |
| ART C109 | The History and Appreciation of Italian Renaissance Art | 3 |
| ART C176 | Survey of East Asian Brush Painting | 3 |
| CHIN C180 | Elementary Chinese 1 | 5 |
| CHIN C185 | Elementary Chinese 2 | 5 |
| CMST C150 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| FN C177 | Global Perspectives of Food and Culture | 3 |
| FREN C180 | Elementary French 1 | 5 |
| FREN C185 | Elementary French 2 | 5 |
| FREN C280 | Intermediate French 1 | 4 |
| FREN C285 | Intermediate French 2 | 4 |
| GEOG C185 | Cultural Geography | 3 |
| HIST C115 | Latin American History and Culture | 3 |
| HIST C161 | World History 1 | 3 |
| HIST C162 | World History 2 | 3 |
| HIST C180 | Western Civilization 1 | 3 |
| HIST C185 | Western Civilization 2 | 3 |
| HUM C100 | Introduction to the Humanities | 3 |
| HUM C110 | Humanities through the Arts | 3 |
| ITAL C180 | Elementary Italian 1 | 5 |
| ITAL C185 | Elementary Italian 2 | 5 |
| JAPN C180 | Elementary Japanese 1 | 5 |
| JAPN C185 | Elementary Japanese 2 | 5 |
| MUS C103 | World Music | 3 |
| PHIL C100 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL C113 | Environmental Ethics: Philosophical Approaches to Sustainability | 3 |
| PSCI C183 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 |
| PSCI C185 | Comparative Government and Politics | 3 |
| SOC C100 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| SPAN C160 | Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1 | 5 |
| SPAN C165 | Spanish for Spanish Speakers 2 | 5 |
| SPAN C180 | Elementary Spanish 1 | 5 |
| SPAN C180A | Elementary Spanish 1A | 2.5 |
| SPAN C180B | Elementary Spanish 1B | 2.5 |
| SPAN C185 | Elementary Spanish 2 | 5 |
| SPAN C185A | Elementary Spanish 2A | 2.5 |
| SPAN C185B | Elementary Spanish 2B | 2.5 |
| SPAN C280 | Intermediate Spanish 1 | 4 |
| SPAN C285 | Intermediate Spanish 2 | 4 |
| VIET C160 | Vietnamese For Vietnamese Speakers | 5 |
| VIET C180 | Elementary Vietnamese 1 | 5 |
| VIET C185 | Elementary Vietnamese 2 | 5 |
| VIET C280 | Intermediate Vietnamese 1 | 4 |
| VIET C285 | Intermediate Vietnamese 2 | 4 |
*This requirement is waived for students completing an Associate Degree for Transfer (see Transfer Information for Associate Degree for Transfer).