Kevin Rodriguez bluntly calls himself “lazy.”
Rodriguez, a Fresno City College nutrition major, doesn’t want to re-take the same courses, but sometimes he has to.
“If I failed the first time, chances are I just didn’t like the class,” Rodriguez said.
He did contact a counselor in regard to failing a course. However, he said, the answers he got were insufficient.
Rodriguez is one of many students on campus retaking a course. The process can be confusing for a variety of reasons. Apparently, students must wait two years, then meet with a counselor, and then finally submit paperwork.
The confusion is an ongoing problem that many students and staff members at Fresno City College are trying to answer. Some of the answers provided by staff and faculty seem reasonable; however, countless students are still baffled about which procedures to follow.
Frances Lippmann, FCC’s admissions and records manager, has worked in the department for 11 years. She said the policy on re-taking courses has changed many times.
“Students are allowed to attempt a class up to three times, when previous attempts resulted in a failing grade (D, F, NP),“ Lippmann said. The school and district have written standards, articulating and executing the Education code regulation, through Board Policies and Regulations. According to Lippmann, the Title 5 repeat regulations, states that students may repeat a CA community college “credit course”, in which they have received grades of D, F or NC/NP by re-enrolling in the same course up to three times
As of 2010, according to Lippmann, the regulations have not changed since last year; it is a step-by-step process that enables each student to have access.
Each student is allowed to attempt a course two times to successfully pass a course. If the student doesn’t pass the course within those two attempts, and wishes to attempt the course for a third time, regulations require students to make an appointment to meet with a counselor.
According to Lippmann, “The counselor will offer their assistance and go over options with you.” She often sees students who come into the counselor’s office, stressed out, because they automatically assume the course they failed was a required course.
In some cases, students find out that they wouldn’t benefit from retaking a course, simply because it isn’t a required course in their curriculum. “This is why it is so important for students to meet with a counselor to discuss their academic options”, says Lippmann
After meeting with a counselor, students will submit a petition to repeat a course for the third time, after failing two subsequent semesters. Lippmann states, “After meeting with a counselor, the student’s “Repeat Petition” is reviewed by the Vice President of Admissions and Records or their designee. If the petition is approved the student is given a letter that is to be taken to the registration counter and staff will be able to enroll or waitlist the student.
If the third attempt results with another failing grade, and students request to retake the course a fourth time, the student will then have to petition to repeat the course with the Academic Standards Committee. The written statement must provide documentation of a strenuous reason regarding the failing grade such as “extenuating circumstance,” according to Lippmann, that intervened with the class. This could include car accidents, illness, etc.
Lippmann states, “When the course has been completed within the second or third attempt, the previous failing grades are excluded from the students cumulative GPA. If the student is allowed a fourth attempt and successfully completes the course with a “C” or better, both the third grade earned and the fourth grade are included in the students cumulative GPA. On transcripts, the fourth attempt will have a code listed indicating that the course as a “Repeat Course”.
“I stress with students to meet with counselors and read the catalog,” Lippmann said. The months of February and March are the best time to contact a counselor. Registration hasn’t started and counselors are willing to assist students with creating a two-year plan toward transferring to another college.
In order to avoid the process of retaking a college course, it is better for a student to try their best the first time they take the course. Rodriguez, the nutrition major, found that the process to retake a course is something that can be eliminated. Rodriguez said, “Use the sources that are available on campus, such as speaking with a counselor about a transferring plan”.
