Graduation

Moraine Valley grants associate’s degrees and various occupational certificates. Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Fine Arts degrees are designed for Transfer Program students. The Associate in Applied Science degree and occupational certificates are designed for Career Program students.

Graduation Requirements for All Associate Degrees — The following requirements must be met by students pursuing an associate degree.

A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0, which does not include developmental and remedial courses.
A “C” grade or better in COM-101 and a “C” grade or better in COM-102 when the course is required for a specific program or degree.
A minimum of 62 credit hours, including courses that meet the general education and any specific program requirements for the degree.
Developmental and remedial courses cannot be applied toward an associate’s degree unless specified in the program description but can be applied to full or part-time student status. Developmental and remedial courses include, but are not limited to, COM-085, COM-090; COS-100; IEL-062, IEL-064, IEL-066, IEL-072, IEL-074, IEL-076, IEL-082, IEL-084, IEL-086, IEL-092, IEL-094, IEL-096; MTH-090, MTH-095, MTH-097, MTH-098; and RDG-041, RDG-071, RDG-091.
A student must earn at least 15 credit hours at Moraine Valley.
A completed graduation petition must be submitted to the Records Office by the stipulated deadline.
All degrees and certificates will be conferred and transcripted with the date (December/May/August) all requirements for that degree/certificate were met.
Public Act 87-581, which states, “Programs shall at least: require each public institution of higher education to include, in the general education requirements for obtaining a degree, course work on improving human relations to include race, ethnicity, gender, and other issues related to improving human relations to address racism and sexual harassment on their campuses, through existing courses.” Students at Moraine Valley Community College satisfy the requirements of this law through COM-103, which is a required course in each of the degree programs (A.A., A.S., A.A.S., and A.F.A.).
Students must meet the degree or certificate requirements in effect at the time they first enrolled and earned credit (earned credit is defined as receiving a “D” or above in college-level or developmental courses) or the requirements in effect during any subsequent year until the degree or certificate is completed. However, if enrollment has been interrupted by six or more consecutive semesters (including summer semesters), the student must meet the degree or certificate requirements in effect at the time of re-enrollment with earned credit (earned credit is defined as receiving a “D” or above in college level or “C” or above in developmental courses) or the requirements in effect after re-enrollment until the degree or certificate is completed. Exceptions are the selective admission programs. Students who are readmitted to these programs must follow the requirements in effect at the time of their readmission to the program. In all cases, students must meet all degree or certificate requirements for the selected year. Requirements from more than one year cannot be combined.

Additional Requirements

Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.) and Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.)

See Transfer Programs section of this catalog for detailed information.

Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)

In addition to the graduation requirements for all associate degrees listed above, a minimum level of competency in mathematics is required for successful degree completion and graduation for all A.A.S. degrees. This minimum competency may be demonstrated in the following ways:

Placement into MTH-120 or higher (appropriate Compass score or ACT score of 20 or higher in Mathematics. See Academic Placement Tests.); or
Successful completion with an earned grade of “C” or better in BUS-120, MTH-102, or MTH-109 for designated career programs or higher-level mathematics course; or
An equivalent college-level transfer course from another college with an earned grade of “C” or better.

Occupational Certificates

The college offers several programs of occupational specialization. Completion of one of these programs is recognized with a certificate.

The requirements are the following:

successful completion of the specified courses for the certificate;
minimum overall grade point average of 2.0 in the courses required for the certificate;
at least 50 percent of the certificate hours must be completed at Moraine Valley.

Developmental and remedial courses cannot be applied toward a certificate unless specified in the program description. Developmental and remedial courses include, but are not limited to, the following: COM-085, COM-090; COS-100; IEL-062, IEL-064, IEL-066, IEL-072, IEL-074, IEL-076, IEL-082, IEL-084, IEL-086, IEL-092, IEL-094, IEL-096; MTH-090, MTH-095, MTH-097, MTH-098; and RDG-041, RDG-071, RDG-091.

submission of a graduation petition to the Records Office by the stipulated deadline.

Graduation Petition Deadlines and Fees — Candidates for completion of a certificate or degree must file a graduation petition in the Records Office.

Deadlines for filing petitions are the following:

Fall graduation (December)—Sept. 15

Spring graduation (May)—Feb. 1

Summer graduation (August)—June 1

If the deadline date falls on a weekend, the deadline is moved to the next business day.

Six weeks is required for final certification and mailing of diplomas.

Second Associate’s Degree

Moraine Valley will grant more than one associate degree to the same student provided all specified requirements are met for that particular degree.

Students may earn an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree, but not both.

Students may earn more than one Associate in Applied Science degree.

Students with an Associate in Applied Science degree who wish to complete the requirements for either an Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, or Associate in Fine Arts degree are advised to review the section of the catalog that outlines Transfer Program requirements. Students should meet with a counselor or advisor because not all courses required in the respective Associate in Applied Science programs are intended for or accepted as transfer credit to senior institutions.

Students who have received an associate degree from another college may earn an associate degree from Moraine Valley by completing the program requirements for the degree and fulfilling the general graduation requirements.

Students who seek a second degree from Moraine Valley are subject to published petition deadlines.

Graduation Ceremony

The graduation ceremony is held once a year at the end of spring semester for graduates from the previous summer and fall semesters and for current spring graduates.

Honors

Students who complete a degree program reflecting scholarly achievement are honored at graduation. The cumulative grade point average will be used to determine graduation honors. This grade point average includes courses that count toward a certificate or degree and does not include developmental and remedial courses. Degree graduates with a cumulative grade point average between 3.9 and 4.0 are recognized as graduating summa cum laude. Degree graduates with a cumulative GPA between 3.75 and 3.89 are recognized as graduating magna cum laude. Degree graduates with a cumulative GPA between 3.5 and 3.74 are recognized as graduating cum laude.

Certificate graduates are also recognized at graduation for their achievements. Certificate graduates with a cumulative GPA between 3.75 and 4.0 are recognized as graduating with high honors. Certificate graduates with a cumulative GPA between 3.5 and 3.74 are recognized as graduating with honors.

At the commencement ceremony, honor graduates wear cords to designate specific academic honors. The different colored cords represent the following honors:

Associate Degrees

Summa Cum Laude—gold cord

Magna Cum Laude—silver cord

Cum Laude—white cord

Certificates

With High Honors—silver and green cord

With Honors—white and green cord

Members of the college’s honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, wear stoles at the commencement ceremony to designate their honor society. These stoles are available prior to graduation by contacting the honor society advisor at (708) 974-5353.

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2015-2017 Catalog