Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements for All Academic and Technical Awards (Degrees/Certificates)

The College awards the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT), the Associate of Science (AS), and the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree as well as the Certificate of Technology (Level II), Certificate of Technology (Level I), Occupational Certificate (Level I), Enhanced Skills Certificate (Level III),1 and the Advanced Technical Certificate (Level IV)1.

San Jacinto College confers the awards above upon students who meet the general requirements for graduation as listed below.

  • Meet high school graduation requirement for unconditional admission (must be a high school graduate or the equivalent).
  • Meet the completion of 25 percent of the award requirements in residence at San Jacinto College. Residence hours include the college-level courses taken at San Jacinto College that are required and applied to the award. It also includes internal credit-by-exam and credit-by-certification courses taken at San Jacinto College and applied to the award. Courses in the following areas that may appear on the award check are not included in the calculation of the 25 percent residence hours including Electives, Attempted: Withdrawn, Not Passed, or Retaken, or Attempted, Not Counted.
  • Meet the minimum final award grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 (C average), which includes all courses used in the award as identified above. Courses in the following areas that may appear on the award check are not included in the calculation of the award GPA requirement including Electives, Attempted: Withdrawn, Not Passed, or Retaken, or Attempted, Not Counted.
    • The award GPA is displayed only on the My San Jac GPS award evaluation (graduation catalogs Fall 2013 and forward) or CAPP award evaluation (graduation catalogs prior to Fall 2013).
  • To be awarded the Level II Certificates, Enhanced Skill Certificates, Advanced Technical Certificates, and all associate degrees, the student must have met the TSI standard of being college-ready in all areas.
  • Meet the provisions as described in the section entitled Transfer Information when transfer credit is to be applied toward an award. (Note: transfer credit is not considered as residence hours).
  • Meet with a Program Advisor to verify award completion.
  • Make formal application for graduation online via SOS. Students may refer to the Academic Calendar for deadline dates.
1

Includes additional requirements. See Catalog area.

Additional Associate Degrees (Second Degrees)

Students who have completed a degree at San Jacinto College should obtain academic advising before enrolling in another associate degree. With the following stipulations, students may obtain additional associate degrees.

  • A student who has received an AS may obtain an AA or AAT, but not two AS degrees, by completing a minimum of 12 applicable hours that did not apply to the previous degree.
  • A student who has received an AAT may obtain an AS, but not another AAT or AA degree, by completing a minimum of 12 applicable hours that did not apply to the previous degree.
  • A student who has received an AAS may obtain an AA or AAT or AS by completing all degree requirements.
  • A student who has received an AAS may obtain an additional AAS in a different six-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) by completing all degree requirements.
  • A student who has received an AA, AS, or AAT degree may obtain an AAS degree by completing the required technical courses in the program.

Awarding of Degrees and Certificates

Upon completion of degree and/or certificate requirements, the student must apply for graduation for the credential(s) to be awarded. The College does not charge students a fee to apply for graduation. Participation in commencement is not a requirement for graduation. Students apply to participate in commencement separately.

  1. Degree Evaluation: The student first completes a Degree Evaluation online using SOS and selecting MySanJacGPS or CAPP. The student confirms that all requirements for the degree or certificate are completed or in progress. Then, the student logs into their SOS account and applies for graduation by the deadline date.
  2. Transcripts: Following the end-of-term posting of grades, the College verifies that students have completed all requirements in progress and posts the degrees to the students' records. Students may request transcripts approximately two weeks after the posting of final grades for the term.
  3. Diplomas: Diplomas are mailed to the address verified on the graduation application about four-six weeks following the posting of the degree. Diplomas are sent by a third-party vendor, Parchment, and all communication regarding the mailing of diplomas will come directly from the vendor. 
  4. Reverse articulation: Students who have not completed all course requirements but have completed the residency requirements for a degree from San Jacinto College (i.e., 16 semester credit hours), may fulfill their course requirements at another regionally accredited or committee-approved institution with which San Jacinto College has an agreement and transfer the credits to San Jacinto College. The applicable catalog for graduation will be in accordance with the provisions listed above.

Review for Academic Associate Degree Completion for Students Completing the State-mandated Core Curriculum

Each academic year, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) requires San Jacinto College to report the students who have completed the state-mandated core curriculum, which is approximately two-thirds of the hours required for an associate degree. When the College reports these students as completing the core curriculum, the College will then review the students' records to determine if they have also completed all the requirements for an associate degree. If all degree requirements are met, the College will award the students an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in General Studies and post the degree to the official transcript. The College will notify the students via the last known email address that the degree has been awarded. The students are eligible to attend the next planned commencement ceremony.

Awarding San Jacinto College Associate Degrees via Reverse Transfer/Articulation

San Jacinto College participates in the reverse transfer/articulation process with several universities in Texas. This process allows the university to identify transfer students who have completed a minimum of 16 college-level hours in residence at San Jacinto College and send official transcripts showing the course-work completed at the university. San Jacinto College evaluates the transfer work and runs a degree compliance to review the student’s record to determine whether the student has met the requirements to be awarded an associate degree. If so, the College will award the Associate of Arts (AA) in General Studies degree and post the degree to the official transcript. The College will notify the students via the last known email address that the degree has been awarded.

Awarding Academic and Technical Degrees/Certificates to Students not Applying for Graduation

The College expects each student to run a degree check via MySanJacGPS to determine if they have met degree or certificate requirements for a particular program; then the student should apply for graduation using the SOS online graduation application.

College staff may evaluate the records of students who did not apply but appear to have completed all certificate or degree requirements in previous terms. The College staff will review the records to determine if a student is eligible to be awarded a certificate or degree. If a student has met the requirements, the College will award the certificate or degree and post the award to the official transcript. The student will then be notified that the degree has been awarded via the last known email address.

This does not release students from the individual responsibility of officially applying for graduation to attend the commencement ceremony. This process is designed for students who did not apply. It does not guarantee that all degrees and certificates will be identified and awarded.

Commencement

Students who complete a Certificate of Technology, a Level 2 Certificate, an associate degree, or Bachelor of Nursing degree may participate in commencement.

Students order caps and gowns for commencement through the campus bookstore. Honors program graduates, members of Phi Theta Kappa, and members of the National Technical Honor Society should speak to the Program Director or club advisor regarding specialty regalia for graduation. Veterans should speak with Veteran Services on their campus concerning Cords for veterans.