GRADUATION INFORMATION

Graduation Requirements

The responsibility for knowing and fulfilling all graduation requirements lies with the
student. To receive an associate degree, diploma, certificate or career studies
certificate from the College, a student must:

1. complete an Application for Graduation (PDF)  (Students must officially apply for graduation with the Admissions & Records Office by the established deadlines for each semester of graduation):
   
   SUMMER – May 1; FALL – October 1; SPRING-March 1.
   
   NOTE: Graduates needing a degree audit before registering for the semester of graduation must apply for graduation by:
   Summer-March 1, Fall-April 1, Spring-October 1.
2. fulfill all of the course and credit hour requirements as specified in the appropriate College catalog, according to the catalog used for graduation policy stated below;
3. be currently active in the program on your graduation application. Your application will be returned if you are not in a program.
4. complete, at the College, a minimum of 25% of the total credit hours required in the curriculum;
5. have a grade point average of at least 2.0 in all courses attempted which are applicable toward graduation in the curriculum;
6. resolve all financial obligations to the College and return all library books and other materials;
7. complete a general education assessment test provided by the College during the semester of graduation (All DEGREE graduate candidates only). The assessment is designed to measure achievement in general education for purposes of evaluating the college’s academic programs. Failure to complete this requirement will prevent you from graduating. If you take this assessment and don’t graduate, it will be good for two following semesters only. After that you will need to re-take the assessment in order to graduate.
8. complete “Transcript Evaluation Request Form”, and have copies of your official transcripts mailed to BRCC Admissions & Records Office if you have transfer credits coming from another college. If you completed courses at another Virginia Community College, we can use the VCCS electronic transcript after you have completed the Evaluation Request Form, so an official print copy is not necessary. Only grades of “C” or higher will transfer.

Catalog Used for Graduation

Each new catalog becomes effective with the summer semester of the year in which it is published. The catalog to be used to determine graduation requirements shall be either of the following, at the student’s option:

• The catalog in effect at the time of the student’s placement in the curriculum in which the student intends to graduate OR
• Any subsequent catalog, which came into effect while the student was enrolled in that curriculum at BRCC. If a student does not enroll at BRCC during two consecutive semesters excluding summer, the following contingencies apply:
• Graduation requirements shall be determined by the catalog in effect during the semester in which the student re-enrolls OR any catalog issued subsequent to the re-enrollment.
• The catalog to be used in certifying graduation requirements shall have been in effect no more that seven years to the time of graduation.

Each student will receive, by mail, a degree audit for their graduating plan. If you have questions or information on how you plan to complete the marked missing requirements before the end of the graduating semester, you MUST inform the Graduation Specialist in the Admissions & Records Office. Failure to do so, may result in removal of your name from the graduation candidate list.

Only the degree major will appear on the diploma. The degree major and specialization, if any, will appear on the permanent record. Graduation honors will be verified at commencement ceremony. Graduation is not recorded until after the semester has ended, grades and transfer credit are reviewed and posted. It normally takes 30 days to complete the graduation process. After this process, diplomas are ordered from the printing vendor, and are usually delivered in 6-8 weeks.

If you are unsuccessful in your graduation attempt, you will need to complete another Application for Graduation (PDF) reflecting the semester in which you plan to graduate.