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2015-2016 Catalog > Admissions, Regulations, Financial Aid, and Graduation > Admissions > Associate Degree Admissions

Associate Degree Admissions

First Time in College

An applicant for admission to any associate degree program must be a high school graduate with one of the below-listed credentials. In most cases, the awarding of financial aid is dependent upon receipt and validation of the high school credential.

1. Standard High School Diploma

   1. A Florida public high school graduate must have earned a standard high school diploma or the CPT-Eligible Certificate. The standard high school diploma or the CPT-Eligible Certificate must be designated on the official high school transcript.
   2. A student who has graduated from a regionally-accredited high school in any other state must have an official transcript submitted to the College.
   3. A student who has graduated from a non-regionally-accredited high school will be considered for admission provided the high school transcript documents courses taken and grades earned in a classroom environment. A student who has completed his or her high school education through a non-regionally-accredited high school should contact the Records Office for review of the secondary education transcript.  NOTE: A high school diploma issued on the basis of an assessment test may not be recognized for admission into an associate degree program. A high school diploma or transcript purchased for a fee without any instruction received will not be recognized for admission. A student who has earned the Certificate of Completion (other than the CPT-Eligible Certificate) or the Special Diploma from a Florida public school will not be considered a high school graduate for admission purposes.
2. GED Equivalency Diploma: A student who has received the General Education Diploma (GED) will be admitted. An official GED score report from the Department of Education in the state the GED was earned is required for admission.
3. Home Educated Students: A student who has completed a home education program (home school) must submit the Home School Completion Affidavit. The affidavit must be completed by a parent or legal guardian affirming that the student completed a home education program meeting State of Florida high school requirements. Documentation from the public school district will be required to ensure the home education program complied with state requirements for secondary education. The Home School Completion Affidavit is available in any admissions office on any campus or center.
4. Foreign Educated Students: A student who has completed secondary school education in another country will be admitted provided the level of education is equivalent to high school graduation in the United States. Determination of equivalency is made by the College Registrar utilizing resources provided by recognized credentials evaluators and through best practices of admissions offices in the nation.
5. Conditional Admission to Summer Classes for Graduating Seniors: Pensacola State College provides an opportunity to the high school senior with an anticipated high school graduation allowing summer enrollment in classes that begin before the actual high school graduation date. Under this conditional admission, the graduating high school senior may enroll at his or her own expense in courses during the summer semester of the year graduation is anticipated. Federal aid and scholarship opportunities are usually not available to the student admitted under this condition.

Entry-Level Testing

Each associate degree student is required to satisfy college placement test requirements or provide proof of exemption status. (Refer to page 2 of the Testing and Assessment section; Placement Testing and Developmental Studies.)

Placement tests do not determine admission; they are used to determine the appropriate placement in college-level English, writing-intensive, and mathematics courses. A student may provide scores from either the SAT or the ACT, but the test scores must not be more than two years old. No student, including a non-degree student, will be permitted to enroll in any college credit English, writing-emphasis, or mathematics course or any course having an English, mathematics, or reading prerequisite without meeting the state-mandated minimum scores on the placement test or verifying proof of exemption status.

An applicant who has not taken the SAT or ACT is required to take the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT) through a testing center on any campus or center.

Requirement for SLS1101 College Success: A student whose placement test scores indicate the requirement for enrollment in two or more developmental education/college preparatory courses must also enroll in SLS 1101 College Success. Enrollment in SLS1101 will be required even if the course is not a part of the curriculum for the student’s degree plan. Enrollment in the required developmental education/college preparatory courses should begin in the first semester of attendance but must begin before the 12th credit hour is attempted. Enrollment in other college-level courses is permitted provided the student is also enrolled in at least one of the required developmental education/college preparatory courses.

Requirement for Developmental Math I and II: Mathematics remediation, determined by placement test scores, will be required of any student following a curriculum leading to the associate of science or associate of applied science degree even if a college-level mathematics course is not specified in the curriculum for the degree. The associate degree will not be awarded until the student has demonstrated readiness for a college-level algebra course.

A transfer or baccalaureate applicant should review testing information in the appropriate admissions section below.

Transfer Students: A student is admitted as a transfer student if he or she has previously attended a college or university accredited by one of the six regional accrediting associations. The transfer student must request official transcripts to be sent directly from the issuing institutions to the Records Office at Pensacola State College. Transcripts marked “issued to student” will not be accepted. All college transcripts must be received and evaluated by the time the transfer student registers for his or her second term of enrollment.

Financial Aid: Financial aid is dependent upon receipt and evaluation of transcripts from all previously attended institutions. A student anticipating financial aid eligibility who has attended a non-regionally accredited institution will be required to have official transcripts from that institution submitted to the College, even though the College may not require those transcripts for admission purposes.

A transfer student with a grade of “C” or better in a course determined to be equivalent to ENC1101C English Composition I will not be required to take the reading/writing portion of the placement test. A transfer student with a grade of “C” or better in a course determined to be equivalent to MAT1033C Intermediate Algebra (or a higher-level mathematics course) will not be required to take the mathematics/algebra portion of the placement test. A transfer student who does not document placement testing exemption with transfer courses and grades as indicated here will be required to take the placement test.

All credits attempted at the freshman and sophomore levels at regionally-accredited institutions will be recorded as transfer credits. An accepted transfer course satisfies general education requirements for the associate degrees only if the course is essentially the same as a corresponding Pensacola State College course. Final determination of transfer credits and course equivalency is made by the College Registrar. The evaluation process is normally completed within six weeks of transcript receipt, and the student will be notified by Pirate Mail when the evaluation is complete. Credits accepted and the manner in which those credits meet degree requirements may be viewed by the student through his or her Spyglass records (unofficial transcript and degree audit).  A student admitted to a baccalaureate program will have transcripts reviewed for possible transfer of junior and senior level courses. See Baccalaureate Program Admission.

Remedial course work from non-Florida colleges or universities will not be accepted in lieu of placement test scores.

Grades of “D” or “F” will be accepted for transfer under the terms of the State Articulation Agreement and State Board of Education rules. Credits earned more than 20 years prior to enrollment at Pensacola State College may be subject to review as equivalent courses for transfer purposes.

Credits from Non-Regionally-Accredited Colleges: A student who has completed course work at a college or university that does not hold accreditation from one of the six regional accrediting agencies will not be required to submit transcripts from those institutions for admission purposes. However, the transcripts may be required for the determination of financial aid eligibility. A student who wishs to pursue the awarding of transfer credit for course work completed at a non-regionally-accredited institution should consult with the Records Office or an advisor regarding the procedure in place for seeking transferability of courses. The course must be equivalent to a course offered at Pensacola State College and must meet the criteria established by one of the six regional accrediting agencies in regard to faculty credentialing, course competencies, textbook utilization, course length, etc.

Credits from Institutions in Other Countries: A student who has completed college-level courses in another country will not be required to submit transcripts. However, if the student wishes to have credit earned in another country considered for transfer purposes, the student will be responsible for securing the evaluation services of a recognized credentials evaluation agency. Information regarding this process may be obtained in any admissions office. Pensacola State College will not be involved in the fees charged by the credentials evaluation agency.

The recommendations made by the credentials evaluation agency will be reviewed, and coursework may be accepted provided the courses are comparable to courses taught at Pensacola State College.

College credits for English composition courses will not be accepted unless the student’s placement test scores indicate readiness for ENC1101C English Composition I. English courses taught in the English as a Second Language format will not be considered equivalent to either ENC1101C or ENC 1102.

Certificate and Applied Technology Diploma Program Admission

An applicant to a college credit certificate program, vocational credit certificate program, or applied technology diploma program is subject to admissions requirements as indicated above. Placement testing will not be required unless the program contains an English course or a mathematics course. Some vocational credit certificate programs do not require the high school diploma. Please review specific admissions requirements for the program. Basic admissions information follows:

1. An individual who has graduated from high school is eligible for enrollment in a vocational credit program.
2. An individual who has not graduated from high school but is at least 16 years-of-age and legally withdrawn from a regular school system may be admitted into a certificate program provided the specific program does not require high school graduation.
3. Unless required for admission into the particular program or for financial aid eligibility requirements, transcripts are not required. An application for admission and Residence Statement is required. See the Residency Classification section of this Catalog for information.