Earning a Degree

Change of Major/Program

Students will find the “Change of Major” form through myCTState, the information portal for CT State students, faculty, and staff. Students can access a variety of enrollment forms, as well as the status of financial aid, search for courses, register for classes, access student orientation, access college email, complete coursework in Blackboard, manage college finances, with one single sign-on.

Students should refer to the academic calendar for the deadline to request a change of major for each semester.

Graduation

Requirements

Candidates for an Associate Degree at CT State Community College shall have successfully completed the following requirements*:

Minimum of 60 credits
Min of 25% of credits completed at CT State
Overall GPA 2.0
Completion of 21-credit General Education Core
Completion of program requirements as proscribed by the department

Candidates for a Credit Certificate at CT State shall have successfully completed the following requirements:

Min of 25% of credits completed at CT State
Overall GPA 2.0
Completion of program requirements as proscribed by the department

These requirements are college-wide minimums. Programs with specialized accreditations, endorsements or other standards may have additional graduation requirements which are described in the College Catalog or Program Handbook.

Graduation Application

Students will find the “Graduation Application” form through myCTState, the information portal for CT State students, faculty, and staff. The application should be submitted in the term when a student is registered for their final requirements for the relevant certificate or degree program. This form can also be obtained through any campus-based enrollment offices or through the Guided Pathways advisors. Application deadlines are:

December Conferrals: December 15
May Conferrals: April 1
August Conferrals: August 15*
*Summer applicants who submit their graduation application after April 1 will still be eligible to participate in the Commencement ceremony but will not have their names listed in the Commencement program.

Graduation Credit Variance Procedure for Legacy Students

Purpose

To hold harmless all students who complete legacy Connecticut community college degree or certificate requirements but, due to credit discrepancies solely created through the curriculum alignment process, are missing one or more credits to graduate from an equivalent Connecticut State Community College degree or certificate program.

Conditions

Any student determined by CT State to have met all requirements of a legacy Connecticut community college degree or certificate program, but who does not meet the minimum CT State credit threshold required for the equivalent aligned degree or certificate, the following criteria must be met prior to the awarding of the credential:

The student was previously enrolled in an equivalent degree or certificate program at a legacy Connecticut community college
The student meets the minimum number of credits required for graduation from the legacy degree or certificate program
The student has met the required outcomes of the legacy degree or certificate program
The minimum number of credits completed for a degree equals 60 credits or more
The student has met all other CT State Community College requirements for graduation

Selective admissions or specialized accreditation programs will be required to follow accrediting agency standards regarding credit variances.

Graduation Honors

Latin Honors

Students with exemplary academic performance shall be recognized at graduation with the following designations, in Latin:

Summa Cum Laude for students with a 3.9 - 4.0 grade point average

Magna Cum Laude for students with a 3.7 - 3.89 grade point average

Cum Laude with a 3.4 - 3.69 grade point average

Appropriate Latin honors are recorded on the student’s academic transcript upon completion of the requirements of an approved associate degree program with a GPA that meets the designated threshold. Students with an Incomplete grade on their transcript at the time of graduation may become eligible retroactively upon completion of the course requirements.

Board of Regents Medallion for Academic Excellence

The Board of Regents medallion for academic excellence is awarded in recognition of outstanding academic accomplishment by associate degree graduates of Connecticut State Community College and is presented at commencement. Annually, the College shall determine the students eligible to receive the medallion in accordance with the following criteria:

recipients must be graduating students who have earned a cumulative quality point ratio of 4.000.
recipients must have completed the degree requirements of an approved associate degree program and must have completed at least 50% of the degree requirements in residence at CT State Community College.
graduates shall not be disqualified from receiving the award on the basis of having a “W” or other similar transcript notation of official course withdrawal(s). This policy shall be implemented in recognition of the existence and intent of “fresh start” policies at the college.

Earning Multiple Associate Degrees

Earning a Second Associate Degree

A student may earn a second Associate degree under the following circumstances:

All program requirements are met for both degrees.
The residency requirement of one-quarter (25%) of the complete degree is met for any degree earned at Connecticut State Community College
The second degree includes a minimum of 15 credits which are different from the first degree
If both degrees are to be earned at Connecticut State Community College, the student has earned a minimum of 75 credits and has met the residency requirement within each degree.

Earning More Than Two Associate Degrees

Any request to earn more than two Associate Degrees requires approval of the Campus Dean prior to the program being added to the student’s record. Additional degrees must meet the following criteria:

All program requirements must be met for each degree earned.
The additional degree must be 15 credits different from any other degree earned (three Associate degrees are a minimum of 90 total credits, etc).
The residency requirement of one-quarter (25%) of any complete degree is met for any degree earned at Connecticut State Community College.
No two degrees can be a part of the same group of options under a parent degree.

Discipline Groups Limited to One Associate-level Credential

Per Board of Regents Policy: completion of the requirements of an additional program option under the same parent degree does not constitute a different degree. This policy applies in these disciplines:

Automotive Technology
Business Administration
Business Office Technology
Communication
Computer Information Systems
Computer Science
Criminal Justice
Cybersecurity
Early Childhood Education
Environmental Science
Graphic Design
New Media Production
Technology Studies
Theater
Visual Arts

Parent Degrees and Options are indicated on the "Related Degrees" tab on each program page.