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Prerequisites, Co-Requisites and Other Limitations on Enrollment

Mt. San Jacinto College would like students to be successful in their courses. One way to promote student success is by identifying the skills and knowledge a student must possess before enrollment in certain courses. These courses (primarily mathematics, English and performance courses) have included prerequisites, corequisites or other limitations on enrollment to ensure a student’s readiness for these courses of study.

A prerequisite is typically a course(s) students have completed prior to enrolling into a higher-level course. Course placement scores (see Assessment and Placement) may also be used to meet a prerequisite or corequisite requirement. Prerequisites are only satisfied when courses are completed with a grade of “CR,” "Pass," or “C” or better. 

Prerequisites, corequisites and other limitations on enrollment are conditions of enrollment that must be met before a student can enroll in these courses.

If you believe you have taken the prerequisite at another institution:

If you are registering for the next semester while you are also enrolled in a course to meet the prerequisite requirement and subsequently earn a grade of D, F, or NP, you will be dropped from the course. Failure to provide updated transcripts may also result in being dropped.  A refund will be issued if the course is dropped for this reason.

Students who have satisfied a requirement at another institution through testing or assessment but have not been awarded course credit will not be granted credit at MSJC. Students are welcome to pursue the earning of course credit by the Credit by Exam process.

Courses requiring a corequisite have conditions of enrollment requiring that a course be taken during the same time as enrollment in another course.

All course prerequisites and corequisites will be enforced. Student registration will be blocked from courses where a prerequisite or corequisite has not been met.

 

Challenge Procedure

If you feel that you have sufficient preparation to succeed in a course but have not completed the required prerequisite or corequisite, you may file a Challenge Form (available in the Enrollment Services Office or online at msjc.edu).

Students submitting a Challenge Form must be able to prove they currently have the required skills and knowledge to be enrolled in a higher-level course without completing the prerequisite, corequisite or having the appropriate placement scores. A student who challenges a prerequisite or corequisite may also be required to attach documentation to the Challenge Form.

A prerequisite/corequisite challenge is reviewed by the appropriate faculty members and may take up to 5 working days (holidays and weekends excluded) to process, so please plan ahead.

 

Other Limitations on Enrollment

“Limitations on enrollment” means a student can be blocked from enrolling in a course for reasons other than not satisfying the prerequisite. Auditions, tryouts, and other limitations may be placed on a course, and if not met (i.e., not selected after an audition), the student may be administratively dropped from the course.

In order to enroll students in courses that best meet their needs and skills, the college has developed several levels of placement information.

 

Prerequisite

A prerequisite is a course (or qualification) which must be taken before a student may register for a subsequent course. It is the student’s responsibility to comply with prerequisites of all courses for which he or she enrolls. Course prerequisites are listed in this catalog and in the online Schedule of Classes.

The most stringent placement restrictions are prerequisites. If a prerequisite is listed for a course, it means that the district has determined that students who lack the prerequisite are highly unlikely to succeed in the course. Therefore, the student MUST meet the prerequisite listed before enrolling in the course.

 

Corequisite

A corequisite is a course which must be taken prior to or at the same time as another course. If a corequisite is listed for a course, it means that the district has determined that students who do not take the corequisite course are highly unlikely to succeed in the course. Therefore, the student either MUST have met the corequisite prior to enrollment in the course or MUST take the corequisite course in the same term.

 

Recommended Preparation

If recommended preparation is listed, it means that the faculty strongly recommends that the student meet the recommended preparation before enrolling. The skill or course listed in the note has been determined to be an important preparation to the course. While the student may well pass the course without the skill or course listed, a better grade, better understanding and better performance are likely if the note is followed.

Under some conditions, a student may be provisionally enrolled in a course while waiting to determine whether or not a pre-or corequisite has been met. If it is subsequently determined that the pre-or corequisite has not been met, the student may be dropped from the course administratively and enrollment fees related to the course refunded.

 

Verifying Prerequisites and Corequisites

If a student believes that he or she has met prerequisites, but the information is not reflected in college records, it is the student’s obligation to supply supporting evidence to Enrollment Services. Such evidence might typically be transcripts from another college and/or test scores from standardized examinations which would demonstrate that student had indeed acquired the skills or information for which the prerequisite was established.

 

Challenging Prerequisites

Under very limited circumstances, a student may challenge either the legality of a prerequisite or the way in which the college has administered the prerequisites in his or her case. Forms are available from Enrollment Services Office. The grounds for challenge are limited to the following:

  • The prerequisite is unlawfully discriminatory or is being applied in an unlawfully discriminatory manner;
  • The district is not following its own policy;
  • The basis for the prerequisite does not in fact exist.

In every challenge process, the student shall bear the burden of showing that grounds exist for the challenge. Challenges shall be handled in a timely manner and the prerequisite waived for the student in question if the challenge is upheld. In the case of challenges, students are hereby advised that, subsequent to the completion of a challenge process, they may file a formal complaint of unlawful discrimination pursuant to Subchapter 5 of Chapter 10 of the California Administrative Code.

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