Academic Advising FAQ's

The degree audit (DA) is a computerized tool that makes it easy to determine your progress toward a degree. It is a good idea to have a counselor or advisor (or program advisor if you are in an A.S./A.A.S./Certificate program) review the DA with you the first time, so you can become familiar with the format and be made aware of other requirements not covered by the DA. After that, you may obtain your DA any time you wish by going to the counseling and advising office. It is also now available online.

Students receiving Veteran’s benefits are subject to a variety of special conditions that affect the courses they are allowed to take. In general, only those courses required by their VA-approved program of study will be eligible for funding. Therefore, it is particularly important that VA students receive academic advising, either from the counseling and advising office (for A.A. students) or their program advisor (A.S., A.A.S. and technical certificate students). There are other specific requirements — see the VA representative in your campus enrollment services office for details.

The A.A. degree is intended for students who desire to transfer to a university and work toward a bachelor’s degree. The A.S. degree is primarily designed to prepare students for an entry-level job in a high-demand/high-wage area of specialization.

There are some A.S. degrees that have articulation agreements with Florida public universities to allow this. Other A.S. degrees only allow the transfer of general education courses to the university, unless FSCJ has an articulation agreement with a specific public or private university to accept the A.S. degree. Please visit the Transfer Services webpage or see your A.S. program advisor for additional information.

The A.A.S. is not designed for transfer; it is geared toward preparation for employability. In practical terms, the only course requirement difference is that the A.A.S. degree has lower mathematics requirements. See your A.S. program advisor for additional information.

Almost every major requires some specific courses be taken as electives within your A.A. program of study. These courses are different for various majors and may vary from one or two, to as many as eight or more courses. In some cases (i.e., limited access programs), you may be denied admission to the program you want if you have not completed these courses. View the common course prerequisite for further information.

If you haven’t met with an advisor since you decided on your major, it’s a good idea to call the counseling and advising office and make an advising appointment. You can also find some information on your anticipated university's website or by reviewing the common course prerequisites manual available online.

If you plan to transfer to a private university or one out-of-state, you will need to directly contact an advisor at that school. You can find some useful help locating universities by using the College Blue Book in Career Development.

An A.A. degree guarantees that you will be admitted to a state university in Florida, though not to a particular university or major. If the major is classified as “limited access” by the university, you must meet specific admissions criteria (e.g., prerequisite courses, GPA, early admissions deadlines, etc.) in order to be considered for acceptance.

There are many factors to be considered in such a choice. It’s a good idea to use some of the career planning resources available at FSCJ since these resources will lead you through a systematic process of career exploration. Generally, the sooner you make a choice of major the better — as long as you are sure you’ve taken into consideration all the factors involved.

This requirement applies to A.A. students and those A.S. students who plan to transfer to a state university in Florida. It is a university requirement; not an A.A. or A.S. requirement. If you have two years of high school language, additional requirements depend on your major. Contact an FSCJ advisor or the university for information specific to your intended major. If you did not have at least two years of foreign language in high school, a minimum of eight credits of college level foreign language will be required. Contact an FSCJ advisor for further details.

For more information, see Associate in Arts College Level Academic Skills (CLAS) Requirements.

The first thing to do is to receive the proper advisement, so you are aware of the requirements for your A.A. degree and your specific major. The actual transfer process should begin six to nine months before you plan to go to the university (sooner if your major is “limited access”). For additional details, visit the Transfer Services page.

This will vary from person to person. It depends on how many hours a week you work, what other responsibilities you have in your life, your academic/study skills and other such factors.

Generally, a full-time course load (i.e., 12 semester hours or more) will require two to three hours of study outside of class for every hour spent in class. This would thus involve about 40 hours per week for a full-time student. If you don’t have this kind of time to spend each week, you should consider a part-time course load. Also, if you’ve been out of school for a while, you may want to take a reduced course load your first term back in school.

See Standards of Academic Progress in the FSCJ catalog.

Courses may be taken only three times, and you will have to pay increased tuition rates for the third attempt. Courses taken out-of-state or before August 1996 do not count toward this limitation.

If you were in the hospital, transferred by the military or otherwise affected by circumstances beyond your control, you can complete an appeal form in the Student Success Dean's office. Note that this must be done within 15 days after the end of the term.

If this is not the case, you can still take advantage of FSCJ’s forgiveness policy. This policy allows you to retake the same course (within the limitations explained in the previous question) and only have the last grade you earn count in your GPA. The earlier grade will still remain on your transcript even though it is not included in the GPA calculation.

Dropping a class is done within the first few days of class (see the College calendar for the deadline each term). If you drop a class, it is removed from your academic history and you’ll receive a full refund within four to six weeks. The withdrawal deadline is usually about halfway through the term (see the College calendar for the deadline). If you withdraw from a class, you receive a “W” grade on your transcript and you will not receive a refund. Although a “W” doesn't affect your GPA, it does count against you in terms of the Standards of Academic Progress.

A drop or withdrawal from class is processed through the myFSCJ student portal prior to the established drop or withdrawal deadline date.

If you expect to complete the coursework under the terms of the catalog in effect during the term of your first registration (effective term), you must graduate within five years or you will automatically be reassigned to the catalog in effect after the fifth year. For example, students who enter under catalog (2012-13) must graduate by the end of the Summer Term 2017 or they will automatically be reassigned to the 2016-17 catalog requirements.

The catalog year (e.g., 2013-14) in which a student initially entered the College is also the catalog that is in effect when students enter the university, provided they maintain continuous enrollment as defined in the university catalog. Because course requirements change from year to year, a university catalog should be obtained for the academic year that a student first entered the community college in order to determine the upper division prerequisites for the individual majors. We strongly encourage you to discuss this policy with an advisor.

All first-time students will meet with an academic advisor who will review your placement scores and suggest appropriate courses for your first term.