Graduation Requirements

Chipola College awards three degrees, the Bachelor of Science Degree, the Associate in Arts, and the Associate in Science. Certificates are provided in Workforce Development programs.

All graduates will be provided graduation robes and mortar boards with tassels. No additional adornment is allowed. Only those cords awarded by Chipola College for academic achievement in Honors, Phi Theta Kappa and/or the President’s Medallion for (4.0) graduates will be allowed. All other adornments and ornamentation including pins, flowers or brooches will not be allowed. Graduates will be asked to remove any adornments that have not been approved prior to entering the arena floor.

Bachelor of Science Degree in Education

To be awarded the Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, a student must satisfy the following requirements:

  • Complete 36 hours of General Education coursework and meet requirements of Gordon Rule.
  • Complete two years of high school or one year of college instruction (8 Chipola College credits) in a single foreign language.
  • Complete all required coursework. Twenty-five percent of the total semester hours toward graduation must be earned in academic programs in residence at Chipola College.
  • Earn a cumulative GPA of 2.5 for professional studies and content area courses.
  • Earn a minimum grade of “C” in all major and prerequisite coursework.
  • Complete a minimum of 120 hours of coursework.
  • Satisfactorily complete Student Internship.
  • Demonstrate satisfactory performance at the pre-professional level on the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices.
  • Present passing scores on the basic skills, professional knowledge, and subject area parts of the Florida Teacher Certification exam.
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

To be awarded the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Degree, a student must satisfy the following requirements:

  • Complete 36 hours of General Education coursework and meet requirements of Gordon Rule.
  • Complete two years of high school or one year of college instruction (8 Chipola College credits) in a single foreign language.
  • Complete all required coursework. Twenty-five percent of the total semester hours toward graduation must be earned in academic programs in residence at Chipola College. In extreme cases, a maximum of six (6) hours of the final thirty (30) semester hours of their program may be completed at another accredited senior institution with prior approval of the academic department dean.
  • Earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0.
  • Complete a minimum of 120 hours of coursework.
  • Complete a minimum of 60 hours of 3000/4000 coursework at a senior level institution with a grade of “C” or better.
  • Have a GPA of 2.5 or higher in the 7 required courses plus 1 elective in either of the accounting or management concentrations.
  • Complete significant hours of community service.
Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing

To be awarded the Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing, a student must satisfy the following requirements:

  • Complete 36 hours of General Education coursework and meet requirements of Gordon Rule.
  • Complete two years of high school or one year of college instruction (8 Chipola College credits) in a single foreign language.
  • Complete all required coursework. Twenty-five percent of the total semester hours toward graduation must be earned in academic programs in residence at Chipola College.
  • Earn a minimum grade of “C” in all major and prerequisite coursework.
  • Earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0.
  • Complete a minimum of 120 hours of coursework.
  • Complete a minimum of 60 hours of coursework at a senior level institution.
  • Complete a minimum of 40 hours at the 3000/4000 level.
Associate in Arts Degree

To be awarded the Associate in Arts degree, a student must be entitled to an honorable dismissal, must be eligible to re-enroll, must have earned a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or better on all work attempted, must have completed a total of not less than 60 semester hours of acceptable college work (including the 36 hours of required general education courses), must have passed the Graduation Exit Exam, and must have fulfilled the requirements of the Communication and Computations Skills regulation (Gordon Rule). The 60 semester hours may not include physical education activity courses nor occupational courses. Twenty-five percent of the total semester hours toward graduation must be earned in academic programs in residence at Chipola College.

Requirements are shown in the current catalog for the academic year during which the student originally entered Chipola or for the year during which the student applies for graduation, except that the catalog for the year during which the student originally entered Chipola may not be used if more than three years have elapsed between the date of original admission and graduation. In the latter case, the catalog current for the year of graduation or the catalog for the preceding year must be used with regard to the General Education requirements or state regulations in effect.

Associate in Science Degree

The requirements for the Associate in Science degree are the same as the Associate in Arts degree with three exceptions. Students must complete 15 to 18 hours of General Education coursework; must follow a Chipola College academic pathway for the chosen degree field; and are NOT required to take the Graduate Exit Exam.

Certificate of Completion

Students who meet all of the requirements except a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better for either the Associate in Arts or the Associate in Science may be issued a certificate signifying the completion of a specified number of semester hours.

Workforce Development Certificate

Graduation requirements for Workforce Development certificate programs vary with each program. To be awarded a Workforce Development certificate, a student must be eligible to re-enroll, and must have satisfactorily completed the clock hours of instruction and/or competencies as specified in the Workforce Development Certificate Programs section of this catalog.

Rules concerning the catalog to be used for graduation requirements are the same as those for degree-seeking students.

Reverse Transfer

Pursuant to s 1007.23 (8), Reverse transfer is a process used to assist students who have transferred from Chipola College to a Florida public university in earning an Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree from Chipola. The 28 institutions of the Florida College System and 12 state universities participate of the reverse transfer process.

In order to participate in the reverse transfer process, a student must meet the following requirements:

  • Be currently enrolled in a state university;
  • Earned more than 30 hours of college credit at Chipola College;
  • Transferred to a state university before earning an AA degree;
  • Not previously earned an AA degree from the state university;
  • Completed a minimum of 60 hours of college credit;
  • Completed general education requirements of either Chipola College or the four-year institution;
  • Not earned a baccalaureate degree;
  • Be in good academic standing and be current with financial obligations at the four-year institution;
  • Be in good academic standing and be current with financial obligations at Chipola College;
  • Have met the civic literacy requirement per section 1007.25(4), Florida Statutes;
  • Have met college-level communication and computation competency per SBOE Rule 6A-10.030, Florida Administrative Code;
  • Demonstrate competency in foreign language per s. 1007.25(8);
  • Consent to allowing the four-year institution to transmit the necessary information to Chipola College; and
  • Meet any other associate in arts degree graduation institutional requirement of the degree-granting FCS institution.