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General Requirements for Certificates and Degrees

General Requirements for Certificates

An Occupational or Career Technical Certificate is awarded to students who satisfactorily complete the prescribed curriculum intended to prepare an individual for employment in a specific field.

General Requirements for Occupational or Career Technical Certificates

To become eligible for a certificate a student must:

  1. Complete the prescribed curriculum listed for the particular certificate. Appropriate technical course substitutions may be approved by the department dean/associate dean.

  2. Complete at least thirty percent (30%) of the total program of study required for the certificate in residence at Illinois Central College.

  3. Maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 (C) in all courses required for the certificate (Grading Policies). Individual courses may have additional grade requirements.

  4. Fulfill all financial obligations to the College (Tuition Information).

  5. Submit an Application for Certificate by the deadline for the term in which they plan to graduate to ensure the timely award of the certificate (Graduation Information).

    • December/Winter Graduation – due October 1

    • May/Spring Graduation – due March 1

    • Summer/July Graduation – due June 1

Note: Commencement ceremonies are only held in May. Students who received degrees in December and students anticipating receiving degrees in July may participate in the May ceremony (Graduation Information).

A Certificate of Participation may be awarded for completion of single course programs of instruction and certain community service activities.

General Requirements for Degrees

Students must fulfill all requirements to be eligible for a degree.

  1. Credit hours:

    • Associate in Arts Degree Requirements AND Associate in Science Degree Requirements– complete a minimum of 60 transfer credit (TC) hours, including general education requirements; 15 of the final 30 credit hours must be earned at ICC.

    • Associate in Engineering Science Degree Requirements –- complete a minimum of 61 transfer credit (TC) hours; 15 of the final 30 credit hours must be earned at ICC.

    • Associate in Fine Arts Degree Requirements - complete the prescribed transfer credit (TC) hours for a specific Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) degree program; 15 of the final 30 credit hours must be earned at ICC.

    • Associate in Applied Science Degree Requirements – complete the prescribed credit hours for a specific Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree program. At least 15 of the last 30 hours must be completed at ICC. Those 15 credit hours must be program courses from the second year of the program.

    • Associate in General Studies Degree Requirements – complete a minimum of 60 credit hours, including general education requirements; 15 of the final 30 credit hours must be earned at ICC.

    • Reverse Transfer of Credit – Students who completed 15 credit hours of transferrable credit prior to receiving their associate degree at Illinois Central College may transfer back successfully completed transferrable course work from an Illinois state college or university and be awarded an associate degree.

    Note: Illinois Central College does not accept partial credit for coursework completed at other colleges and universities. ICC will evaluate quarter hours earned at other colleges and universities for equivalent credit at ICC.

  2. Maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 on a 4-point scale or a C average (Grading Policies). All grades and hours of all courses attempted at ICC are used in calculating the student’s GPA. When a higher grade is earned in a repeated course where a student received a D or F, the D or F will be dropped from GPA calculation and the higher grade will be used. Individual courses or programs may have additional or higher GPA requirements.

  3. Satisfactorily complete all specific degree requirements outlined by the College (see individual degree in links above and/or specific program requirements in Academic Programs by Career Cluster).

  4. Fulfill all financial obligations to the College (Tuition Information).

  5. Submit an Application for Degree/Certificate for the desired graduation month/term (Graduation Information):

    • December/Winter Graduation – due October 1

    • May/Spring Graduation – due March 1

    • Summer/July Graduation – due June 1

Note: Commencement ceremonies are only held in May. Students who received degrees in December and students anticipating receiving degrees in July may participate in the May ceremony (Graduation Information).