Guide to Catalog Terms
Accessibility Services:
This office coordinates services for RRCC students with disabilities so that they have equal access to pursue their educational goals. Call 303-914-6733 or 720-372-1591 (video phone).
Addendum:
Revisions or extra information added to a document, contract, report, or publication.
Admission:
People ages 17 and above who want to attend RRCC can apply for entry to the college. The Office of Admissions is directly across from the main entrance of the Lakewood Campus.
Advisors:
RRCC’s academic (also referred to as general) advisors help new and continuing students at all stages of their college careers, particularly those seeking certificates, degrees, and/or eventual transfers to four-year colleges or universities. Advising is located next to the Admissions Office on the Lakewood Campus. Advising is also available at the Arvada campus by appointment.
Faculty advisors also are available to assist students. Many times, academic advisors will refer students to faculty advisors for specific information concerning courses and programs. If you are pursuing a certificate or associate of applied science degree, consulting a program area faculty advisor is helpful.
Assessment:
In a community college setting, your English and mathematics skills are assessed so that you can begin your college career with the best chance of succeeding. RRCC administers the placement test: it is NOT an entrance exam but, it does give students, advisors, and instructors the information needed to determine which classes students are ready to take.
Once you are enrolled in classes, your instructors will assess your progress regularly using a variety of methods. Yes, exams are one way, but other methods include writing essays, reports, and research papers; giving oral reports; completing exercises and homework assignments; and participating in classroom discussions. It is important that YOU assess your own progress so that you can ask questions and seek help when necessary.
Audit (AU):
If you want to take a class without earning credit or receiving a final grade, you can choose to do so at the time you register for the class; you cannot change your mind after registering and declare that you want to earn credit and a grade for the class. Also note that you must pay full tuition and fees, and you will not receive the COF stipend.
Catalog:
The RRCC Catalog lists and describes essential information for all students, advisors, instructors, staff, and administrators. Use the catalog in conjunction with each semester’s schedule of classes. The catalog is a vital resource that you need to read and review regularly. You will graduate under the requirements in effect for the semester that you first enrolled unless you have a one-year break in attendance (excluding summer term). If you interrupt attendance you must meet the requirements of the catalog in effect at the time you re-enrolled. You also may choose to use the catalog in effect during the semester you graduate. For more information and/or clarification, meet with your advisor.
Certificates:
In addition to two-year degrees, you can earn certificates in a variety of specialties. A certificate might require as few as five credits and in some cases can count toward a degree.
College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP):
The College-Level Examination Program® or CLEP gives students the opportunity to demonstrate college-level achievement through taking exams that can lead to credit for designated undergraduate courses.
Information: www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html.
College Opportunity Fund (COF):
The state of Colorado will pay a portion of the tuition for Colorado residents attending RRCC or any state-supported or participating private college or university. Students must apply to COF and authorize its use at the attending college. Apply online at www.rrcc.edu/college-opportunity-fund. You will then need to authorize COF once you have registered for courses. You can do so by logging into "The Rock" and clicking on the Student Finance.
Colorado Community College Common Courses:
Courses with common content carry the same prefix, number, title, credits, description, competencies, and outline. These commonly described courses facilitate transfer and articulation arrangements for Colorado’s secondary and community college students and ensure curriculum quality across the colleges.
Colorado Community College System (CCCS):
The CCCS comprises the state’s largest system of higher education. Its career and academic programs in the 13 state community colleges serve more than 128,000 students annually. www.cccs.edu
Co-requisite:
A co-requisite is a course that is required with another course. For example, a student enrolled in REE 201 (Real Estate Brokers I) must also be enrolled in REE 202 (Real Estate Brokers II). In this particular case, both classes must be taken together; they meet at the same time with the same instructor. (If a co-requisite is required, you will see an explanatory note in the current semester’s schedule and often in the "Course Descriptions" section of the catalog.) Meet with an academic or faculty advisor before enrolling in classes to learn more about specific co-requisites.
Credit(s):
A credit is a unit of study. The number of credits assigned to each course can be found in the "Course Descriptions" section of the catalog as well as in the listing of courses in the current semester’s schedule. If you have questions concerning credits, the best source of information is an academic or a faculty advisor.
Note: Full-time students are those who take 12 or more credits in a semester; part-time students are those who take fewer than 12 credits in a semester.
Degrees:
RRCC offers a variety of two-year associate degrees:
Associate of Applied Science
Associate of Arts
Associate of General Studies – Generalist
Associate of Science
Meet with a faculty or academic advisor to learn about the requirements for each degree.
Electives:
Students choose an academic course from a list of options.
English as a Second Language (ESL):
Students for whom English is their second language can find assistance in the ESL/Foreign Language Lab located on the Lakewood campus.
Financial Aid:
Tuition assistance is available in three types: grants, loans, and work-study. To learn more about financial aid, visit www.rrcc.edu/financial-aid, or stop by the Financial Aid Office to meet with a financial aid representative.
General Education Courses:
These are courses not directly related to a student’s formal preparation for a career but that need to be part of every college student’s body of knowledge in order for him or her to function as an educated adult. These courses are numbered 100 and above.
General Education Development (GED):
If a student has not graduated from high school, passing the GED certifies that he or she has high school-level academic skills.
Grade Point Average (GPA):
GPA refers to your average grade and is determined by dividing the grade points (Quality Points) you have earned by the number of Quality Hours you have earned.
Graduation:
Meet with a faculty or an academic advisor BEFORE beginning any program of study; advisors know the requirements and can help you stay on the path to graduation. Upon successful completion of degree or certificate requirements, you can receive recognition for your efforts during annual commencement exercises.
Graduation Application:
When you have successfully completed 45 credits, you are usually only 15 credits away from graduating with one of the associate degrees that RRCC offers. At this point, it is recommended that you meet with a faculty or academic advisor to ensure you are on track for graduation.
Near the beginning of the semester in which you want to graduate, submit a graduation application form by the date listed in the current semester’s schedule. The application form is available online at www.rrcc.edu/student-records/graduation-application.
GT: Statewide Guaranteed Transfer course:
See Guarantee Transfer Courses on page 69
GT-AH1: Arts & Humanities
GT-AH2: Literature and Humanities
GT-AH3: Ways of Thinking
GT-AH4: Foreign Languages (must be Intermediate/200 level)
GT-CO1: Introductory Writing Course
GT-CO2: Intermediate Writing Course
GT-CO3: Advanced Writing Course
GT-HI1: History
GT-MA1: Mathematics
GT-SC1: A science with a required laboratory
GT-SC2: A science without a required laboratory
GT-SS1: Economic or Political Systems
GT-SS2: Geography
GT-SS3: Human Behavior, Culture, or Social Frameworks
GT Pathways Curriculum:
GT Pathways is a set of general education courses that the state guarantees to transfer. Receiving institutions shall apply guaranteed general education courses to a student’s general education or major requirements. Approved courses in GT Pathways are not based on course equivalencies but meet content and competency criteria. Go to http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html for more information.
International Students:
These are students from another country who are admitted to the U.S. on an F1 non-immigrant student visa.
Learning Commons:
The Lakewood Learning Commons is located on the second floor next to the Library, above the Community Room. The Lakewood Learning Commons offers walk-in tutoring in math, writing, the sciences, accounting, computer applications and programming, and many other subjects. The Arvada Learning Commons offers tutoring in math, writing, biology, and chemistry. Tutoring is free to all RRCC students.
Open-Entry:
Anyone who can benefit from RRCC’s instructional programs and courses, including high school graduates, non-graduates, and students 17 years or older who are currently enrolled in high school, are welcome to apply.
Phi Theta Kappa:
RRCC sponsors a chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society for two-year colleges.
Plagiarism:
When an individual claims credit or fails to give credit for another person’s or source’s words and/or ideas, he or she has committed a serious academic offense, listed in the RRCC Catalog as academic dishonesty: "Those committing academic dishonesty will be subject to disciplinary action, such as failing the assignment or course and/or expulsion from the course or college." Work closely with your instructors and tutors to avoid plagiarism.
Prerequisite:
This is a course that is required before taking another course. For example, before you can enroll in ENG 122 (English Composition II), you must have taken ENG 121 and passed with an A, B or C. Prerequisites are listed within course descriptions of this catalog. Meet with an academic or faculty advisor before enrolling in classes to learn more about specific prerequisites.
Scholarships:
RRCC awards scholarships each year through the Foundation. The RRCC scholarship application is open November through March. Apply online at www.rrcc.edu/scholarships.
State-Guaranteed General Education Courses:
These are general education courses that the state of Colorado requires for students seeking Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degrees. A variety of courses are available in the areas of communication, mathematics, arts & humanities, social & behavioral sciences, and natural & physical sciences. Meet with an academic or faculty advisor who can help you select the courses that fulfill the AA and AS degree requirements.
Tuition:
The fee charged for instruction by a formal institution of learning is called tuition. Paying tuition and fees allows you the opportunity to earn grades in the classes you take.
Do not assume you have been dropped from a class if you miss tuition and fee payment deadlines or fail to attend a class. Once you have registered for a class, you are responsible for paying full tuition and fees unless YOU drop the class on or before the drop/refund date listed in the current semester’s schedule. RRCC does not automatically drop students for non-payment.