Program Integrity and Guarantees

   Oakland Community College guarantees the integrity and quality of its programs and degrees by assuring that graduates will possess those skills and competencies attested to by their certificate or degree. The college stands behind these programs and degrees and, therefore, guarantees the following:

Transfer Options and Requirements /   In the curriculum of the college are many varied programs for students who plan to continue their education at a four-year institution.
   These students will do well to examine carefully the professional requirements and the time required to prepare for their field of choice. It is the student’s responsibility, in fact, to be fully aware of course requirements of the college or university to which they intend to transfer. Early selection of the transfer institution facilitates planning while at Oakland Community College.
   In addition to studying the current catalog of the transfer institution and discussing requirements with a counselor or faculty advisor, the student should confer with an admissions counselor from his or her selected transfer institution when the university counselors visit the campuses of Oakland Community College during the fall and winter semesters. Information concerning the date and time of the visits is available through the counseling office on each campus.
   Application to the four-year institution should be made well in advance of the expected transfer date. At the time of application for transfer, the student should request a copy of the official transcript from the Office of the Registrar for the transfer institution.
   Though there are many differences in the various kinds of specialization which may enter into a college degree program, most of the specialization takes place during the third and fourth years of advanced study. The first two years, however, are preparatory years when the basic courses common to all programs and curricula are completed.
   The student who plans to take the first two years of work at Oakland Community College and transfer to a four-year college will generally meet transfer requirements by qualifying for an Associate in Liberal Arts, Associate in Science or an Associate in Business Administration. There are, however, different requirements at the various colleges, and the student should check the requirements of the four-year college chosen.

Transfer Guarantee / Oakland Community College will, upon recommendation from the senior institution to which the graduating student transferred, permit the student to retake any course or courses (up to a maximum of 16 credit hours) for which the student received a grade of 2.00 or better at Oakland Community College in areas deemed deficient by the senior institution. No tuition charge will be made to the student retaking such course or courses.
   The student will be permitted to retake such courses only one time. The college recognizes that unused skills deteriorate rapidly. The assurances offered herein are to be requested within a two-year period dating from the awarding of the OCC degree. Students eligible for such consideration will have been awarded one of the following degrees: Associate in Liberal Arts, Associate in Science or Associate in Business Administration. In addition to the completion of all degree requirements, the student must have completed English and math requirements along with his or her prerequisites (as prescribed by the college placement tests and the selected degree) within the first 30 hours of attempted credit at this institution.

Career Programs / Any Oakland Community College graduates with an Associate in Applied Science Degree, who are judged by their employer as lacking in technical job skills normally expected of an entry-level employee, will be provided further skill training of up to 16 semester credit hours by Oakland Community College without charge, subject to the Career Skills Guarantee.

Career Skills Guarantee / The graduate must have an Associate in Applied Science Degree awarded at Oakland Community College, in a recognized specialty area (e.g., Computer Information Systems, Machine Tool Technology, Business Information Systems) as evidenced by the area of concentration designation on the final transcript confirming the degree.
   The student must also have completed, with a grade of 2.00 or better, English and math requirements and his or her prerequisites (as prescribed by the college placement test and his or her selected degree program) within the first 30 hours of attempted credit at this institution.

Employment / The employment must be full-time, and the job description must be on file and must be certified by the Oakland Community College Placement Office as directly related to the graduate’s program of study. The initial date of employment of the graduate must be within one year of awarding of the degree.
   The employer must certify in writing that the employee is lacking in the entry-level skills identified in writing at the time of initial employment (in job description on file) and must specify the area(s) of skills deficiency within 90 days of the graduate’s initial employment.

Skill Retraining / Skill retraining will be limited to a maximum of 16 credit hours and to the enrollment in courses regularly offered by Oakland Community College.
   The skill retraining must be completed in one calendar year dating from the identification of the deficiency of the employee, or in the case of a lack of prerequisites, a year from the completion of such prerequisites. The graduate must meet all prerequisites, corequisites and other admission requirements for retraining courses. The employer, the graduate and a college counselor, with the advice of appropriate teaching faculty, will develop an educational plan, which specifies the courses constituting the retraining. Failure, withdrawal or audit of a retraining course(s) is applicable to the 16 credit hour limit.
   The graduate or the employer will bear the cost of books, supplies, uniforms, transportation, insurance, fees paid to other agencies and other related costs. No tuition charge will be made to the student retaking such course or courses.