Where's My Degree?

Students often write to ask when their degrees will be available -

Below is a way to reply to students based on Sylvia Chen’s Autoreply which briefly says:   “Fall 2023 Graduation:   By February 2024, the Notation of your Degree/Certificate obtainment will appear on your official transcript.  Email notifications will be sent through your MC student e-mail by the end of March 2024 telling you about delivery of your diploma/certificate.”

Students transferring to UMGC in particular are often concerned because they need proof of their graduation to receive the Completion Scholarship. 

You can check to see what’s going on –

1. First, look at the student’s record in SHADEGR to be sure the student DID apply for graduation – it will look like this:   PG (Pending) 12/17/2023 .  When the graduation has been processed, the PG will change to GR.

2. Then you can run a quick Degree Works audit aka “New Degree Evaluation” https://dwpublic.glb.montgomerycollege.edu/RespDashboard/  (you need to log in to your MyMC for this) to see if all requirements have been fulfilled.

If the Application for Graduation is in the system and the Degree Works Audit shows that everything is finished, then you can send this message to the student:

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It looks like things are lined up for your graduation -

To view when your MC Degree has been processed and posted to your Transcript:

Typically, MC degrees are officially posted to your transcript about 3 – 4 weeks after the actual date of graduation.  This is because all final grades from the semester must be collected for all graduating students first in early January and then Graduation Coordinators on each campus manually run an individual audit to confirm each graduation, so the process usually is completed by the END of January/February 1st for a Fall (December) graduation, by the end of June for a Spring (May) graduation and by the end of September for Summer (August) graduation. 

Students are notified by e-mail that the degree has been processed.. That message will also give information about the delivery of diplomas/certificates (usually October for Summer graduations, July for Spring graduations, and late March for Fall graduations.)

In the meantime, starting in early January, you can regularly check your Unofficial Transcript if you go into MyMC and click on the Request a Transcript link – then you can keep watching the top section of your Unofficial Transcript for a “Degree Awarded” date; once you see that, you can safely request that an official transcript be sent to your next school. 

It’s quite possible that you’ll see that your degree has been Awarded even before you receive the official batch e-mail from MC saying that graduations have been processed.

Right now, at the top of your Unofficial Transcript, the Degree Date is blank:

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DEGREES AWARDED
Pending:	Associate of Arts	Degree Date:

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Example:  for a Fall 2023/December graduation, once you see that the date of December 17, 2023 appears in the Degree Date: space, that means your degree HAS been processed and it is safe to go ahead and request an official copy.

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Once you see that your degree has been posted to your MC transcript, then you can

Request an Official Copy of your MC Transcript to be sent to another college/employer/ or organization - 

• Go into MyMC,
• Look for the Request a Transcript Link. 
  In that link, you will find “Request an Official Transcript” - 
• Then select “Send an Electronic Transcript.” 

This will take you to the Parchment Transcript Service where you will follow directions.  There is a $10.00 fee per transcript request. 

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If you have other questions, see the MC Graduation Page:  https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/admissions-registration/student-resources/graduation.html

Anne Schleicher, Part-Time Counselor
Montgomery College Online Advising Services

Where's My Diploma?

Students may be asking, “When will my degree be stamped on my transcript and how do I get my diploma?” 

Here’s an answer you can use (compiled from this page about MC Graduation)

 

To view when your MC Degree has been processed & posted to your Transcript: Typically, MC degrees are officially posted on transcripts about 3 – 6 weeks after the actual date of graduation.  Final semester grades must first be collected for all graduating students and then Graduation Coordinators on each campus manually run an audit to confirm each graduation, so the process usually is completed by the end of January for a Fall graduation, by the end of June for a Spring graduation, and by the end of September for Summer graduation.    Students are notified by e-mail when the degree has been processed and receive a second e-mail later when diplomas are ready (usually the end of October for Summer graduations, end of August for Spring graduations, and late Feb/early March for Fall graduations.)  Diplomas are mailed to the address on file at MC; please check your account information to make sure your address is correct.   In the meantime, starting in early June for a Spring graduation (or September for a Summer graduation, or January for a Fall graduation), you can view your Unofficial Transcript in MyMC by clicking  on the “Request Transcript” link – then “View Free Unofficial Transcript” – there you can keep watching the top section of your Unofficial Transcript for a “Degree Awarded” date; once you see that, you can safely request to have  an official transcript sent to your next school.  It's possible that you’ll see that your degree has been Awarded even before you receive the official batch e-mail notice that graduations have been processed. Right now, at the top of your Unofficial Transcript, the Degree Date may be blank: DEGREES AWARDED Pending: Associate of Arts Degree Date:     DEGREES AWARDED: Awarded: Associate of Arts Degree Date: May 19,2023 Example:  for a Spring 2023 graduation, once you see that the date of May 19, 2023, appears in the Degree Date: space, that means your degree HAS been processed and it is safe to go ahead and request an official copy to be sent to another institution.

To Request an Official Copy of your MC Transcript to be sent to another college/employer/ or organization:  Log in to MyMC.  Click the "Request Transcript" icon under Student Tools on your MyMC homepage.  Click "Electronic Transcript." Click the "Access the Transcript Ordering Site" link to go to parchment.com. NOTE: If you do not see the "Access the Transcript Ordering Site" link, there may be a problem with your account. Contact us at 240-567-5000 for assistance.  Follow the instructions on the Parchment site to complete your transcript request.    This will take you to the Parchment Transcript Service where you will follow directions.  There is a $10.00 fee per transcript request.  Transcripts usually sent electronically within 24 hours of your request and you will get an e-mail confirmation that it has been sent.

 

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If a student is going to a Summer Orientation at a Maryland transfer school like UM or Towson, they can tell the Orientation Advisor that their graduation is still being processed and advisors should know what that means in terms of registering for classes knowing that the student’s MC General Education Program will be completed.

 

Of course, if a graduation question is more complicated than this, you can refer students to the Graduation Coordinator on their campus.
 

Anne Schleicher, Counselor (Part-Time)

Montgomery College Online Transfer Advising Services

 

Math Foundation - Clarification on Min Grade Required for Graduation

I am going to guess that advisement is for Nursing students at TP/SS as a grade of C in math is required to be part of the MC-UMB Nursing Dual Admission program.  And with MD state hospitals requiring a BSN for employment, being admissible to any BSN completion program will require at least a C in a math course.

But for a student in other degrees – a grade of D works for graduation when running the Banner Web Degree evaluation, I have a student’s transcript open and this is how a grade of D in MATH 165 is accepted for the Math Foundation in General Studies STEM:

Detail Requirements

Met

Condition

Rule

Subject

Attribute

Low

High

Required Credits

Required Courses

Term

Subject

Course

Title

Attribute

Credits

Grade

Source

Yes

MATF

202130

MATH

165

PRECALCULUS

MATF

4.00

D

H

Total Credits and GPA :

4.00   1.00

 The rule in transfer (as you know J) is that if the major at the MD state four-year institution requires a specific course, then a grade of C or higher is required to accept the transfer course, so for example,

-      The Psychology major @ UMBC requires a statistics - MATH 117, so a C or higher is a must.

-      A Visual Arts major at UMBC requires any Math Foundation, so a grade of D could be accepted according to MD Transfer Policy regarding grades of D in General Education Program courses:

MHEC Transfer Policy – Regarding D Grades, see “Commonly Asked Questions” section

Q: Will grades of "D" be accepted in transfer?

A: "D" grades will be accepted in transfer if the college to which you are applying also accepts a "D" for native students. A "D" grade earned in a general education course that meets a general education requirement at a sending institution, which has designated that course as meeting a general education requirement, will transfer and meet a general education requirement at the receiving institution.

Sometimes MD state transfer institutions have to be reminded of this policy if they reject a grade of D in a Gen Ed area where no specific course is required for the major…

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Having said that, there is an exception … it is important to note that UMGC (formerly UMUC) now has a policy that ALL students from ALL transfer institutions must have grades of C or higher for all courses to be accepted.  This seems to contradict MD Transfer Policy but they are firm about it and point to this section in their Admissions information for all incoming transfer students:

Credits from Colleges and Universities -

When the grade earned was at least C, transfer credits from approved two- and four-year colleges and universities may be accepted for courses that apply to the student's curriculum and do not duplicate other courses for which credit has been awarded.  https://www.umgc.edu/transfers-and-credits/transfer-credits/policies.cfm

So – it’s complicated.  When it doubt, repeating a D to improve a GPA for transfer admissions is usually a good idea.

Anne “D”avis Schleicher, Part-time Counselor
Online Transfer Advising Services

ENGL Composition - Graduation Requirement

Just to clarify and for the record. these are the regulations most recently approved by Presidents Executive Committee (PEC) on Wednesday, January 13^th, 2021  In blue is the new language.  The official online Academic Regulations and Standards records should be updated by the end of this week, per Kevin Long. 

 

2.4 – General Education Requirements 

A. Associate Degree Requirements

General education requirements must be fulfilled as outlined below with the exception of the curricula which have been duly exempted (see AR 2.5 for exemption process)

 

(1) Two courses in arts and humanities

(2) Two courses in social and behavioral sciences

(3) Two science courses, at least one of which shall be a laboratory course

(4) One course in mathematics, having performance expectations demonstrating a level of mathematical maturity beyond the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards in Mathematics (including problem-solving skills, and mathematical concepts and techniques that can be applied in the student’s program of study)

(5) One course in English composition, completed with a grade of C or better.

 

(Pursuant to COMAR Sec. 13b.06.01.03 and 13B.02.02.16D(2)(b)-(c) - General Education Requirements for Public Institutions.)

8.3 – Requirements for Associates Degree  

To be awarded the degree of associate of arts, associate of science, or associate of applied science, associate of arts in teaching, and associate of fine arts, a student must have earned a minimum of 60 credit hours, which must include the following:

A. Direct Instruction 

A minimum of 30 credit hours of direct instruction;

B. Montgomery College Coursework 

A minimum of 15 credit hours of coursework at Montgomery College; (see AR 3.7A.)

C. General Education Requirement

The Montgomery College general education requirements must be fulfilled in accordance with AR 2.4.

After August 1, 2017, all students must have a C- or better in ENGL102/103 to graduate.  

https://catalog.montgomerycollege.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=13&poid=3072#Appendix_D

 .03 General Education Requirements for Public Institutions.

A. While public institutions have the autonomy to design their general education program to meet their unique needs and mission, that program shall conform to the definitions and common standards in this chapter, and incorporate the general education knowledge and skills required by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education Standards for Accreditation. No later than August 1, 2017, a public institution shall satisfy the general education requirement by:

(1) Requiring each program leading to the A.A. or A.S. degree to include not less than 28 and not more than 36 semester hours, and each baccalaureate degree program to include not less than 38 and not more than 46 semester hours of required core courses, with the core requiring, at a minimum, course work in each of the following five areas:

(a) Arts and humanities,

(b) Social and behavioral sciences,

(c) Biological and physical sciences,

(d) Mathematics, and

(e) English composition; or

(2) Conforming with COMAR 13B.02.02.16D(2)(b)-(c).

B. Each core course used to satisfy the distribution requirements of §A(1) of this regulation shall carry at least 3 semester hours.

C. General education programs of public institutions shall require at least:

(1) Two courses in arts and humanities;

(2) Two courses in social and behavioral sciences;

(3) Two science courses, at least one of which shall be a laboratory course;

(4) One course in mathematics, having performance expectations demonstrating a level of mathematical maturity beyond the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards in Mathematics (including problem-solving skills, and mathematical concepts and techniques that can be applied in the student’s program of study); and

(5) One course in English composition, completed with a grade of C- or better.

D. Institution-Specific Requirements.

(1) In addition to the five required areas in §A of this regulation, a public institution may include up to 8 semester hours in course work outside the five areas. These courses may be integrated into other general education courses or may be presented as separate courses. Examples include, but are not limited to, Health, Diversity, and Computer Literacy.

(2) Public institutions may not include the courses in this section in a general education program unless they provide academic content and rigor equivalent to the areas in §A(1) of this regulation.

E. General education programs leading to the A.A.S. degree shall include at least 18 semester hours from the same course list designated by the sending institution for the A.A. and A.S. degrees. The A.A.S. degree shall include at least one 3-semester-hour course from each of the five areas listed in §A(1) of this regulation.

F. A course in a discipline listed in more than one of the areas of general education may be applied only to one area of general education.

G. A public institution may allow a speech communication or foreign language course to be part of the arts and humanities category.

H. Composition and literature courses may be placed in the arts and humanities area if literature is included as part of the content of the course.

I. Public institutions may not include physical education skills courses as part of the general education requirements.

J. General education courses shall reflect current scholarship in the discipline and provide reference to theoretical frameworks and methods of inquiry appropriate to academic disciplines.

K. Courses that are theoretical may include applications, but all applications courses shall include theoretical components if they are to be included as meeting general education requirements.

L. Notwithstanding §A(1) of this regulation, a public 4-year institution may require 48 semester hours of required core courses if courses upon which the institution’s curriculum is based carry 4 semester hours.

M. Public institutions shall develop systems to ensure that courses approved for inclusion on the list of general education courses are designed and assessed to comply with the requirements of this chapter.

Fall 2020 Graduation - Diplomas and Transcripts

• Since grads are processed one at a time, it is possible that for some students, the degree will be posted earlier.  It can help to first look in SHADEGR to make sure something is in progress, you may see that the degree is PG (pending) but if it says GR (graduated) then you can tell the student that the degree has been posted. 
  
  
• For Germantown students, you can adjust the first Answer to read “By January 30, 2021” – I just sent the message below to a Rockville student asking about graduation after checking to see that it is still Pending.

 

Graduation Application "No curricula available" Message

 

Bottom line for students who get the “No curricula available for graduation application” message, a next step is to look at the Unofficial Transcript to confirm that less than 40 credits have been completed with grades – or, it could be that transfer credits waiting to be evaluated and applied to the MC record.  Advise the student to hurry up and wait for all current semester grades are visible and then Apply for Graduation.

Anne

 

General Education Program Completed Stamp

Montgomery College students that have completed their general education requirements and plan to transfer prior to completing an associates degree can now request a “Gen Ed Program Completed” stamp to be posted on their transcripts.

This is especially helpful to our MD transfer institutions because it will make it much easier for them to recognize and transfer the gen ed program per MHEC guidelines, “A completed general education program shall transfer without further review or approval by the receiving institution and without the need for a course-by-course match”

To complete the request students will need to go to “student form” section of the admissions page, print, sign and submit: http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Department2.aspx?id=10072

Graduation Application Deadlines

Good morning,

Please note that the Office of Admissions and Records will not accept any more graduation applications for Spring 2014.

Encourage students to apply online for Summer 2014. If students are having issues with submitting their online application, they must make sure their major is updated.  If a student has an old code, undeclared major or if they have a Pre-Health Science code, the application will not go through.

Please send student to our office to update their majors. They will then have to submit the application online.

If students miss the Summer deadline, they will have to apply for Fall 2014

If you have questions, please let me know.

Graduation Deadlines

Summer 2014------June 1

Fall 2014------------October 1

Spring 2015--------Tentative March 1 (Possibility for change to earlier date)

Eunice Akitobi

Campus Director of Enrollment Services

and Assistant Registrar

Graduation Application Dates

Update provided by Melissa Gregory on 12/4/13

The Board of Trustees requested submission of resolutions of expected graduates for fall, spring, and summer prior to the end of those terms.  The Board now pre-approves the list of graduates for each term.

To submit the list of expected graduates to the Board on time, it was necessary to change the deadlines for graduation applications. The deadlines will change as of summer 2014 – see below:

Fall:                      June 2 – October 1

Spring:                October 2 –March 1

Summer:              March 2 –June 1

The spring deadline will not change, so there won’t be any disruption for students.  However, there will be no exceptions to the deadlines.  If a student’s name is not on the pre-approval list that goes to the Board of Trustees, the student cannot graduate in that term.  In the past the graduation coordinators used their own discretion regarding exceptions on late graduation applications.  That is no longer possible. 

The deadlines have been changed on our forms, on the web, and in the online catalog.  Let Melissa Gregory know if you run across any place that has been missed.

Regulation regarding limiting multiple majors

This is the official word from Dr. Pearl:



The regulation takes effect in the fall of 2013. This student should be allowed to graduate under the rules in place when this academic year started. *

It will be required that students must complete a minimum of 75 credits in order to obtain degree for both majors. There is no appeal process for this request.

*This came from an email sent to Eunice Akitobi from a parent whose son wants to receive degrees in both Business and International Business.

In other words, for this semester and summer 2013, students will be able to apply for more than one degree without requiring an extra 15 credits for the second degree. Beginning fall 2013, a student will need a minimum of 15 additional credits specific to the new major to get a second degree, whether the degrees are to be awarded simultaneously or one after the other.

The less similar the degrees are, the easier it should be for the student to be able to pursue both of them.

For example, the Engineering degrees are all very similar, so that won’t work. However, Business and Accounting have enough differences that a student should be allowed to receive degrees in both.

I know that there was a question from the Education department about this; I think that would fall into a “special considerations” category, say, if someone wants to pursue both Early Childhood and Elementary AAT degrees. That would require a petition; I believe to Dr. Pearl.

New Academic Reg/General Studies

I want to update everyone on some Academic Regulations that were passed last year, and are already in the P&P.
9.823 Class Attendance
Faculty are required to report students who have never attended their courses by use of the “NA” (Never Attended) placeholder. The “NA” should be reported on Banner Web no later than three business days before the twenty percent benchmark for dropping courses. The “NA” should be reported in the space used for midterm grades. For summer and winter courses, the “NA” should be reported during the first two days of class.

9.3011 Limiting Multiple Degrees

Any Montgomery College student who already has earned an associate’s degree at the College must earn at least fifteen additional credits beyond the first degree and meet all other graduation requirements in order to be eligible for another degree.
The 15 additional credits must apply to the second degree. This means no more Business + International Business, nor two Engineering degrees…. And if a student wants to do General Studies and then later complete another, more focused degree, s/he will need 15 credits specific to that second degree. (This regulation was required by MHEC).

9.411 Incomplete Notification Form

Incomplete grades are exceptional marks given to students who have attended the vast majority of a course and who are doing satisfactory work but, for circumstances beyond their control, are unable to complete a small portion of the course work. The instructor will provide students with incomplete forms stipulating work to be done by a certain date, usually by the fourth week of the following fall or spring semester. Every student should receive an incomplete form if an “I” grade is warranted.

The incomplete form is available at the final grade worksheet in My MC. Upon completion of this form, a copy will be sent to the faculty member, the student, and the Office of Admissions and Records for inclusion in the student’s record. Forms must be completed within two weeks of the grade submission deadline. Failure to fulfill the terms of the form will lead to conversion of the “I’ grade to a failure.

The instructors are afforded access to “I” grades they have assigned and both students and instructors are e‐mailed about the original arrangement and are warned as deadlines approach.

When the grade of “I” is recorded, the course work must be completed within the four weeks following the beginning of the next full semester, unless the instructor notifies the Office of Admissions and Records that an extension has been granted.

Incompletes may not be given as midterm grades. In addition, the reason for assigning an incomplete must be validated by using the incomplete form.

Karissa (Chair of Academic Regulations Committee)

New Hold - GR

• A hold code in SOAHOLD equaling GR only stops the student from applying on-line for graduation.
  
• The student must request a major change first, then can go back on line to apply for graduation.
  
• Once the major code has been changed to something other than the codes below, remove the hold.
  
  List of Majors for Setting Holds: 000A , 000B , 520 , 530 , 550 , 560 , 570 , 580 , 590 , 900A , 902A
  
  Katie Grocki already had a student contact her about the hold because Financial Aid told the student the hold was on his record.

Spring 2010 Graduation Reminder

Eunice Akitobi sent this reminder, regarding the spring graduation ceremony:

Please remind all counselors that we will not allow students to walk in graduation ceremony if they are not completing their requirements this Spring. If students have to take classes during the summer, they will have to apply for summer graduation and walk next May.

Discontinued Majors ....

Students who plan to graduate from Montgomery College should select one catalog during their enrollment and follow the curriculum outlined in that catalog, pro­vided they graduate within seven years of the catalog chosen.

If there is a consecutive two-year break in enrollment, the student must use a catalog issued during the enroll­ment period following the two-year break in enrollment. Time limits may be appealed.