Administrative Degree Clearance Policy

A student who has met all of the program requirements in his/her declared major may be cleared for graduation administratively, regardless of whether the student submitted an application to graduate. CSN’s Office of the Registrar, in partnership with the Office of Institutional Research, is responsible for timely monitoring and follow-up regarding all students’ progress toward degree or certificate completion. Students will be treated equitably by communicating with them the opportunity to graduate pursuant to this Policy or opt out from it.

Students who opt-out are subject to discussion between the Office of the Registrar’s graduation unit, the appropriate advising personnel, and the student. Generally, students cannot utilize any of the following reasons, generally deemed as unacceptable, to delay graduation after completion of all major/degree requirements.

• Adding/completing another degree without graduating from the declared program of study/major in MyCSN
• Improving cumulative GPA if already a 2.0 or above
• Repeating a course more than twice to improve a grade
• Prolonging student loan deferment
• Extending the time of F-1 visa, or legal student status to stay in the United States. Regardless of having applied for graduation or not, an international student on an un-expired I-20 only has up to 60-days from the date all certificate or degree requirements were met to do one of the following: 1) Leave the U.S, 2) Apply for a post-graduation internship (OPT), 3) Submit a returning CSN student application declaring a new major/program of study, or 4) Transfer out to another school with a new updated I-20 granted by that school.
• Extending the time to qualify for athletic certification without declaring another program of study
• Maintaining eligibility for specific types of federal, state, and institutional aid
• Applying and maintaining eligibility for a scholarship.

With the exception of F-1 students, a student cleared to receive his/her degree, can still take classes as a non-degree seeking student. Once the degree posts, a student can proceed to declare his/her new major or program of study. For clarification, Financial Aid funding ceases after a student earns two degrees with CSN, which could be any of the following combinations: two certificates of achievement, a certificate of achievement and an associate’s degree, two associates degrees, a certificate of achievement and bachelor’s degree, or an associate and a bachelor’s degree. Financial aid questions specific to a student’s circumstances should be directed to CSN’s Financial Aid office.