Catalog Rights

Cypress College issues a new catalog each year. The information published in the catalog is in effect for the academic year beginning with the Fall semester and concluding with the Summer session.

The courses required for a specific degree or certificate, or general education may change from one catalog to the next and, therefore, may change during the period of time that a student attends the college. Catalog rights, established when a student first takes classes at the college, protect the student from being held for additional requirements that may be added to a later catalog.

For the purposes of meeting graduation or certificate requirements, students may elect to meet the requirement of either

  1. The catalog that was in effect at the time they began taking courses at Cypress College, or
  2. Any catalog that is or has been in effect during the time that they have maintained continuous enrollment before graduation, or
  3. The catalog that is in effect at the time they file an application for a degree or certificate.

Students maintain catalog rights by maintaining continuous enrollment at Cypress College — that is, by receiving a grade of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” “F,” “CR,” “P,” “NC,” “NP,” “RD,” “W,” “EW,” or “I” on their transcripts for at least one course per academic year. Documented military or medical leave or attendance at another regionally accredited institution of higher learning will not be considered an interruption of enrollment. This policy supersedes all previous catalog rights provisions and applies only to programs at Cypress College.

The academic year is considered Fall and Spring and does not include the Summer term for continuous enrollment purposes.

Retroactive Awards

Students who are no longer enrolled at Cypress College and who have previously met all the requirements for a degree or certificate, but never applied for graduation shall, upon request:

  • be awarded the degree or certificate without the need to re-enroll at Cypress College
  • be awarded retroactively the degree or certificate in the last term in which the student maintained catalog rights.