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Central Virginia Community College is committed to student success. To achieve this goal, many courses have prerequisites. These requirements, which were established to foster a student’s success in the course, are identified in the Course Descriptions section of the CVCC Catalog and Website. Students may not enroll in a course for which they do not meet the prerequisites by the time the course begins. (The authorization for a waiver of any prerequisite may be made only by the faculty member offering the course or the appropriate associate vice president if the faculty member is not available.) If a student attends a course for which they have not met the published prerequisite, faculty will advise the student to drop the course themselves or face being administratively dropped, which may result in a loss of tuition. 

In a course that requires placement tests, students must obtain the required minimum scores to enroll in a course or complete prescribed developmental studies courses before enrolling in the desired course. 

Procedure for adding additional prerequisites: 

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) has established system-wide prerequisites for courses (see VCCS Master Course File).  The policy does permit colleges to set additional prerequisites (VCCS Policy 5.3.0).  
If departmental faculty believe that additional prerequisites for particular classes are needed to support student success:

  1. The faculty will identify the required prerequisite and submit a proposal validating the need for the additional prerequisite to the associate vice president.
    1. Consideration should to be given to recently enrolled student success rates for the course in the absence of the proposed course prerequisites.  The Office of Institutional Effectiveness may provide analysis and information as needed.  This information should be included in the justification.
    2. Course prerequisites should be written using consistent terminology with other course prerequisites and should not conflict with any existing policies.
    3. Faculty should consider proposing the change through their VCCS discipline peer group or through the VCCS Dean’s Course Review committee so that all VCCS students may benefit from the improvements.
  2. The proposal should be submitted using VCCS Form 103 (sign-on required).  
  3. The associate vice president will review the faculty proposal and, if in agreement with the faculty, the AVP   will submit the proposal to the Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee.
  4. The Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee will consider the request in the context of existing enrollment policies and practices and the impact to student progress in program pathways when additional prerequisites are imposed.
  5. If the request is approved by the Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee, the changes will be submitted to the Office of the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs for approval and implementation.
    1. If approved the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs will notify the CVCC community.  Revisions will be made based on the proposed starting date included on VCCS Form 103:
      1. Add or update the prerequisite and course description in PeopleSoft (SIS Analyst - Information Technology Department);
      2. CVCC Course Descriptions will be updated on the website course description and in the appropriate catalog (Registrar);  
      3. Educational Program Pathways in the catalog, website, and PeopleSoft (when needed) will be revised to disclose additional prerequisites (Program Faculty, Division Associate Vice Presidents, and Office of Institutional Effectiveness).
      4. Forward for state action if appropriate.
    2. If disapproved the Division Associate Vice President or Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs will notify the faculty member and provide additional follow-up and information as needed. 

 

Policy #: CVCC0127
Last Reviewed/Revised: 12/19/2025
Responsible Dept.: Academic and Student Affairs
Other Policy References: VCCS 5.3.0, VCCS Form 103