| LCC > Advising and Counseling Center > Waivers for assessment tests |
| Advising and Counseling Center |
|
 |
|
|
|||||
|
WAIVER TEAM WEBPAGE
WHAT IS THE WAIVER TEAM? The Waiver Team is a group of advisors, counselors, and administrators authorized to grant placement levels and prerequisite overrides based on very specific criteria laid down by the professors and administrators of the academic departments. A joint effort between the Counseling and Advising Center and the Assessment Center, the Waiver Team works very closely not only with the teaching areas of LCC but also with Enrollment Services as well. We strive to save students and LCC unnecessary placement and repeated courses while ensuring that students are not cleared to register for courses for which they are not prepared. In both matters we are responsible to the student requesting the waiver, to the academic department offering the desired course, and even to the other students taking the course. The Waiver Team serves close to 4000 students yearly, or more than 20% of the entire LCC student population. Each year we grant over 6300 placement levels in reading, writing, and math, and we give almost 1600 prerequisite overrides, or more than half of all overrides given at LCC. While waiver requests at peak times may take up to three business days to process, 76% are done the same day, and another 20% the next. __________________________________________________________________ Waiver FAQ's and "How To's" Document Links How To Determine If Your Request Has Been Processed Waiver FAQ's For Faculty Members Navigation Links Getting Prerequisite Overrides
1. WHAT IS A PREREQUISITE? LCC courses require prerequisites that student must have on their LCC academic record in order to be able to register. These prerequisites are determined not by the Waiver Team but by the professors in their various academic departments http://www.lcc.edu/academics/, who have decided what type of preparation is necessary for students to be successful in their classes. These prerequisites are listed underneath each course title in the schedule book, in the Course Description Book, and online http://www.lcc.edu/courses/. They may be a combination of Reading, Writing, or Math Levels, and they also may include a different course or courses which must be taken first. Of course, if a class's prerequisite is listed as “None,” then any student may register. It is important to be aware of the prerequisites for your intended courses, because if you do not have the necessary prerequisite on your LCC academic record, then you will not be able to register.
2. WHY ARE LCC’S PREREQUISITES DIFFERENT FROM THOSE AT MY SCHOOL? Students learn best—and classes work best—when students are appropriately prepared. LCC’s prerequisites are determined by its professors, and sometimes such prerequisites indeed may be different from those at another school. Some schools, for example, only need a student to have taken Intermediate Algebra before Statistics; LCC, however, requires College Algebra. Some schools have only reading, writing, and math prerequisites for their Human Anatomy classes; LCC, however, also requires one of a number of specific science classes to have been taken first. There are many such differences. The posted prerequisites—whether placement levels or classes or both—are what the experts in each academic field have decided are necessary for students to have a reasonable chance at being successful in a particular course. If you need more information, check directly with the academic departments: http://www.lcc.edu/academics/. 3. DO I NEED TO MEET PREREQUISITES EVEN IF I’M A GUEST STUDENT? Yes. 4. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLACEMENT LEVELS AND A PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE? Placement levels allow you to register for any class that requires those levels, while a prerequisite override only allows you to register for a specific class in a specific semester. __________________________________________________________________ 5. HOW DO I FILL OUT MY WAIVER FORM? a) Get the waiver form from the Advising Center in Room 204 Gannon Building or online here. b) On the waiver form print your name, your student number (if you know it), and your date of birth. c) Make sure that you print your e-mail address very clearly so that, for example, there is no confusion between a 0 and an O, a 1 and an L, a – and an _ ,etc. d) For every class you may want, look up the prerequisite directly underneath the course title in the schedule book, the Course Description Book, or online http://www.lcc.edu/courses/. d.1) If the prerequisite for the class(es) you want includes only placement levels and you believe you qualify for those levels, check the box on the waiver form labeled “I only need levels to register.” d.2) If the course(s) you want requires that a different course be taken first and you have done so at another college or university, check the box on the waiver form labeled “I need an override to register.” Then list which class(es) you want, and make sure you specify for which semester, because overrides are semester-specific, and we are often registering for more than one semester at a time. You also would check the “override” box if the prerequisite for the class(es) you want includes a placement level for which you may not qualify but which you believe you might be able to bypass anyway. For example, ECON201 requires a low Math Level, and we cannot give a Math Level from any course taken more than two years ago. Still, if you passed, say, college calculus three years ago, we simply can give an override to allow you to take the ECON course even without a Math Level per se on your LCC record. This bypassing of a low Math Level might be done for classes in ARCH, ASTR, AUTO, CADD, CIVL, ECON, GEOL, or PHOT, and sometimes for certain classes in BIOL, CHEM, or PHYS. Please notice, however, that we cannot waive students into a math course or statistics course in this manner. e) Finally, remember to submit appropriate documentation to show that you are qualified. Common documents include official or unofficial college transcripts or grade reports, college diplomas, and scores from ACT, SAT, TOEFL, AP, or CLEP. Review our detailed list and remember that if you do not meet the minimum criteria, you will not be eligible for a placement waiver—instead you must take any appropriate LCC placement test: http://www.lcc.edu/assess/on_campus/cpt.htm. You can submit the completed form along with any necessary documents in person to Advising at 204 GB, by fax to 517.483.1970, or via e-mail to waiver_requests@lcc.edu. The Waiver Team will evaluate requests within one to three business days and attempt to inform each student when done. __________________________________________________________________ 6. HOW CAN I GET PLACEMENT LEVELS? Usually the quickest way to get levels in reading, writing, or math is to come in to the Assessment Center and take the placement tests http://www.lcc.edu/assess/on_campus/cpt.htm. If, however, you have met certain criteria, the Waiver Team instead may be able to grant placement levels based on things like ACTs or SATs, TOEFL, AP or CLEP tests, or courses taken at other colleges or universities. You can see our complete list here, and if you are requesting levels, please be sure to study the list carefully. Remember that if you do not meet the minimum criteria, you will not be eligible for a placement waiver—instead you must take any appropriate LCC placement test: http://www.lcc.edu/assess/on_campus/cpt.htm. Our waiver request form is here. You can submit the completed form along with any necessary documents in person to Advising at 204 Gannon Building, by fax to 517.483.1970, or via e-mail to waiver_requests@lcc.edu . The Waiver Team will evaluate requests within one to three business days and attempt to inform each student when done. Look for an e-mail with a subject line like "placement levels at LCC" or "Spring 08 at LCC," etc. 7. I TOOK PLACEMENT TESTS AT MY OTHER SCHOOL—WILL THESE GIVE ME LEVELS AT LCC? No, not unless they were the same tests we use, the Accuplacers. 8. AT MY PREVIOUS SCHOOL I TESTED DIRECTLY INTO A MATH CLASS BUT DIDN’T DO WELL—CAN I JUST REPEAT THAT CLASS WITHOUT TAKING ANY PLACEMENT TESTS? No. 9. CAN I GET PLACEMENT LEVELS FROM A COURSE THAT ISN’T YET COMPLETED? No. In such a case either you would need to seek levels based on the criteria you can view here or you would need to take the placement tests http://www.lcc.edu/assess/on_campus/cpt.htm. 10. I JUST DROVE IN FROM SEVERAL HOURS AWAY—CAN I GET MY PLACEMENT LEVELS RIGHT NOW? No. Out of fairness to students, we do all requests in the order they were received. In this case, if you wanted levels right away, you would need to take the placement tests: http://www.lcc.edu/assess/on_campus/cpt.htm. 11. CAN THE PERSON AT THE ASSESSMENT CENTER GIVE ME MY PLACEMENT LEVELS? Usually not. First, our lab techs’ primary waiver job is simply to help accept and file your forms. Second, they presently are authorized only to give Reading Levels and/or Writing Levels from ACTs, SATs, and TOEFL and are not authorized to give Math Levels at all. Third, they can give a Reading Level and/or a Writing Level from ACTs, SATs, or TOEFL only if no other waiver forms are waiting ahead of yours, which often is fairly rare, especially during registration times. If time permits, however, our lab techs at least may be able to tell you whether your ACTs, SATs, or TOEFL will or will not give levels. 12. IF I RECEIVED PLACEMENT LEVELS FROM THE WAIVER TEAM LAST SEMESTER, DO I NEED TO TURN IN ANOTHER WAIVER FORM FOR LEVELS THIS SEMESTER? No. Those levels still should be on your LCC transcript. __________________________________________________________________ Getting Prerequisite Overrides 13. HOW CAN I GET A PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE? If the LCC course you want requires that another course be taken first and you have done so at another college or university, you may be able to get a prerequisite override either from the department offering the course http://www.lcc.edu/academics/ or from the Waiver Team. In dealing with the Waiver Team, simply submit a completed waiver request form along with any necessary documents in person to Advising at 204 Gannon Building, by fax to 517.483.1970, or via e-mail to waiver_requests@lcc.edu. Our Waiver Team will evaluate requests within one to three business days and attempt to inform each student when done. Look for an e-mail with a subject line like "placement levels at LCC" or "Spring 08 at LCC," etc. Please remember, however, that if your prerequisite class is still in progress at another school and is not yet completed, then for a prerequisite override you MUST contact the department offering the course(s) you want to take: http://www.lcc.edu/academics/. 14. I WANT TO TAKE A COURSE THAT REQUIRES A MATH LEVEL, BUT MY LAST MATH CLASS WAS MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO—CAN I GET AN OVERRIDE? a) To take a class that is not MATH or STAT, very possibly. The answer depends upon what Math Level is supposed to be required, what the desired course is, and what your highest math course was. On your waiver request form, check the box labeled “I need an override to register,” specify which course(s) you want, and remember to circle which semester. We will evaluate your request and will attempt to e-mail you with the result. b) To take a class in MATH or STAT, no. The Math Department is very firm on this rule, because they want their students to be adequately prepared. If you want a class in MATH or STAT but have not taken the necessary math prerequisite within the previous two years, then you must take the appropriate LCC math placement test: http://www.lcc.edu/mathskills/placement/index.htm . 15. CAN I GET A PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE FROM A COURSE THAT ISN’T YET COMPLETED? For this you would need to consult the specific academic department directly: http://www.lcc.edu/academics/ . The authorities there will evaluate your documentation and give any prerequisite overrides they deem appropriate. Later, when your in-progress prerequisite course is completed and the grade is posted, you will need to submit the updated documentation to the LCC academic department. If the prerequisite class has been passed with the necessary grade, you will be able to stay registered for the LCC class for which you received the override. If you have not passed successfully, however, then the department will remove your override, and you would be dropped from the LCC class. 16. I JUST DROVE IN FROM SEVERAL HOURS AWAY—CAN I GET MY PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE RIGHT NOW? No. Out of fairness to students, we do all requests in the order they were received. You may, however, wish to contact the academic department directly http://www.lcc.edu/academics/, as they sometimes might be able to serve you more quickly. 17. CAN THE PERSON AT THE FRONT DESK GIVE ME MY PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE? No. In the interests of consistency and quality control, only the Waiver Team advisors may grant prerequisite overrides. Still, 76% of waiver requests are processed within the same business day, and 20% the next. 18. IF I RECEIVED A PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE FOR ONE CLASS AND NOW WANT TO TAKE A DIFFERENT CLASS WHICH NEEDS THE SAME PREREQUISITE, WILL I NEED TO TURN IN ANOTHER WAIVER FORM? Yes. With the way our software is programmed, prerequisite overrides are good only for a specific course and specific semester and thus would not work for other classes or in other semesters. Different classes or different semesters would need separate overrides. Because we should have your previous documents on file, however, you should be able simply to submit a fresh waiver form rather than sending another copy of your transcript. 19. IF I RECEIVED A PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE FOR A CLASS LAST SEMESTER BUT WANT TO TAKE THE CLASS THIS SEMESTER INSTEAD, WILL I NEED TO TURN IN ANOTHER WAIVER FORM? Yes. See the previous paragraph. 20. I RECEIVED MY PREREQUISITE OVERRIDE, BUT NOW I CAN’T REGISTER BECAUSE THE CLASS IS FULL—IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO? No. We cannot add students to full classes, so you would have to keep checking the web in the hope that a seat may open up. __________________________________________________________________ 21. MY WAIVER FORM WAS PROCESSED, AND I WAS ABLE TO REGISTER, BUT I DON’T SEE ANY TRANSFER CREDIT ON MY LCC RECORD—WHY? Remember that the waiver process is simply a streamlined path for receiving placement levels and prerequisite overrides so that you can register for courses. If you want credits transferred to LCC, you will need to have your school send an official transcript through the U.S. Mail directly from their Registrar’s Office to ours: http://www.lcc.edu/catalog/policies_procedures/studentrecords.htm#transfer Whereas the waiver process may take a matter of days, official credit transfer could take a matter of weeks. 22. I HAVE HEARD THAT "MATH CREDIT IS ONLY 'GOOD' FOR TWO YEARS" – IS THAT TRUE? No. Although a Math Level is good for only two years for the purpose of taking MATH 112 or higher or a class in STAT, math credit does not expire. Please see FAQ# 14 above.
__________________________________________________________________ If after consulting our FAQ's and "How To's" you still have questions, feel free to e-mail us at waiver_requests@lcc.edu or leave us a voicemail at 517.483.1216. We look forward to serving you.
|
||||||||
