College Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates Graduation Information
Career & College Promise dual enrollment students, you should also follow these steps to graduate.
Requirements to be Eligible to Graduate
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GPA
To be eligible to graduate, you must have earned a minimum grade point average of 2.0 out of a possible for 4.0 in all of your program courses, including general education courses. Some programs also have minimum grade requirements that may require you to earn a grade "C" or higher in some or all courses. Your GPA is calculated according to the Central Piedmont grading system.
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Residency
You must complete a minimum number of credit hours at Central Piedmont in your specified program in order to be eligible to graduate:
- Degrees
A minimum of 25% of program hours must be earned at Central Piedmont. - College Diplomas
A minimum of 25% program hours must be earned at Central Piedmont. - Certificates
A minimum of 25% of program hours must be earned at Central Piedmont.
- Degrees
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Catalog Year
A catalog year has a specific set of requirements that were in effect during a given academic year. Catalog years run from the fall semester through the following summer term. Your degree requirements are based on the catalog year when you were admitted to your academic program and began taking courses. However, if you do no enroll in courses related to your program for more than three consecutive terms, you must re-enroll and will then be subject to the requirements of the the catalog year of your return. This may mean your program requirements change. You may request a catalog year update from your program chair, faculty advisor, or counselor. In order to remain subject to the requirements of an older catalog year, you must secure approval from your associate dean.
If You Took Courses Before 1997
If you took some courses under the quarter system that was in effect prior to 1997, you may be able to use those courses toward your degree. When the college moved from a quarter-based system to a semester system, departments established crosswalks between courses. Because of the amount of time that has passed, some of these crosswalks have expired. If you have taken courses under the quarter system, your faculty advisor can advise you as to what courses will crosswalk. Other courses may be substituted for semester courses. In some instances, you may need to take the new course. Because they were taken under the quarter system, the credit value of older courses must be converted for use under the semester system. The formula "Quarter credit hours ÷ 1.5 = Semester credit hours" is used for this calculation.
Steps to Graduate
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Meet with Your Faculty Advisor or Counselor Before Applying to Graduate
Your advisor will ensure that:
- you have an official high school or equivalent high school diploma on file
- you have been admitted to the appropriate program and catalog year
- any course substitutions and waivers have been submitted
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Submit Your Graduation Application
You must submit your graduation application online in MyCollege (Graduation Overview menu) during graduation application windows. You cannot submit your graduation applications by fax.
Apply to graduate in MyCollege (login required). If you do not see your program or have trouble submitting your application online, please contact your navigator or advisor to be put into your program.
Your graduation analyst will audit your records and contact you within four weeks. Be sure to let your analyst know of any changes that could affect your status. All graduation related emails will go to your Central Piedmont student email account.
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Register for the Graduation Ceremony
Once you've been found eligible by your graduation analyst, you will automatically receive an email from noreply@marchingorder.com
. You will need to register for the ceremony through the link in this email. Complete the registration form so we know whether or not you plan to participate. If you have not applied for graduation and been found eligible you will not receive this email from Marching Order. -
Order Your Transcript
After completing all your requirements, including your final courses, we will add a notation of your degree/diploma/certificate and the date of your graduation to your transcript.
Once you are notified that you are eligible to graduate, you may order your final transcript with your degree/diploma noted by completing the transcript request in MyCollege (login required) and marking the request "After Degree is Awarded". This way, we will not send your transcript until your degree is noted on it.
If you have been notified that you have been certified as a graduate, please choose to send a "Current" transcript.
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Get your Degree, Diploma, or Certificate in the Mail
To request your degree or diploma, you need to submit a degree/diploma order form. Certificates are automatically mailed at no charge at the end of each month. You must have paid any balances to the college in full to receive your degree or diploma.
Documents are mailed to the address listed in your MyCollege account — make sure this address is correct.
It may take up to six weeks for you to receive your degree/diploma/certificate.
Once your order has been processed, you will receive an email confirming that your Degree or Diploma is on its way to you. This will be sent to your student email account from our printing and mailing partners, Parchment. After you receive this email, your paper copy will be mailed within 2 to 3 weeks.
Adult High School Diplomas are ordered on a quarterly basis and therefore do not follow the regular ordering schedule. Please contact the Graduation office if you have any questions regarding Adult High School Diploma orders.
Updating your mailing address in MyCollege should update your address throughout your student record.
Verify or Update Your Address in MyCollege
-Log in to MyCollege account.
-Select "User Options" in the navigation menu.
-Select "User Profile."
-Review your mailing address and/or update it as needed.