Enrollment Policies and Procedures

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Registration

Students may use myBC for secure access to their student records. More than just an on-line registration system, myBC is an information system students may use to check course availability, review class schedules, view current grades, view unofficial transcripts, verify demographic information, view financial aid status, review tuition and fee accounts, and pay by credit card or checking account using our secure payment system, NELNET Business Solutions, a tuition management system. Specific information regarding access to the myBC system is available in the schedule of classes. If students require assistance, Brazosport College staff are available from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Fridays in the main lobby of the college. In order to access the myBC system, students will need their student ID number and PIN.  Student ID and PIN are emailed to the student after an admission application is complete.

Priority Registration

Students using online registration have the opportunity to enroll early during Priority Registration. During priority registration, you may enroll using the myBC system or in person. In order to enroll early, students should make sure all prerequisites to enrollment are completed including:

• Student must be fully admitted to Brazosport College prior to Priority Registration.
• Student must not have holds for transcripts or other information with the Registrar’s Office.
• Student must not owe an outstanding balance to any Brazosport College department.

See 2018-2019 Calendar  for dates and times.  

Adding and Dropping Courses

Courses cannot be added after the deadline. Refer to “Getting In ” for deadlines. Courses may be dropped prior to the Official Reporting Day of each semester.  The course is not reported on the student’s transcript and the student may qualify for a refund of tuition and fees paid. Please refer to the Refund Policy  for more information.

Students who withdraw from a course after Official Reporting Day (ORD) and before the end of the 10th week of classes will receive a “W” for the course. Students must meet with a counselor if withdrawing from all courses or a transitional course. There are limits on the number of withdrawals a student may have on their transcript. After the end of the 10th week, the student is expected to take the final examination and receive the grade earned in the course.

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Technology Program must notify the program’s coordinator in advance of adding or dropping courses.

General Information - Student Withdrawal Guideline Beginning Fall 2007 Semester

As a result of changes in the Texas Education Code, students enrolling for the first time in a Texas public institution of higher education in the fall of 2007, or thereafter, will not be permitted to withdraw from more than a total of six courses (no minimum number of credit hours on each course) in which the student is officially enrolled during the student’s period of undergraduate study at all such institutions Note: this includes any course a transfer student has dropped at another Texas institution of higher education. If a course is dropped before the Official Reporting Day to appear on the transcript or the student is completely withdrawing from college, this policy does not apply.

Excluded from the six-course withdrawal limit are those for which the student can show good cause for course withdrawal.

Dropping a course for “good cause” includes:

• a severe illness or other debilitating condition that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course;
• the student’s responsibility for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of that care affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course;
• the death of a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person’s death is considered to be a showing of good cause;
• the active duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the armed forces of the United States of either the student or a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person’s active military service is considered to be a showing of good cause;
• the change of the student’s work schedule that is beyond the control of the student, and that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course; or
• other good cause as determined by the Brazosport College Dean of Students or designee.

Approval of good cause requires that the student provide official and appropriate documentation of third party verification for the qualified exclusion to be included in the student’s official educational record at Brazosport College.

For more information, contact the Registrar’s Office at 979-230-3000.

Semester Credit Hours Defined

Brazosport College grants credit based upon semester hours. Generally, one semester hour of credit is given for performing satisfactorily in a course that meets 50 minutes weekly for 16 weeks. Thus, a three credit hour course meets the equivalent of three 50-minute lecture periods a week for 16 weeks. Two hours of laboratory work usually is equivalent to one hour of lecture.

Student Classification

Students are considered full-time if they are registered for a minimum of 12 semester hours in a 16 week session or a minimum of six semester hours in a summer session. Students who enroll in fewer than 12 hours in a 16-week session and five hours in a summer session are considered part-time.

Students receiving federal financial aid, veterans benefits, or federal loan deferments should inquire at the Financial Aid Office about course load regulations concerning summer session enrollment.

Students are classified as:

Course Loads

Fall and Spring Semesters

The normal course load for the fall or spring semester shall be 15 semester hours. Course loads in excess of 16 semester hours shall require approval by the Dean of Instruction. The maximum course load shall be no more than 21 semester hours.

Summer Semester(s)

The normal course load for the summer session shall be six semester hours for each six-week term or 12 semester hours for a full summer semester. Course loads in excess of six (6) semester hours per term or 12 semester hours per summer semester shall require approval by the Dean of Instruction. The maximum summer credit hours earned shall be eight (8) semester hours for one term or 16 semester hours for a full summer semester.  The normal course load for a minimester session shall be three semester hours.  Course loads in excess of three semester hours shall require approval by the Dean of Instruction.  The maximum course load shall be no more than six semester hours.

Course credit hours in addition to the limits described above can be earned in flex entry classes at the rate of one credit hour per week of instruction that occurs outside of the long semesters and summer semester.  Course credit hours in excess of one credit hour per week shall require the approval of the Dean of Instruction and the Provost and Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs.

Auditing a Course

Students age 18 or older may audit a course, providing the student meets the proper skill level requirements. (See the Skill Requirement Codes  elsewhere in this catalog.) This permits the student to attend the class without submitting papers, participating in class discussions or laboratory work, or receiving credit for the course.

Full tuition and fees, in addition to a course audit fee, will be charged for auditing a course.

Required Courses and Prerequisites

All first time in college students must participate in orientation and take the Learning Framework course during their first semester. Also, students must complete certain courses satisfactorily to meet the requirements of their degree. In addition, some courses are prerequisites to more advanced courses.

Under certain circumstances, a division chair may allow a student to register for a course without the required prerequisites. Credit will be given for the course toward graduation from Brazosport College; however, another college may not accept this credit.

Many courses, as indicated in the course descriptions, require prerequisite skills in reading, writing, and/or mathematics as demonstrated by appropriate scores on the TSI tests. Students with exemplary ACT/SAT scores may be exempt from TSI testing.  See Course Placement: Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Testing  elsewhere in this catalog for more information on this test.

Limit on Number of Undergraduate Hours Attempted

It is the responsibility of all two-year institutions to inform students that there is a limit on the number of undergraduate hours the state will fund for a student who initially enrolled in a Texas public college or university in the fall 1999 semester or thereafter. Universities and health-related institutions may not submit for funding any hours after the student has attempted 45 semester credit hours beyond the minimum number required for completion of the student’s baccalaureate degree program. Students should be aware that, except for a small number of exempt courses, any Texas public institution of higher education will charge a higher tuition rate once the extra 45 hours have been attempted. Students transferring credit from community colleges could encounter these higher tuition rates in their transfer institution and should check with the registrar of their senior institution for more details.

The State of Texas has developed policies to implement a legislative restriction on the funding of transitional education hours in excess of 27, and on the third and subsequent attempts in most other courses. Students should be aware that legislation permits Brazosport College to charge a higher tuition or fee for hours in excess of the above limits.