Office of Origin: Academic Affairs & Student Affairs
Responsibility: Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs, Vice President of Student Affairs, & Registrar
Original Date Adopted: 3-28-17
Dates Reviewed: 2-23-2021, 3-10-2021 (C), 9-22-23, 2-12-24 (C)
Last Date Board Approved: 3-28-17

All requirements outlined below must be met to earn a Lake Michigan College (LMC or the College) degree or certificate. The Registrar’s Office certifies program completion prior to posting degree/certificate awards.

Completion Requirements

Lake Michigan College awards associate degrees, advanced certificates, and certificates of achievement. The requirements for each are as follows:

1. Associate Degree 
   To earn an associate degree, students must pass a minimum of 60 credit hours which apply directly to the degree. The residency requirement for an associate degree is 20 credit hours earned at LMC. Transfer, credit for prior learning, articulated credit, advanced placement, CLEP, and credit by exam do not count toward residency.
2. Advanced Certificate 
   To earn an advanced certificate, students must pass a minimum of 30 credit hours which apply directly to the certificate. The residency requirement is 15 credit hours earned at LMC. Transfer, credit for prior learning, articulated credit, advanced placement, CLEP, and credit by exam do not count toward residency.
3. Certificate of Achievement 
   To earn a certificate of achievement, students must pass 1-29 credit hours which apply directly to the certificate. There is no residency requirement for a certificate of achievement.

For any credential earned, the following requirements apply: 

1. All credits earned toward a credential must be at or above 100-level coursework. 
2. The student must have an active admission application on file and must be considered certificate or degree-seeking. 
3. The student must have a minimum cumulative LMC GPA of at least 2.00. 
4. All degree and certificate requirements, including transfer credits, must be completed by the last day of the semester in which the student is graduating. Spring applicants may finish requirements during the immediately following summer term. Students who do not complete requirements by the end of the term must reapply for graduation. The College does not back-date degree or certificate awards.

All credentials which bear academic credit are approved through the College’s curriculum process and awarded through the graduation process through the Registrar’s Office.

Graduation & Commencement

A student may graduate from a program under the catalog in effect at the time of matriculation or any subsequent catalog. However, no student may graduate from a program under a catalog that is more than 5 academic years old at the time of graduation.

Students apply for graduation by the published deadline to have their degree or certificate awarded and receive their diploma, even if they do not wish to
participate in the Commencement Ceremony.

A commencement ceremony is held once per year in May. Summer and Fall graduates are invited to participate in the May ceremony.

Graduating with Honors

Honors status for graduation is based upon the student’s cumulative LMC GPA and awarded according to the following scale: 

Honors: 3.25-3.50

High Honors: 3.51-3.75

Highest Honors: 3.76-4.00

Honors status as announced at the Commencement Ceremony does not include the current Spring semester, because final grade processing occurs after the ceremony takes place. A final Honors status will be determined at the time of degree award.

Additional Associate Degrees and Certificates

A student may earn subsequent associate degrees and certificates if all requirements for the degree or certificate have been completed.

Additional associate degrees require a minimum of 15 additional credit hours of passing LMC coursework which applied directly to the additional degree. All other requirements outlined above also apply to the additional degree.

Additional certificates do not have any requirements beyond those outlined above.

Degree & Certificate Awards

To meet federal reporting compliance requirements, all awards will be posted within 30 calendar days of the end of the semester in which the student completes graduation requirements.

Formerly Titled:  Credential Completion and Graduation Policy