Section EGC.1

Instruction
Academic Achievement
Graduation

Procedure

Graduation Requirements

To be considered for graduation and the awarding of a degree or certificate, a student must apply for graduation through the Registrar’s Office no later than the published deadline for the term of graduation. Submission of a graduation application initiates the degree audit process and allows the College to verify completion of all program, institutional, catalog, and residency requirements.

Students should submit a graduation application upon enrollment in their final semester toward a degree program.

Applying for graduation is required for credential review and conferral and is separate from participation in a commencement ceremony. Participation in commencement is ceremonial and does not, by itself, confirm that a degree or certificate has been or will be awarded.

Students are required to submit a graduation application; however, the College reserves the right to confer degrees or certificates for students who have met all applicable requirements but did not submit an application.

Students who wish to participate in a commencement ceremony must have an approved graduation application on file by the published deadline for the applicable term.

Graduation application deadlines are published in the Navarro College academic calendar. The graduation application is available on the Navarro College website at graduation.navarrocollege.edu.

Students may graduate under the catalog and program requirements in effect at the time of their initial enrollment,provided they have maintained continuous enrollment. Missing one fall or spring semester constitutes a break in enrollment, and students may be required to follow the catalog and program requirements in effect at the time of re-enrollment. Students may alternatively choose to graduate under the catalog and program requirements in effect at the time of graduation. Students must select one catalog and may not combine requirements from multiple catalogs.

Failure to apply for graduation by the published deadline may delay the degree audit process, commencement eligibility review, or awarding of a degree or certificate.

Commencement Ceremony

Navarro College awards degrees and certificates upon successful completion and verification of all applicable requirements. The College holds official commencement ceremonies in December, May, and August to recognize students completing their degree or certificate requirements in the corresponding fall, spring, and summer terms.

Participation in commencement ceremonies is ceremonial in nature and is separate from the academic process of degree conferral. Eligibility to participate in commencement does not guarantee that a degree or certificate will be awarded.

Commencement Participation Eligibility

Participation in commencement ceremonies is limited to students who have an approved graduation application on file by the published deadline and meet one of the following criteria:

Students who have completed all degree or certificate requirements during the current term; or

Students who are enrolled in their final semester, are expected to complete all degree or certificate requirements within that term, and meet minimum academic standards based on the most recently posted cumulative grade point average at the time of commencement eligibility review.

Students are not eligible to participate in commencement ceremonies if their cumulative grade point average is below 2.0 based on the most recently posted official grades at the time the student applies for graduation. Anticipated grade improvements during the current term will not be considered for commencement eligibility.

Students who have remaining coursework beyond the current term are not eligible to participate in commencement ceremonies.

The College may approve limited exceptions for identified programs with unique academic structures or external transcript dependencies. Exception eligibility criteria, documentation requirements, and approval authority shall be established and maintained by the Registrar’s Office in coordination with the Vice President of Student Success or designee.

Conditional Participation Is Not Permitted

Conditional participation, including requests to “walk” before meeting commencement eligibility requirements, is not permitted except as provided under the limited exception process established by the College.

Posthumous Degree Award

Under extraordinary circumstances, Navarro College may award a degree or certificate posthumously to a deceased student who had made substantial progress toward completion of the requirements for the credential.

A posthumous degree or certificate may be considered when the student had completed a significant portion of the program requirements and was in good academic standing at the time of death. All applicable institutional, academic, and residency requirements must be substantially satisfied.

Recommendations for the awarding of a posthumous degree or certificate shall be initiated by the Registrar’s Office and reviewed by the Vice President of Student Success. Final approval shall be granted by the President or designee.

The awarding of a posthumous degree or certificate is an academic action and shall be recorded on the student’s official academic record. The conferral of a posthumous degree is separate from participation in commencement ceremonies, which may be addressed through institutional procedures.

 

Guarantee

Under certain conditions, Navarro College guarantees that its associate degrees transfer to other colleges and universities and that occupational degrees and/or certificates help prepare students for employment in business, industry, and service occupations.

 

Reverse Transfer

After receiving a student transcript from a general academic teaching institution under Education Code 61.833(c), Navarro College shall review the transcript and, if determined the student has earned the credits required to receive an associate degree, the college may award the student the degree.

To be eligible, the student must:

  1.  be enrolled in a general academic teaching institution;

  2. have transferred to the institution or previously attended Navarro College;

  3. have earned at least 25% of credit hours of coursework successfully completed at Navarro College; and

  4. have earned a cumulative total of at least 60 credit hours for coursework successfully completed for an Associate's degree or 120 hours for a Baccalaureate degree.

 

 

Approved: 2015
Updated: 2017, 2020, 2024, 2026
Reviewed: 2022