Orientation

All new students are expected to participate in an orientation process that is intentionally planned and guided by Onboarding and Advising. CCCC’s orientation model consists of (1) in-person and virtual orientation sessions that will help students make an initial connection to the campus, faculty and staff, students, services, and policies; and (2) ACA “first-year experience” courses designed with a common core curriculum that help to introduce students to more intensive academic and college-related concepts to encourage persistence and college/career success. Students are expected to enroll in the required ACA course during one of their first two terms of enrollment. Students who do not enroll or successfully complete the required ACA course in their first term will be expected to take it in the next term.

ACA Course Waiver Guidelines

The following students may be waived from the ACA requirement by an academic dean but may still need to fulfill the one credit hour on their program of study:

Individuals who have earned a college degree from a regionally accredited institution or individuals who have completed and received credit for at least 18 hours credit for prior academic work and/or who demonstrate competency and skills that will facilitate the successful transfer into and persistence in the chosen degree program at Central Carolina Community College will qualify for a waiver for the ACA requirement. At the dean’s discretion, transfer students with 12 hours of earned credit will also be considered if earned as a fulltime student; or
Those who have completed an ACA course at the 100-level or above from Central Carolina Community College or another North Carolina community college, or who have received prior credit for an equivalent course.

Students who receive the proper signatures on the Credit by Experience form will then be referred to Student Advising and Success to complete an online ACA tutorial that covers CCCC success.

Academic Advisors

The role of the academic advisor is to serve as the primary contact with the student for their academic activities while enrolled at CCCC, to provide referrals to college resources, and to assist in overall academic and career planning.

The student is expected to confer periodically with their advisor (at least twice each semester) regarding academic standing, early registration, or any other areas of concern. Students are required to meet with their advisor to approve their courses for registration for the subsequent semester.

More information about advising at CCCC, including the roles of advisors and how they work with students, can be found on the college’s advising page.

Registration

All curriculum students must register prior to or at the beginning of each term during the time specified for that purpose on the college calendar. Each semester, returning students are encouraged to register early for the subsequent semester. Students are expected to pay tuition charges in full by the designated pay date. Failure to do so results in the student losing their schedule.

Course Load

Students enrolled for 12 or more semester credit hours during the fall and spring semesters are designated as full-time students.

No additional tuition is charged for credit hours over and above 16. Normally, the course load range is from 16-19 semester credit hours. Students may take no more than 19 semester credit hours during fall or spring semester without special permission of their advisor and the chief academic officer or vice president of student services.

Students enrolled for six or more semester credit hours during the summer semester are designated as full-time students. Pell recipients must enroll in at least 12 semester credit hours to receive a full Pell award for a summer semester. Students may take no more than 12 semester credit hours during the summer semester without special permission of their advisor and the vice president student services or chief academic officer. Students are not permitted to register for more than 14 semester credit hours during the summer semester.

Students experiencing academic difficulty will be advised to take a reduced course load.

Definition of a Credit Hour

According to CCCC policy, the college follows the requirements of the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges in awarding curriculum credit hours for instruction. The amount of credit hours awarded for each course is determined by the North Carolina Community College System and listed in the Combined Course Library available on the North Carolina Community College System webpage.

Following is the NCCCS convention for awarding credit hours from course hours:

For every 16 classroom hours, one semester (credit) hour is awarded.
For every 32 hours of "experiential laboratory work," one semester (credit) hour is awarded.
For every 48 hours of "faculty directed laboratory work" one semester (credit) hour is awarded.
For every 48 clinical hours, one semester (credit) hour is awarded.
For every 160 work experience hours, one semester (credit) hour is awarded.

All programs of study meet the NCCCS requirement set forth in statewide curriculum standards. Following are the number of credit hours required for associate degree, diploma, and certificate programs:

	AAS	Diploma	Certificate
Minimum General Education Hours	15	6	0
Minimum Major Hours	49	30	12
Other Required Hours	0-7	0-4	0-1
Total Semester Hours Credit (SHC)	64-76	36-48	12-18

*Any CCCC credential that contains a total number of credit hours that falls outside of the defined range are exceptions approved by the NCCCS and show accurately in the required state curriculum standards.

Section Numbers: How Courses Are Identified

Each course at CCCC is assigned a section number (for example, H01, LN1, or PWA). This number identifies important details about the course, including the location, instructional format, and time of day. Section numbers help students and advisors select the correct course during registration.

1. First Character: Course Location

The first character indicates the campus or instructional site associated with the course.

Letter	Location
L	Lee Main Campus (Sanford)
H	Harnett Main Campus (Lillington)
P	Pittsboro Campus
S	Siler City Campus
D	Dunn Center
F, M	Health Sciences locations
I, J, T, V, W, U, C, N, etc.	Local high school sites (Career and College Promise/early college)
G	Special off-campus location
L (for fully online courses)	Online courses administered by the Lee Campus

Hybrid courses use the first character to note the campus where on-site meetings occur.

2. Second Character: Instructional Format

The second character designates the delivery method or special instructional category.

Character	Format Description
0 (zero)	Standard in-person course
N	Fully online (no required campus meetings)
H	Hybrid: instruction primarily online with required campus meetings
B	Blended: instruction primarily in person with some online components
C	Live interactive delivery between campuses (video conference/SmartRoom)
W	Weekend instruction
K	High school CCP section taught at a school site
L	CCP online
E	Early College designation

3. Third Character: Time of Instruction

The third character identifies whether the class begins during the daytime or evening.

Final Character	Indicates
1–9	Day or weekend course beginning before 5:00 p.m.
A–Z	Evening or weekend course beginning at or after 5:00 p.m.

Some short-session courses may include additional digits (e.g., 181, 182, 281) to indicate specific 8-week terms and section sequences.

Illustrative Examples

Section	Explanation
H01	Day course located at the Harnett Campus
P0A	Evening course located at the Pittsboro Campus
LN1	Online course administered by the Lee Campus
PH1	Hybrid day course hosted at the Pittsboro Campus
LW1	Weekend course at the Lee Campus beginning before 5:00 p.m.
NK1	High school CCP course at Northwood High School
LN181	First-session, 8-week online course (Lee Campus administered)

Summary

Section numbers provide essential information about course location, format, and time, supporting students, families, and advisors in academic planning and registration.

Academic Policies & Procedures

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