Bobcat Welcome

Bobcat Welcome is an online introduction to Central Oregon Community College that all certificate and degree seeking students are required to complete before advising and registration.

Placement

All students taking credit classes must provide writing and math placement information to the College before they can register for classes. Students may meet the placement requirement in any of the following ways:

• Take the COCC placement assessment: The placement assessment evaluates academic skills and helps place the student into the right level of courses and may meet a program/course prerequisite. Placement scores are valid for two years.
• Complete college-level reading, writing, and math course(s) with a C or better at another regionally accredited college and submit official transcripts before advising and registration.
• Provide placement scores/placement from another college within the last two years.
• Score a three or four in writing and/or math on the Smarter Balanced assessment within the last two years and submit a copy of those scores.
• Have an associate, bachelor’s, or higher-level degree.
• Complete an Oregon GED test (within the last two years) with a score of 165 or higher in math and/or writing and submit a GED score report to welcome@cocc.edu.

Students are not required to satisfy the placement requirement if they plan to take only HD 110 Career Planning, studio art, world language, computer skills, music performance, or HHPA activity courses.

Students auditing courses using the 65+ tuition waiver or taking classes through the College Now program are not required to meet the placement requirement. 

See Placement Assessment for more information about the placement process, how to prepare, how to take the placement assessment, and other important placement information.

Advising

After placement is provided, all certificate and degree seeking students are required to meet with an academic advisor. For new students, dates and times of group advising options are available on the Getting Started page. After the start of the term, all students who participate in group advising sessions will be emailed the name of an individual academic advisor based on the major stated on students' admission application. Students can change their advisor by contacting CAP Services at 541-383-7200.

Current students should contact their advisor directly to schedule an advising appointment. Students can confirm the name of their advisor by contacting CAP Services at 541-383-7200 or by logging in to their Bobcat Web Account. Current students may choose to be self-advised, which means the advising requirement is waived and students are responsible for choosing their courses and making sure that those courses fit their degree goal. To apply for and review the requirements for receiving self-advising status, see the Academic Advising page.

Registration

After submitting an application for admission, completing Bobcat Welcome, providing placement, and meeting with an advisor (if degree-seeking), students may register for courses based on the dates and times listed on the academic calendar. The registration schedule for credit students is based on enrollment status and number of credits earned at COCC. Degree-seeking students who have attended credit classes at COCC in any of the past four terms are eligible for priority registration. Transfer credits may meet some program requirements but are not counted toward earned credits for registration purposes. For more details, view the priority registration schedule. Students wishing to pursue a cohort program without a selection process must meet the basic prerequisite competencies and will be placed in the program according to seat availability on a first-come, first-served basis according to the priority registration schedule.

Student registrations are complete only when courses are entered into the online student information system. A student may not register if a debt is owed to the College. Students must be registered in order to attend class. Students may not take more than 19 credit hours per term without permission from Admissions and Records.

Students will be dropped from a course if they have not completed the prerequisite course(s) with a C grade or better from a prior term.

Adding and Auditing Courses/Wait Lists

Students may add courses via their Bobcat Web Account, by phone, or in person at any COCC campus. Courses may be added until 7 a.m. on the first day of the first class session. After this, online instructor approval is required to add a course.

Please note:

• Students may not begin attendance in a new class after the first week of the term.
• Students may not register for two sections of the same course.
• To register for courses that overlap in time, students must receive permission from both course instructors.

Auditing Courses

Full-term courses may be changed to/from audit through the seventh week of the term. Changes can be made via Bobcat Web Account, by phone, or in person at any COCC campus. Audited courses do not apply toward financial aid.

Different deadlines exist for short-term courses; see the academic calendar for more information.

Wait Lists

Students who are on a course waitlist will automatically be registered for the course if a seat becomes available by 7 a.m. the first day the term starts; for information on short-term courses, see the academic calendar page. Students will receive a notification in their COCC email account to confirm they have been registered for the course and are now responsible for applicable tuition/fees. Students who are not automatically registered for the course and remain on the waitlist can request online permission from the instructor to add the course if a seat is available. The instructor can submit online permission to allow the student to add the class via their Bobcat Web Account, by phone, or in person at any COCC campus. Permission expires after two business days. For more information, see the Wait Lists page.

Attendance/Administrative Withdrawal

To ensure all available class seats are filled, the College enforces an attendance policy during the first week of the term.

To maintain enrollment in each class, the student must attend the first class meeting and 100 percent of the first week’s class and lab meetings. Students in online classes must complete the attendance requirement outlined in the syllabus. For classes that do not span the entire term, the student must attend the first class session.

Students who do not meet attendance requirements will be administratively withdrawn by the instructor when class roll is taken. If this results in a tuition refund, the refund will be processed within three weeks. If students are unable to attend a session within the first week due to extenuating circumstances, they must contact the instructor before the first class meeting if they wish to avoid administrative withdrawal. Allowing students to remain in the course is solely at the discretion of the instructor.

The College is not responsible for liabilities associated with the administrative withdrawal of students.

The administrative withdrawal policy does not relieve students from full responsibility for officially dropping a course within the given deadline to not incur tuition charges and to not receive a grade for the course.

Dropping Courses/Complete Withdrawal

Students registered in courses are considered to be in attendance. Students who stop attending but do not drop the course will receive a grade and will owe all tuition and fees. This grade will be a permanent part of the student’s academic record.

For full-term courses, students may drop through week seven of the term via their Bobcat Web Account, by phone, or in person at any COCC campus. Beginning week eight, students need online instructor approval to withdraw. Students may withdraw by phone or in person at any COCC campus.

Short-Term Courses

For a refund or credit for courses which span two weeks or less (14 calendar days) in a term, the class must be dropped before the first day of class.

For a refund or credit for courses which span more than two weeks (15 plus calendar days) but less than full term, the class must be dropped no later than three days after the class start date.

Options for dropping:

• Prior to the start of term: Online through your Bobcat Web Account.
• Beginning day 1 of term: Contact the Enrollment Services office at any COCC campus either in-person or via phone (541) 383-7500 to drop your class.

Full-Term Courses

Students may drop a course during the first two weeks of the term and receive a full refund, and no grade will appear on the student’s transcript.

Between the third week and the end of the seventh week of the term, students can drop a course; no refund is available, but no grade will appear on the transcript.

Students may request to withdraw from a full-term course between the eighth week of the term and the Wednesday before finals week with online instructor permission. Withdrawing will result in a W on the transcript, and no refund is available. Students should communicate with the instructor and refer to the course syllabus to determine the conditions under which a W can be granted.

See the academic calendar for specific dates.

Complete Withdrawal

Students receiving federal financial aid may owe a repayment if they completely withdraw from courses.

Withdrawing Due to Active Military Duty

Reserve and active duty and National Guard military personnel (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard) who are enrolled at COCC and whose academic progress is interrupted due to deployment or activation mid-term may withdraw without tuition penalty. A student currently in a course will not be charged for the course, and the registration will be voided with no indication on the transcript. Students must submit a copy of their military duty assignment orders verifying deployment or activation along with their request to withdraw from the course to Admissions and Records. Copies of the orders must also be submitted to the school certifying official if any military benefits are being used. If service members intend to return to school, they will be readmitted with the same academic status as when they last attended. This policy does not apply to retired military personnel or dependents.

Cancelled Classes

The College reserves the right to cancel or postpone a class. Students registered in classes that are cancelled will be notified via their COCC email account and issued a full refund. Every effort will be made to cancel the class well in advance of the published start date to allow students to reschedule or make other arrangements.