Offering of Courses as Described in the Catalog

Occasionally there may be changes concerning course numbers, titles, units of credit, prerequisites, hours, or course descriptions made after publication of the Catalog. Efforts will be made through the online version of the catalog, Schedules of Classes, public media, and at the time of registration, to notify students of any changes other than as described in the Catalog.

All degree applicable courses listed in the Catalog meet major, area of emphasis, general education, or elective credit requirements for approved degree, certificate, or proficiency programs. The College will make every effort to regularly offer each of the credit courses listed under the Course and Program Descriptions regularly. “Regularly offered” shall mean a frequency of not less than once in two years.

The student who plans to satisfy the requirements for a particular academic goal --such as a Certificate of Achievement, an Associate Degree, and/or the completion of courses necessary to prepare for transfer into a baccalaureate major -- must carefully plan a program of study to complete all requirements in a timely fashion. The student may consult with appropriate instructional divisions to determine the frequency of course offerings.

Offering of Courses as Listed in the Schedule of Classes

The College reserves the right to cancel any course section scheduled for any term if enrollment is insufficient.

Course Discipline Abbreviations

Courses listed below are offered as a regular part of established curricula or when demand warrants. The current class schedule should be consulted to determine the availability of specific courses.

VC-Course Discipline Abbreviations

Subject	Title
AES	American Ethnic Studies
ACE	Automotive Career Education
ACT	Assistive Computer Technology
AG	Agriculture
AIT	Applied Industrial Technology
ASL	American Sign Language
ATEB	Applied Technology and Employability -Business Essentials
ANAT	Anatomy
ANPH	Anatomy/Physiology
ANTH	Anthropogy
ARCH	Architecture
ART	Art
AST	Astronomy
AUTO	Automotive
BIOL	Biology
BUS	Business
CHEM	Chemistry
CHST	Chicano Studies
CD	Child Development
CDL	Cognitively Diverse Learners
COMM	Communication Studies
COUN	Counseling
CS	Computer Science
CT	Construction Technology
CJ	Criminal Justice
DANC	Dance
DM	Diesel Mechanics
DRFT	Drafting
EAC	Educational Assistance Center
ECON	Economics
EDU	Education
EMS	Emergency Medical Services
EMT	Emergency Medical Technology
ENGR	Engineering
ENGL	English
ENGM	English for Multilingual Students
ESL	English as a Second Language
ESRM	Environmental Science and Resource Management
ETHS	Ethnic Studies
FILM	Film
FREN	French
GIS	Geographic Information Systems
GEOG	Geography
GEOL	Geology
GERM	German
HED	Health Education
HS	Health Sciences
HIST	History
HMSV	Human Services
ICA	Intercollegiate Athletics
IDS	Interdisciplinary Studies
INTR	Internship
ITAL	Italian
JAPN	Japanese
KIN	Kinesiology
LS	Learning Skills
LIB	Library Instruction
MT	Manufacturing Technology
MATH	Mathematics
MICR	Microbiology
MUS	Music
NS	Nursing Science
PM	Paramedic
PHIL	Philosophy
PHOT	Photography
PHSC	Physical Science
PHYS	Physics
PHSO	Physiology
POLS	Political Science
POSC	Police Science
PSY	Psychology
SOC	Sociology
SPAN	Spanish
SS	Study Skills
SUP	Supervision
SWHS	Social Work and Human Services
THA	Theatre Arts
WS	Water Science
WEL	Welding

The following terms are used in Course Descriptions:

Course Identification

A course identification is comprised of the course discipline name or abbreviated name, and course number (for example, CJ V01 Introduction to Criminal Justice (Units: 3)). All course numbers for Ventura College will have a leading V (for Ventura) preceding the actual course number. Courses numbered 1 (one) through 9 (nine) will also have a leading zero preceding the actual number. Sometimes an alphabetic character is appended to the course identification (e.g., ART V12A Drawing and Composition I (Units: 3)).

Courses requiring a year (two semesters) to complete the full offering may be designated by number and letter (e.g., BUS V28A Medical Office Procedures: Front Office (Units: 3) - BUS V28B Medical Procedures: Back Office (Units: 3)). The A section of the course is usually offered in the fall semester with the B section following in the spring; however, some year-sequence courses begin in the spring semester.

The alphabetical designation in the course identification may also be used to designate the related topics of a year-long course (e.g., LS V03A Study Skills: Notetaking/Time Management (Units: 1) - LS V03B Study Skills: Test Taking/Proofreading (Units: 1)); in this instance, the A course would not be a prerequisite to the B course and/or subsequent courses.

Semester Unit Credit

The semester unit credit of the course is shown by a number(s) following the title of the course. As defined by Title 5, § 55002.5, the semester unit is based on three hours of work study; one lecture hour with two attendant hours of preparation or three hours of laboratory activity requiring special facilities or equipment.

Most courses have fixed units; few have variable units. The unit value of each variable-unit course will be specified in the Schedule of Classes each term. In certain instances, the hours of instruction in some variable unit courses may be reduced and credit reduced proportionately.

Prerequisites

A condition of enrollment that a student is required to meet in order to demonstrate current readiness for enrollment in a course or educational program. The prerequisite ensures that students will achieve skills or knowledge necessary for success in a course or program. For example, a course might require completion of an English course (or placement into English at a specific level) before the student may enroll in a Philosophy course that requires high level reading and writing skills. For example, a student enrolling in general biology is likely to have serious difficulty without adequate preparation in intermediate algebra and introduction to chemistry.

Some prerequisites are required by state statute or regulation. Prerequisites on transferable courses are often determined by four-year institutions which may require specific prerequisites in order to award credit for these courses.

Corequisite

A condition of enrollment consisting of a course which a student is required to take simultaneously in order to enroll and succeed in another course. The student acquires the necessary skills, concepts, and/or information in the corequisite course that supports success in the target course. Since the corequisite course provides skills or knowledge necessary for successful completion of another course, it is highly unlikely that the student can achieve a satisfactory grade in the course for which the corequisite is being established without the skills and knowledge provided in the corequisite course.

Advisory/Recommended Preparation

A condition of enrollment that a student is advised, but not required, to meet before or in conjunction with enrollment in a course or educational program. While encouraged to do so, students are not required to satisfy recommended preparation guidelines to enroll in a course.

Course prerequisites, corequisites or recommended preparation are specified within course descriptions announced in the Catalog and the Schedule of Classes. Students are expected to have completed the prerequisite course with a satisfactory grade of C or better or P (Pass) and if applicable be enrolled in the corequisite required of all courses in which they enroll.

Limitations

Conditions of enrollment that a student must meet before enrollment in a course or educational program. The college will only restrict enrollment in a course when the restriction is specifically required:

• by statute or legislation
• by prerequisites and/or corequisites, or
• by health and safety considerations.

Other limitations can include:

• facility limitations
• faculty availability
• funding limitations or
• other constraints imposed by code, regulations or contracts.

The college can provide special registration assistance to the disabled or disadvantaged student. And, the college can enroll students in accordance with a priority system adopted by the local Board of Trustees.

(e.g., CD V04L Observation and Assessment Laboratory (Units: 0.5)- Limitation: current negative TB test or chest x-ray)

Course Identification Numbering System (C-ID)

The Course Identification Numbering System (C-ID) is a statewide numbering system independent from the course numbers assigned by local California community colleges. A C-ID number next to a course signals that participating California colleges and universities have determined that courses offered by California community colleges are comparable in content and scope to courses offered on their own campuses, regardless of their unique titles or local course number.

(e.g., CD V05 Teaching in a Diverse Society (Units: 3)-C-ID: ECE 230

For further information, please refer to C-ID information on pages 70-72 and https://www.c-id.net/

Co-designated, Cross-listed, or Same-as Courses

The College offers some of its courses as co-designated, cross-listed, or same-as between two or more disciplines. Where this occurs, all aspects of the co-designated courses are identical, except the course identifier (course discipline abbreviation) and possibly the course numbers and/or alpha characters following the discipline abbreviation, which may be identical or may differ. All other aspects are the same (title, units, hours, description, repeat capability, transferability, etc.). These courses are identified in the Course and Program Descriptions section of the Catalog. Courses which are co-designated or cross-referenced are identified by the phrase “Same as . . .”

Courses Offered on a Pass/No Pass Basis Only

By far, most of the courses offered by the college are offered for a letter grade. Students enrolled in these courses have the right to petition to be evaluated on a pass/no pass (P/NP) basis; interested students should consult the Academic Policies section of this Catalog. Only those courses that are offered exclusively on a P/NP basis (letter grade not possible) are so noted following the course description. All other courses without this notation are offered for a letter grade unless the student successfully petitions otherwise.

Courses Not Applicable For Degree Credit

The majority of courses offered by the College are applicable for degree credit. Therefore, only those courses that are not applicable for degree credit are so noted following the course description with the statement “Not applicable for degree credit.” Students enrolled in these courses will receive unit credit and will be awarded an academic record symbol on transcripts as defined in the Academic Policies section of this Catalog. However, the units earned in courses will not apply toward Proficiency Awards, Certificates of Achievement, or Associate degrees.

Transfer Course Identification

Courses offered by Ventura College provide a wide selection of curricula that meet the requirements for most university majors. To assist students in planning their programs of study, all credit courses offered by Ventura College are classified as follows:

1. No notation of transfer credit following the course description indicates that the course is not designed to transfer to public (and most independent) four-year colleges or universities.
2. The notation of transfer credit after the course description is followed by the abbreviation CSU meaning that the course will transfer to any of the 23 campuses of the California State University (Channel Islands, Northridge, etc.) and/or is followed by the abbreviation UC meaning that the course will transfer to any of the 10 campuses of the University of California (Santa Barbara, UCLA, etc.)
3. The notation of transfer credit is defined to mean that the course is acceptable for unit credit for admissions purposes and for credit towards a baccalaureate degree only. Students interested in the applicability of particular courses for use in satisfaction of major preparation requirements and/or general education requirements are advised to consult the transfer information section of the Catalog and an Ventura College counselor.
4. The notation of credit limitations following the transfer credit statement indicates that one or more public four-year institutions impose some kind of limitation on the course. In this case, consult your counselor concerning the transferability of the course.

Additional transfer information is available from the Counseling Office or the www.assist.org website.

Field Trips

Field trips are required activities for a number of courses in the College curriculum. For any such courses, it is intended that they be clearly identified in the College Catalog and the Schedule of Classes. For other courses, a field trip or an off-campus activity may be optional for the students enrolled.

According to policy adopted by the College District’s governing board, all persons making any type of field trip or excursion shall be deemed to have waived all claims for injury, accident, illness, or death during, or by reason of, the field trip or excursion.

Courses Designated as Repeatable

A statement following the course description noting the repeatability of a course will specify the number of times an active participatory course or courses can be repeated. Students shall be permitted to enroll in no more than four semesters in an active participatory course in physical education, visual arts or performing arts that are “related in content” to other courses (Title 5, §55000(l)) of the courses that are similar in content.

Courses are related in content when the courses have “similar primary educational activities in which skill levels or variations are separated into distinct courses with different student learning outcomes for each level or variation.” Ventura College has defined courses related in content as a “family of courses” for the following disciplines:

• Art
• Dance
• Kinesiology
• Music and
• Theatre Arts.

(e.g. KIN V02 Swimming I (Units: 1)-Ventura College faculty has defined Aquatics as a family of courses which includes KIN V02 Swimming I (Units: 1), KIN V03 Swimming II (Units: 1), KIN V04 Swimming III (Units: 1), and KIN V06 Swimming IV (Units: 1). A student may take a maximum of four (4) courses from a family).

For more information refer to Appendix XIV.

Unit Transferability

While all California community colleges have transfer agreements with various educational institutions, it is important for students to understand there are limits on the number and type of course credits a student can transfer. Each college develops courses and curriculum based on the expertise of its faculty and District standards. Each course is assigned a number of units depending upon the course content. While the majority of our courses are articulated to transfer to the UC system and/or CSU system, there is a possibility that not all units for every course will transfer in their entirety to every transfer institution due to the receiving institution unit limitations. Students need to connect with a community college academic counselor as soon as possible, visit the Career Transfer Center, and regularly check www.assist.org to learn whether their specific courses are transferable to an institution of choice. Taking more credits than needed to transfer to another institution can also limit an eligible student’s financial aid opportunities. By working closely with academic counselors, the Financial Aid Office, and a receiving institution's support services, eligible students can maintain maximum levels of financial aid resources and transfer of credits.