Retaking an FCC Course

Kevin Rodriguez bluntly calls himself “lazy.”

Rodriguez, a Fresno City College nutrition major, doesn’t want to re-take the same courses, but sometimes he has to.

“If I failed the first time, chances are I just didn’t like the class,” Rodriguez said.

He did contact a counselor in regard to failing a course. However, he said, the answers he got were insufficient.

Rodriguez is one of many students on campus retaking a course. The process can be confusing for a variety of reasons. Apparently, students must wait two years, then meet with a counselor, and then finally submit paperwork.

The confusion is an ongoing problem that many students and staff members at Fresno City College are trying to answer. Some of the answers provided by staff and faculty seem reasonable; however, countless students are still baffled about which procedures to follow.

Frances Lippmann, FCC’s admissions and records manager, has worked in the department for 11 years. She said the policy on re-taking courses has changed many times.

“Students are allowed to attempt a class up to three times, when previous attempts resulted in a failing grade (D, F, NP),” Lippmann said. The school and district have written standards, articulating and executing the Education code regulation, through Board Policies and Regulations. According to Lippmann, the Title 5 repeat regulations, states that students may repeat a CA community college “credit course”, in which they have received grades of D, F or NC/NP by re-enrolling in the same course up to three times

As of 2010, according to Lippmann, the regulations have not changed since last year; it is a step-by-step process that enables each student to have access.

Each student is allowed to attempt a course two times to successfully pass a course. If the student doesn’t pass the course within those two attempts, and wishes to attempt the course for a third time, regulations require students to make an appointment to meet with a counselor.