Prerequisite Policy

The College of Engineering policy is to enforce prerequisites for all engineering and engineering technology courses.  With that said, under certain special circumstances, prerequisites will be waived but only with the consent of the course instructor, department head, and associate dean.  If the waived prerequisite course is being taught in the same semester as the follow-on course, the student must enroll in the prerequisite as a corequisite.  Other stipulations may be placed on the student in order to have a prerequisite waived.  Typical circumstances include:
  1. A student that has credit for the prerequisite course from another institution but the official transcript has not yet been evaluated (student will be asked to provide an unofficial transcript to verify that the prerequisite course has been taken and passed with a C grade or higher).
  2. A student has work or other experience that provides knowledge of the prerequisite material deemed sufficient to meet basic requirements for success in the follow-on course (student may be asked to take an evaluation exam to verify that they have knowledge of the perquisite material).
  3. Foreign or domestic exchange students whose transcripts from their home institutions are not officially evaluated (student may be asked to provide an unofficial transcript from their home institution or take an evaluation exam to verify that they have knowledge of the prerequisite material).
  4. Meeting basic skills requirements, minimum GPA requirements, or class standing prerequisites is judged to not have an adverse impact on performance in the course.
  5. Other exceptions could include:
    • You were called out to active duty in the semester that the prerequisite was last taught,
    • Illness or other catastrophic events prevented you from completing the prerequisite course the last time it was taught (you received an I grade),
    • You were out on a Co-op phase the semester that the prerequisite was last taught.
Exceptions of this type may be granted in the senior year (or very rarely in the junior year).  This will occur only a case-by-case basis and with a written petition to do so by the student sent to the course instructor, department head, and the associate dean for approval.  The student must enroll in the prerequisite course as a corequisite should the prerequisite be waived and the prerequisite course is being taught. Reasons for not waiving prerequisites include:
  1. “But all my friends are in the class and they will help me.”
  2. “Not having the course at this time will delay my graduation.”
  3. “I didn’t get a C grade or higher in the prerequisite but I really do know the material.”
  4. “It is my responsibility should I not pass the course.”
  5. “Last semester the prerequisite course conflicted with another class I was taking and therefore I was unable to take the prerequisite course.”