Graduation

You are required to meet certain criteria in order to earn a degree, diploma or certificate from Southwest Tech. First, you must have fulfilled at least 25 percent of your program credit requirements while enrolled here. Second, you must have performed to an acceptable level. Third, you must not have any outstanding financial obligations to the college.

As a general rule, Southwest Tech requires students to satisfactorily complete their required curriculum and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above in order to graduate. However, some of the college's programs have a higher standard, requiring students to earn no lower than a "C" grade in every course.

Southwest Tech strongly encourages all students who have earned the right to graduate to participate in their graduation ceremony. To receive your diploma and/or participate in the graduation ceremony, you must complete the Application for Graduation form and turn it in to Student Services.

Graduating with High Honors

Students who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above at graduation may wear a high honor cord during their graduation ceremony. The cumulative GPA of students enrolled in two-year programs is determined by using all program-required coursework completed prior to the final term. The cumulative GPA of students in one-year programs is determined by using all completed program-required coursework plus grade approximations for final term program-required courses.

Cumulative GPA is not rounded in determining eligibility for high honors. For example, a 3.49 GPA is not rounded to 3.5. Participation in the graduation ceremony is required to receive a high honor cord, which the recipient may keep.

Program Graduation Rates

Under federal regulations, Southwest Tech discloses information about program graduation rates. A report containing this data as well as other information about job opportunities and program placement rates is available to students and the general public through Student Services.

Graduation Rates

Federal student right-to-know laws require Southwest Tech to disclose graduation rates "within a time period and for cohorts" as defined by law. The time period is "within one and one-half times the normal time"for completion of a program. For two-year programs, this translates to graduation within three years. The cohort used fall term.

Graduation data for each program is accumulated, analyzed, and reported annually by Southwest Tech's Institutional Advancement Office. A published report is available from Student Services.

Job Out

Students who have secured employment related to their program may "job out" with instructor approval. This allows these students to be employed while concurrently completing course requirements. Students are excused from class attendance but not from completing class assignments. Requests to job-out are evaluated case by case. All pertinent forms and course completion requirements must be finalized between student and instructor, who may request confirmation of an employment offer with the employer. Jobbing out cannot occur until the last four weeks before graduation.