While students apply for admission only once during a period of attendance at the college, they must register for classes every semester they wish to attend. Registration involves selecting courses each semester that meet the student’s academic needs, are within their educational plan, and are offered in a manner consistent with each student’s time and place requirements. The process can be found online at https://www.pgcc.edu/more/records–registration/credit-student-registration/
Course Prerequisites and Placement
Most courses require a student to possess a certain level of prior knowledge or proficiency in order to be successful in mastering the subject content of the course. These prescribed levels of prior knowledge or proficiency are known as course prerequisites. Most introductory level courses do not require other courses to precede them but do require certain levels of proficiency in reading, writing and/or mathematics. Such basic skills prerequisites are indicated in the course description as “reading proficiency,” “writing proficiency,” and/or “mathematics proficiency” prerequisites. Other courses may require that certain specific courses precede them. In such cases, the course description will contain a reference to one or more prerequisite courses.
Basic skills in all three areas are assessed using placement tests, which are required of all new college students. Students who do not achieve satisfactory placement test scores will be required to complete prescribed developmental courses before enrolling in credit courses.
Some placement test prerequisites for course enrollment are waived for students who:
- Already hold a U.S. college degree (associate degree or higher)
- Have sufficiently high SAT or ACT scores
- Have previously completed 12 or more credits of college-level courses having substantially equivalent skills requirements
- Have background or work experience, which, in the judgment of the appropriate dean or designee, indicates a reasonable capability for success in the course(s) in question
All new students and those who transfer in fewer than 12 credits are required to complete PAS-1000 Planning for Academic Success: First Year Experience (1 credit). Planning for Academic Success (3 credits) may be substituted for PAS-1000. First Year Experience courses from other institutions are not transferrable to Prince George’s Community College. For more information about PAS-1000 see Course Descriptions .
Get started on the Right Path at PGCC! In your first semester, we highly recommend that you take Math, English and Planning for Academic Success (PAS) within your first 12 credits. Your success in these courses will put you on the path to success at Prince George’s Community College.
Registration Steps
Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Students are encouraged to register early in order to take advantage of increased availability of their first-choice classes at their preferred time. The college is committed to using every available class meeting to further the learning experience. Students are therefore required to be registered for classes prior to their start and expected to be present on the first meeting day. The registration deadline of 11:59 p.m. the day before a class begins is strictly enforced regardless of whether or not seats remain available in the course. Consult each semester’s schedule of classes for registration information and special instructions for enrollment in classes which begin later in the semester. Registration involves the following steps:
- Consult with an advisor as needed or required by the college. All degree-seeking students must develop and periodically update an educational plan with the assistance of an academic advisor. Students may also determine courses they need to take by accessing Owl Link or Navigate from the Student Portal, myPGCC.
- Studying a schedule of classes that lists all offerings for a particular semester. The schedule is available online before registration begins.
- Selecting classes consistent with an academic program, prior coursework, the agreed-upon educational plan, and/or placement test scores.
- Registering for classes in person or online, as described in the next section.
- Paying a tuition bill. Students should refer to the PGCC website for tuition and payment plan information and payment deadlines. No registration is considered final until the bill has been paid.
Registration Policy
Students must register for courses by 11:59 p.m. the day before the class begins. Students who fail to meet the registration deadline may still enroll in accelerated course sections. Students may search for accelerated courses using Owl Link or Navigate.
While the College reserves the right to release courses due to non-payment following payment deadlines, it is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from planned coursework prior to the start of courses to avoid financial responsibility. The College has discontinued the practice of daily course deletion due to non-payment to allow for additional processing time of expected payment sources. It is critical to follow-up on all expected payment sources and make sure the funds have applied to your account to secure your course selections. This includes student financial aid, outside scholarships, payment plans, and third-party payments.
Different Ways to Register for Courses
New and newly readmitted students must make an appointment with their advisor prior to registering for their first semester. Returning students may register each semester in any one of the following ways:
- Online using Owl Link or Navigate, the college’s registration and planning systems
- In person at the main campus in Largo at the Office of Records and Registration, Bladen Hall, Room 126
- In person at the Laurel College Center in Laurel, Prince George’s Community College at University Town Center in Hyattsville, and (for those who have a military ID) at Prince George’s Community College at Joint Base Andrews
Navigate
Navigate is an online and mobile advisement tool. that connects students to many PGCC’s resources and allows students to schedule appointments and correspond with their advisor.. New students are assigned a Navigate account within 24 hours of applying to the college. Students can download the Navigate App by searching “Navigate Student” in their app store.
Owl Link
Owl Link is the online student system at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC). It empowers students to access important online services, such as planning and registering for classes in the Student Planning tool and viewing grades and degree audit using the My Progress tool. . Students can also pay for classes, view the status of their financial aid, print unofficial transcripts and class schedules, submit address and email address changes, and request official transcripts to be sent to other colleges in Owl Link. To access Owl Link, students at PGCC must have a current, working email address on file. Current credit students who need assistance with their user ID and password can should contact the Technology Service Desk in Bladen Hall, Room 110 on the Largo campus or by emailing helpdesk@pgcc.edu.
BankMobile Debit Cards (Formerly PGCC Owl Debit Cards)
All credit students will receive a debit card issued through BankMobile. It will be mailed to the address of record at the college. This card is very important and must be activated in order to set up a preference for the way refunds from the college to the student will be delivered. This includes financial aid rebates and VA reimbursements.
Students may choose to have refunds and rebates processed as deposits to their BankMobile Debit Card or they may choose to have refunds electronically deposited in another bank account specified on the BankMobile Debit Card activation site. The college no longer issues paper checks.
Transcripts and Enrollment Verifications
Official copies of transcripts may be obtained upon written request from the Office of Records and Registration, Bladen Hall, Room 126. “While you wait” service is available during regular business hours. Transcripts may be requested in one of three ways: in person, by mail, or online (www.pgcc.edu). No transcript will be issued for students with an outstanding debt to the college. Students may print unofficial copies of their own transcripts through Owl Link, the college’s online student system, provided there is no outstanding debt. Visit www.pgcc.edu or my.pgcc.edu for more information.
No enrollment verifications will be issued for a given semester until courses have begun and the refund period for the courses has passed. The college is a member of the National Student Clearinghouse and reports the enrollment status of all registered students several times during each semester. The college relies on the Clearinghouse to verify the enrollment and degree attainment of students to lenders and other external agencies. Students may receive an instant enrollment verification through the National Studen Clearinghouse by logging in through Owl Link.
Enrollment verifications are also available free of charge upon written request or upon receipt of a properly signed release form through an external agency or organization. Such verifications are not done on a while-you-wait basis. All external agency forms are sent directly to the agency involved. Verification letters may be picked up by the student, mailed or emailed to the receiving party.
The college reserves the right to withhold transcripts or enrollment verifications for any student or former student who has an outstanding debt to the college, including but not limited to tuition, fees, returned check fees, parking fines, and library charges.
Changes of Program/Not Applicable Courses
Students must designate a program of study or curriculum at the time they apply for admission to the college. The choice of a program of study is an important one since it dictates what degree requirements a student must meet so long as they are enrolled in that curriculum. Students who realize that another curriculum is more appropriate to their goals should change the curriculum rather than continue in one no longer relevant. Students may change a program of study by completing a curriculum change form, available from the Office of Student Academic Planning and Career Readiness (SAPCR), Bladen Hall, Room 124. Student interested in changing a program of study will also be referred to the Career Center, Bladen Hall, Room 124, to see an advisor before the curriculum change process is completed.
Sometimes when a curriculum is changed, certain courses that were taken in connection with the old program of study may not be relevant to the new program. A student may request that such inapplicable courses not be counted within the new program of study. Such requests must be sent to the Office of Records and Registration as part of the proper completion of a curriculum change form. Courses that are determined to be not applicable to the new program will receive the designation N/A (not applicable) and will no longer affect the student’s grade point average or be counted toward meeting graduation requirements.
The N/A designation will be applied to courses that were specifically required in the former program of study and that are not applicable to the new program as required courses or recommended electives. Courses that satisfy a general education requirement are not eligible for the N/A designation unless the new program of study lists specific general education courses as required courses and courses taken previously may not be used as approved substitutes for the required courses.
Students requesting this evaluation of their academic record should be aware that all such nonapplicable courses will receive the N/A designation regardless of the grade earned. Normally, this treatment may be requested only once.
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