Southwest Florida College - Student Corner

Southwest Florida College has an open admissions policy that allows all people who are high school graduates or who have successfully completed equivalent education as certified by state departments of education to be admitted. The College seeks individuals who have a genuine desire for practical career preparation. Although academic preparation is important, one's motivation and interest in succeeding are given strong consideration.

Admissions Procedures

Individuals seeking admission into the College are required to complete an Application for Admission and arrange to meet personally with an Admissions Representative who will guide them through the remainder of the admissions process.

Applicants must be high school graduates or have successfully completed equivalent education as certified by state departments of education. Applicants will be required to certify this requirement on the Application for Admission.
Students with college-level credits from other regionally or nationally accredited institutions may apply to have credits transferred into Southwest Florida College. Students seeking transfer credits must have an official transcript of their prior work mailed directly to the College's Registrar to prevent being scheduled for classes previously taken.
Once the application and support materials are complete, the applicant will be given a placement assessment that is used by the College to assist with scheduling (transfer students may be exempt).
Applicants for whom English is not their native language or who clearly exhibit English language difficulty will be given an institutionally developed language assessment to determine whether or not their language skills are strong enough to pursue study at the college level.
It is the College's policy to notify applicants of their acceptance after the admissions requirements have been satisfied.

International Students

Southwest Florida College is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students. In addition to the admissions requirements listed above, the following requirements apply to nonimmigrant students seeking admission to the College.

Affidavit of financial support
Demonstration of English language proficiency (TOEFL score of 500 or more) or equivalent
Must meet all current INS requirements for issuance of a Form-120, Certificate of Eligibility for nonimmigrant Student Status

Please note that all documents must be originals or certified true copies of the original documents.

Once requirements are complete, applicants will receive a Form-120 with an acceptance letter and instructions for obtaining a student visa. Please direct questions regarding completion of the admissions materials to the College's Admissions Office.

Advanced Standing

A student’s time in residence may be shortened through Transfer Credit, Standardized Testing, Challenge Exams, or through Credit for Life Experience. The Maximum amount of Advanced standing credit, regardless of source can not exceed 62.5% of the total program length. Academic credit that is awarded through one of the following methods is not calculated in the student’s cumulative grade point average but is factored into the determination of the maximum time in which a program must be completed.

Transfer Credit - Students with earned college credit from another regionally or nationally accredited institution may apply to have those credits transferred into their program. Students seeking transfer credit must have an official transcript of their prior work mailed directly to the registrar.

Standardized Testing - The College awards credit for the successful completion of College Level Examination Program (CLEP), ACT-PEP or DANTES subject testing as well as for other professional certification examinations that are recognized by the American Council of Education. Official test scores must be sent to the Registrar.

Challenge Exams - Challenge Exams are intended to give students with advanced knowledge and/or skills the opportunity to demonstrate their competency and receive academic credit. The College recommends that Challenge Exams be taken shortly after acceptance to help avoid scheduling conflicts. The College will allow up to 24 credit hours earned through Challenge Exams. Students wanting to take a Challenge Exam must first meet with a Financial Aid Officer to satisfy all financial requirements and then meet with the College Librarian to schedule the examination. A specific Challenge Exam may be attempted only one time and a final score of 70% or higher is needed to earn academic credit for the course. Challenge Exams cannot be substituted for a course previously taken or for one in which the student is currently enrolled.

Credit for Life Experience

Earn college credit for life experience with Southwest Florida College's Prior Learning Assessement. Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) provides adult learners with an opportunity to receive college credit through demonstration of prior college-level learning. The program provides a standardized process for awarding academic credit for prior college-level learning through Proficiency Examinations such as CLEP or Challenge Exams, Placement Assessment, Transcript Evaluation, Certifications and Training, and the Prior Learning Portfolio.

The PLA process helps to determine if academic credit can be awarded for the learning associated with life experiences. Such learning experiences may be associated with work, military service, professional training, hobbies, recreational activities, and other meaningful activities. These learning experiences are evaluated for their equivalency to specific SWFC courses and/or ability to satisfy institutional and degree requirements. The amount of credit which may be earned depends upon the scope and depth of the learning in each specific area. The Prior Learning Assessment Program is course-based, which means that credit may be earned for specific SWFC courses as identified in the degree plan.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities or Special Needs

Federal and state laws require the College to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled, handicapped, and learning disabled students when such accommodations would satisfy the legitimate interests of both parties and enable the student to meet a program’s technical and academic requirements. In addition, the College must make “such modifications to its academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating on the basis of handicap.”

Specific accommodations will be based on a student’s educational profile revealed thorough psycho-educational, medical, or neurological evaluations made by clinicians. Implementation of specific accommodations will be made through a cooperative effort involving the student, instructor, and the Dean of Academics. These procedures will achieve the College’s goal of balancing reasonable accommodations with academic integrity.