Enrollment Options

This section outlines enrollment definitions for some useful terms and processes. Depending on your educational goals, you will most likely enroll in with the College Credit Division, Corporate and Continuing Education or Adult and Community Education.

College Credit Division

The bulk of KCC courses are offered through its College Credit Division. Successful completion of courses in this area results in the awarding of college credit. These courses can be applied toward an associate degree or certificate of completion or can be taken to satisfy an individual need. To enroll in a college credit course, follow the 7 steps to enrollment.

Full- and part-time enrollment

To be classified as a full-time student, a student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours during a 16-week semester. Nine to 11 hours designates three-fourths time, and six to eight hours designates half-time enrollment during a 16-week semester.

For the eight-week summer term, the minimum enrollments are six hours to be considered full-time, five hours to be three-fourths time and three hours to be half-time.

Students should consult a KCC adviser regarding individual circumstances. Many students find it advantageous to enroll full-time. Medical insurance programs, auto insurance programs and student financial aid often provide advantages to full-time students.

Corporate and Continuing Education

This office specializes in non-degree programs in the areas of corporate training, professional development and self-enrichment. To enroll, consult with an advisor or register directly with the Corporate and Continuing Education office. Costs vary by class.  If you would like more information, phone (815) 802-8200 for more information.

Adult and Community Education

This division offers pre-college remedial and developmental programs.

Our Department of Student Services works hard to make getting started at KCC a customer-focused process. However, if you need additional assistance, feel free to contact us at (815) 802-8500.

Sometimes your circumstances may present special enrollment needs. In that case, KCC may have options available to you:

Withdrawing from a course

If it is necessary for you to withdraw from a class or from the college, you can do so without receiving a punitive grade if you withdraw before the end of the 10th week of the semester (16-week class) or before 63% of the term has elapsed for courses of less than 16 weeks.

Withdrawing students will receive a 100% tuition refund through 10 percent of the duration of the course. No refund is given after 10% of a course has elapsed--with the exception of drop/add transactions. Your registration statement will have the exact refund deadline for each course.

All withdrawal requests must be in writing and signed and dated by the student. You can fill out a withdrawal request and submit it in person in Student Services, fax a signed request to (815) 802-8101, or mail a signed request to the Office of Admissions and Registration. 

If you are mailing your withdrawal request, it must be postmarked no later than the date of the last day on which withdrawals are allowed for a particular course.

Courses dropped can be exchanged for other courses within certain time periods at no additional charge, unless the new course has a higher tuition rate. But, the withdrawal and addition must be completed at the same time. 

If you have questions on the withdrawal policy, consult the staff in the Office of Admissions and Registration at (815) 802-8520.

Repeating a course

You may repeat a College Credit Division course one time if you previously received a D or F. You will receive credit only for the latter enrollment. You may not repeat for credit any course for which you earned an A, B or C, unless the course description specifically says it may be repeated. Exceptions may be allowed for career programs where there is a considerable time lapse. Contact the dean of instruction for approval.

Note: If you are planning to transfer to another college, all grades earned might be included to compute your grade point average, even if a class was repeated.

Auditing a course

You may choose to audit a course if you prefer to explore a particular course or field of study in a non-graded situation. In this case, you participate in the course without the pressure of grades for exams and some other course requirements.

No credit is earned for audited courses nor does the course count toward your enrollment status.

Regular tuition and fees are charged.

Registrations for audited classes are accepted only during the "late registration" period.

Alternate credit

You have the choice of earning continuing education credit for some courses, an option similar to auditing a class. In this case, you do not have the pressure of earning a letter grade. Instead, you receive a "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" grade, which does not affect your GPA. You do not receive college credit for the course. Regular tuition and fees are charged. Courses with an alternate credit option are noted in the class schedule.

Pass/Fail grading

The pass/fail grading option is designed to allow you an alternative grading option.

A maximum of 10 semester hours, which apply to your curriculum, may be earned using the pass/fail grading option. Only select courses are designated pass/fail; consult the course descriptions. You must request the pass/fail option by completing a written request. Consult with the Office of Admissions and Registration for details.

You must perform at a level of C or better to receive a satisfactory grade. This grade is not included in your grade-point average but is included in the calculation of hours attempted.

If you perform below a C level, you will receive an F grade, representing no credit earned. This grade will be included in the grade point average and the calculation of hours attempted.