Courses of Instruction

The courses described in this section of the catalog have been authorized by the Governing Board of the West Kern Community College District. Whether or not they are given in any particular college year depends on prospective enrollment and the availability of instructors and physical facilities. Courses marked with an asterisk (*) have not been offered in the past two academic years. Consult the fall, spring, and summer class schedules for the courses actually offered. The college reserves the right to cancel any course in which there is not sufficient enrollment.

It is the policy of this district that, unless specifically exempted by statute, every course, course section, or class, the average daily attendance of which is to be reported for state funding, wherever offered and maintained by the district, shall be fully open to enrollment and participation by any person who has been admitted to the college and who meets such prerequisite as may be established.

Catalog Rights

Students retain catalog rights by continuous attendance as defined as attendance in at least one course during the academic yearly calendar starting from the beginning of the fall semester to the close of the subsequent summer session. Attendance, regardless of the length of time of course duration, is established, if it results in any grade notation on the student’s official transcript. A course in which a student receives “W” is a non-evaluative grade and does not count towards retaining catalog rights.

Students who maintain continuous attendance at Taft College may elect to graduate under the Taft College catalog in effect either upon first enrollment at Taft College, or any year thereafter, up to the time of graduation. If the student breaks continuous enrollment at Taft College, then the catalog rights change to the year in which continuous enrollment can be established.

Among the credit courses applicable to the Associate Degree, courses numbered 1500 and higher are considered Baccalaureate level and are specifically intended for college transfer. These courses parallel or approximately parallel similarly named courses at the California State University or the University of California. Degree credit courses notated with (UC) will transfer to all campuses of the University of California and those with (CSU) will transfer to the California State Universities. Credit courses applicable to the Associate Degree numbered from 1000 and up are designed primarily to meet the needs of vocational-technical students and may not yield college transfer credit.

The credit value of each credit course in semester units is indicated after the title of the course. A semester unit of credit is based upon one hour of the student’s time at the college per week in lecture or recitation throughout one semester, together with the time necessary in preparation, or longer time in laboratory or other instruction not requiring outside preparation.

Course prerequisites and advisories in computational, reading, and writing skills have been established for entry-level degree and pre-collegiate basic skills curriculum. Information regarding them may be obtained at the Counseling Center.

The student must assume the responsibility for learning the specific lower division and major requirements of the school of his/her choice and for the selection of his/her community college courses in accordance with these requirements. Since the requirements and policies vary with different colleges and universities and among departments in the same university, the student is urged to study the catalog of the institution to which he/she will transfer and to discuss his/her proposed program with his/her advisor each semester. A change in the objective or in the choice of the senior college may increase the number of semesters required to obtain the Baccalaureate Degree.

No student shall receive more than 30 semester units of credit for pre-collegiate basic skills. Students enrolled in ESL courses and those identified as having learning disabilities are exempt from this unit limit. A waiver procedure is available for those students showing significant measurable progress who have reached the 30-unit limit.

Course Prerequisites, Co-requisites, and Recommended Preparation

Prerequisite means a condition of enrollment the student is required to meet in order to demonstrate current readiness for enrolling in a course or educational program. A prerequisite represents a set of skills or a body of knowledge that a student must possess before enrolling and without which the student is highly unlikely to succeed in the course or program. Students are expected to have satisfied the prerequisite requirements as stated in this catalog for all courses. All prerequisite classes must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

Co-requisite is a condition of enrollment consisting of a course a student is required to simultaneously take in order to enroll in another course. A co-requisite represents a set of skills or a body of knowledge that a student must acquire through concurrent enrollment in another course and without which the student is highly unlikely to succeed.

Advisory states the preparation suggested by the faculty to successfully complete a particular course. While encouraged to do so, students do not have to satisfy recommended preparation guidelines to enroll in a course.

Recommended prerequisite, co-requisites, or recommended preparation are specified within course descriptions announced in this catalog. They are also specified in the schedule of classes. A course has no prerequisite or co-requisites unless so designated. Students must have satisfied the prerequisite or co-requisite requirements for all course in which they enroll.

Challenging a Prerequisite or Co-requisite

Students may have preparation equivalent to the stated prerequisites or co-requisites or may wish to challenge a prerequisite or co-requisite as allowed by state law. The petition for challenging a prerequisite or co-requisite is available in the Counseling Center. The student shall bear the initial burden of showing that grounds exist for the challenge. The following is a list of grounds under which a challenge may be pursued:

• The student will be subject to undue delay in attaining the goal of his/her educational plan because the prerequisite or co-requisite course had not been made reasonably available (student educational plan must be on file).
• The prerequisite or co-requisite is not valid because it is not necessary in the course for which it is required (student educational plan must be on file).
• The prerequisite or co-requisite is unlawfully discriminatory or is being applied in an unlawfully discriminatory manner (student documentation required).
• The student has documented knowledge or ability to succeed in the course despite not meeting the prerequisite (student documentation required).

Course Advisories

Course advisories in computational, reading, and writing skills have been established for entry-level degree and certificate-applicable courses and to each level of the pre-collegiate basic skills curriculum. Information regarding these advisories may be obtained in the Counseling Center.

C-ID Number in the Course Description

C-ID, the Course Identification Numbering System, is a faculty-driven system that was initially developed to assign identifying designations (C-ID numbers) to significant transfer courses. C-ID addresses the need for a “common course numbers” by providing a mechanism to identify comparable courses. Most C-ID numbers identify lower-division transferable courses commonly articulated between the California Community Colleges (CCC) and universities (including Universities of California, the California State Universities, as well as with many of California’s independent colleges and universities).

It provides information for students, staff, and faculty who must identify which community college courses best meet the expectations transfer partners have for courses that contribute to transfer into a major at specific universities. The C-ID descriptor also provides information for ongoing curriculum development and revision of lower division courses. In the catalog, C-ID numbers can be found at the end of the catalog description of a course. (Example: ADMJ 1501 = AJ 110).

Additional information can be found on the C-ID website.

Cont. – C-ID, Course Identification Numbers

(NOTE: * indicates courses offered on a more than 2 year cycle)

• ADMJ - Administration of Justice
• ANTH - Anthropology
• ARCH - Archaeology
• ART - Art
• ARTH - Art History
• ASTR - Astronomy
• BIOL - Biology
• BSAD - Business Administration
• BUSN - Business
• CHEM - Chemistry
• CJA - Criminal Justice Admin
• COMM - Communication
• COSC - Computer Science
• CTRP - Court Reporting
• DNTL - Dental Hygiene
• DRAM - Drama
• DS - Disability Studies
• ECEF - Early Care, Ed. and Fami Studi
• ECON - Economics
• ENER - Energy
• ENGL - English
• ENGR - Engineering
• ESCI - Earth Science
• ESL - English as a Second Language
• GEOG - Geography
• GEOL - Geology
• HIST - History
• HLED - Health Education
• HUM - Humanities
• IES - Industrial Ed Safety
• ILS - Independent Living Skills
• INCO - Information Competency
• INTC - Industrial Technology
• JRNL - Journalism
• KINE - Kinesiology
• LRSK - Learning Skills
• MATH - Mathematics
• MGMT - Management
• MUSC - Music
• Narrative Courses
• PETC - Petroleum Technology
• PHED - Physical Education
• PHIL - Philosophy
• PHOT - Photography
• PHYS - Physics
• POSC - Political Science
• PSCI - Physical Science
• PSYC - Psychology
• READ - Reading
• RECR - Recreation
• SOC - Sociology
• SPAN - Spanish
• SPCH - Speech
• STAT - Statistics
• STSU - Student Success
• TUTR - Tutoring
• WELD - Welding
• WKEX - Work Experience
• WTER - Water Technology