All course prerequisites are set by the Academic Division Faculty and are enforced by the college. To be eligible to register for a course that has a prerequisite, students must complete the prerequisite course at Saddleback College or submit an accepted piece of evidence for clearance. In the Class Schedule, course prerequisites are indicated with a padlock symbol below the unit count.

 

Procedures and Requirements for Clearing Prerequisites

Students are responsible for satisfying any prerequisites on a course they plan to enroll in. Satisfying a prerequisite is referred to as "clearing the prerequisite." Make note of the following guidelines:

  • To avoid registration delays, submit your Prerequisite Evaluation Request and evidence well before your Registration Date. (See below for accepted evidence.) 
  • An evaluation can take 5 business days or more to process, so plan ahead -- submit your Prerequisite Evaluation Request at least 2 weeks prior to your registration date. 
  • In fairness to every student, each Prerequisite Evaluation Request is processed in the order received. No exceptions made. 
  • Temporary clearance cannot be granted. If you are in progress in the equivalent prerequisite course at another college, you must wait until you earn a final passing grade of C or higher to submit your request.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: Students who have submitted official transcripts to Saddleback College's Admissions & Records Office must submit a Prerequisite Evaluation Request form (linked below). Having a transcript on file will not automatically clear prerequisites. The form is required for this action to take place.

Step 1

Acquire and prepare your documents (i.e. transcript or other evidence).

NOTE: If you are currently in progress in the prerequisite course at another college or university, you will need to earn a final passing grade before submitting your request. We do not offer temporary requests.

Step 2

Make sure your name and the school's name (or logo) are visible on the transcript(s) you are submitting for evaluation. Only transcripts from regionally accredited U.S. colleges/universities and U.S. high schools are accepted. For further detail, click on the links below.


NOTE: For Summer enrollment, guidelines allow for the use of in-progress high school coursework to satisfy a prerequisite. For example, if you seek to take SPAN 2 this Summer, your high school transcript may include 1.5 years of Spanish completed with the current Spring semester of Spanish 2 in progress. (See 'All Other Prerequisites' for details.)

Step 3

NOTE: Prerequisite Evaluation Requests are processed in the order submitted. At this time of year, processing can take 3-5 business days (excluding weekends and holidays). Be sure to check your Saddleback College email address for the confirmation email which is sent once your request has been processed.

Submit the Saddleback College Prerequisite Evaluation Request Form

Students can check their prerequisite clearances by adding the course(s) they wish to register for into their Saddleback College Shopping Cart. This action prompts a Pre-registration check for the desired target course. 

  • If the prerequisite has not yet been satisfied or your clearance request was denied, a prerequisite error message alert will display.
  • If the prerequisite has been satisfied or your clearance request was approved, no error message will display. 
  • Prerequisite clearance is valid for current and future registration periods at Saddleback College. No need to resubmit a clearance request once approved.

NOTE: If you added a course to the Shopping Cart before you submitted a Prerequisite Evaluation Request Form, the course ticket number must be removed and re-added for a current Pre-registration check.

For questions regarding prerequisites, please contact us via email at scmatric@saddleback.edu.