Registration Guidelines and Policies

These guidelines explain important policies for registration, including majors, course loads, course requirements, attendance, dropping classes, grades, and waitlists. Review them carefully to avoid issues and stay on track. 

• Majors and Enrollment Changes
• Course Load
• Course Requirements
• Attendance and Dropping Courses
• Grades
• Waitlists

Majors and Enrollment Changes

Changing or Declaring a Major

You can change your major (program) at any time during a term. To graduate, you must declare a major when you apply for admission, during enrollment, or when completing your graduation application.

Step-Ups and Step-Backs

With departmental approval, you may move into:

• Most developmental courses (0999 and below) through the second week of the term.
• Some lower-level career and technical courses in the same discipline through the fifth week.
• Self-paced developmental math courses through the tenth week of a full term or the eighth week of a 12-week session.

If you’re struggling in a class, talk to your instructor or achievement coach.

Department Approval to Enroll

Some classes require departmental approval. Receiving departmental approval does not waive program requirements or allow overfills.

Course Load

Credit Hours 

Full-time students typically take 12–18 credit hours. To take more than 18 credit hours, you must:

• Have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Have no grade lower than C in your last term.
• Get approval from your program’s school or advisement.

First-time college students cannot take more than 18 credit hours.

Credit hour maximums for each semester are as follows: 

• Fall and Spring: 22 credit hours
• Summer: 20 credit hours

Please note: Some Career Technical Education (CTE) programs may exceed the credit hour maximums due to program design.

Course Repetition Limit

Most classes can be attempted twice without restriction.

Course Requirements

Prerequisites 

A prerequisite is a class you must complete with a grade of C or better before you can take a higher-level course. Prerequisite courses give you the skills you need to succeed in the next level. A recommended prerequisite is strongly encouraged to help you succeed in a higher-level course, but it is not required.

If you’re currently taking a prerequisite class, you can register for the next-level class for the following term; however, if you earn a grade of D, F, NC, W, or I in the prerequisite, you will be dropped from the advanced class.

Ways to Meet a Prerequisite

1. Take the prerequisite at CNM and earn a grade of C or higher.
2. Transfer an equivalent course from another regionally accredited college with a grade of C or higher.
3. Score high enough on the Accuplacer placement exam to bypass the prerequisite.
4. Use ACT or SAT scores (less than five years old) to bypass the prerequisite.
5. Request special prerequisite clearance.

Corequisites

A corequisite is a class you must take at the same time as another class. For example, a biology class might require you to take a biology lab class during the same term.

Please note: If you drop a class that has a required corequisite, you must also drop the corequisite.

Special Prerequisite Clearance

As a new student, you can request special prerequisite clearance during your first-term registration based on unofficial documents. Before requesting clearance, confirm whether the prerequisite is Arts & Sciences, Developmental, or Career and Technical Education (CTE).

• If the prerequisite is an Arts & Sciences or Developmental course, fill out the One-Time Request for Prerequisite Clearance.
  • Arts & Sciences Courses are numbered 1001 and above have the following subject codes: ANTH, ARBC, ART, ARTS, ARTH, ASTR, BIO, CHEM, COMM, CST, ECON, ENG, FREN, GEOG, GER, GNHN, HIST, HUM, JOUR, MATH, MUS, NUTR, PHIL, PHYS, PORT, PSCI, PSY, RLGN, SOC, SPAN, THEA. 
  • Developmental Courses are numbered 0999 and below.
• If the prerequisite is a CTE course, contact the academic school that offers the course. 
  • CTE Courses are numbered 1001 and higher and are not listed as Arts & Sciences.

Important Tip: Get approval for clearance before you try to register to avoid delays. If you don’t, you won’t be able to register or join the waitlist for the course.

Attendance and Dropping Courses

Attendance

• Students are expected to attend all class sessions.
• Instructors may drop students with excessive absences.
• If you miss the first class and don’t contact your instructor, or miss two consecutive classes in the first week, you may be dropped.
  • Instructors are not required to drop students who stop attending.
  • If you are dropped from a course with corequisites, you must also drop the corequisite.
• You cannot sit in or participate in classes unless you are officially enrolled.

Dropping Courses

If you cannot attend CNM, drop all classes in myCNM before the term begins. Refund information is available through the Cashier’s Office.

Be sure to drop classes by the published registration deadlines. If you drop by the refund deadline, the course will not appear on your transcript. After that date, a withdrawal grade (W) will appear. You will receive a final grade if you do not officially drop.

If you cannot drop by the deadline due to circumstances like hospitalization, you may submit a written appeal with documentation to the school offering the class. Appeal forms are available on the General Appeals webpage. 

To withdraw completely, you must drop all classes.

Grades

• You can change the grading option (grade mode) through the last day to drop.
• Some courses do not offer multiple grading options.
• Consult CNM Advisement and Financial Aid before choosing Audit or Credit/No Credit.
• The Change of Grade Mode form is available on myCNM. Request forms are also available at all campuses.
  • Requests are processed by the Records Office on CNM Main Campus.
• Final grades are available in myCNM.

Waitlists