Graduation

Students graduate in December and May. An annual graduation ceremony is held in May in Phillips and Arkansas Counties.

When a student is scheduled to graduate, the advisor and student must fill out an application for an associate degree/technical certificate and/or a certificate of proficiency.  A degree audit must be attached to the application and sent to the Vice Chancellor for Instruction’s office. Any course substitutions must be written on the degree audit, and the degree audit must match the catalog year for the student.

The deadline to submit an application for May 2023 graduation is March 17, 2023.

To earn an associate degree, at least thirty (30) credit hours or the last fifteen (15) hours must be earned from PCCUA. For a technical certificate, at least half the credit hours must be earned at PCCUA. Students can only receive one Associate of Arts degree from PCCUA.

“Student's Right-to-Know”
Graduation Rates

Graduation Rates for 100%, 150%, and 200% of normal time – cohort year 2016
Graduation Rate – 100% of normal time 35%
Graduation Rate – 150% of normal time 46%
Graduation Rate – 200% of normal time 57%

Cohort Year 2017
Four-year average Student Right-to-Know Completion or Graduation Rate – 41%
Four-year average Student Right-to-Know Transfer out Rate – 10%

For more information: https://www.pccua.edu/about/institutional-reports/students-right-to-know/

General Graduation Requirements

PCCUA will award an associate degree or a technical certificate to students who satisfy all specified requirements. Students completing requirements in a college or university parallel program may be awarded the Associate of Arts degree. Students completing a two-year program in occupational education may be awarded the Associate of Applied Science degree. Students completing a one-year occupational program may be awarded a technical certificate. Students graduate in December and May. An annual commencement is held in May in Phillips and Arkansas Counties.

An associate degree or technical certificate will be awarded to students who satisfy the following requirements:

1. Complete a minimum of sixty (60) semester hours of approved credit toward the desired associate degree; complete a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours of approved credit toward the desired technical certificate. Associate of Arts degree candidates are required to participate in the general education outcomes assessment before graduation. 
   
   At least thirty (30) credit hours or the last fifteen (15) hours toward an AA or an AAS degree must be earned from PCCUA. At least half of the credit hours toward a technical certificate must be earned from PCCUA.

2. Earn a grade point average of 2.0 or above on all college-level work completed. Exceptions are Nursing and MLT programs.

3. File an application for graduation with an advisor.

4. Fulfill financial obligations to the College.

Honor Graduates

A student completing all graduation course requirements whose cumulative grade-point average for all college course work is a 3.5 or higher is recognized as a PCCUA Honor Graduate. This recognition is documented on the student transcript. In addition, this recognition is acknowledged during the Honor Graduate reception and commencement.

Core Competencies of Graduates

All students receiving an associate’s degree from PCCUA will possess the following STACC Core Competencies:

Social and Civic Responsibility: Demonstrate adherence to legal/ethical standards established by society.

Technology Utilization: Use tools of the trade to achieve a specific outcome.

Analytical and Critical Thinking: Display reasoning including analyzing data, evaluating alternatives, setting priorities, and predicting outcomes.

Communication: Engage in the interactive process through which there is an exchange of verbal and/or nonverbal information.

Cultural Awareness: Acknowledge that society is diverse with groups of individuals possessing differing beliefs, values, attitudes, and customs that are shared from one generation to the next.