Holmes Community College

Holmes Community College embraces the philosophy that the student be provided with opportunities to enhance their education by providing campus-based and e-learning. HCC ascribes to an "open admissions" policy consistent with all appertaining laws. All requirements for admission to Holmes Community College must be met within the first fourth of the semester of initial enrollment. Failure to provide official documentation within that period will result in the student being administratively withdrawn, changed to audit, and/or placed on admissions hold. 
 

Students who enroll in 12 or more hours whether day, evening, online, or any combination thereof must meet the following admissions requirements to be fully admitted to the college.

1. A current, complete application for admission.
2. First-time freshmen must submit an official high school transcript from a regionally accredited high school showing the graduation date, type of diploma, and signature of the high school official and it must be mailed from the high school to the Admissions Office. Students who obtain the General Educational Development (GED) credential must have an official GED transcript sent to the college from an official testing center or GED state office.
3. Scores on the ACT or SAT for students who are less than 21 years of age and who have not earned a bachelor's degree are required for placement. ACT/SAT scores may be accepted from official high school or college transcript provided the subscores, composite score, and date of testing are printed rather than handwritten. Additional placement tests may be required for placement in some courses or programs.
4. Transfer students must submit an official transcript from the LAST college attended. Students holding a bachelor's degree or higher may submit only the transcript showing the highest degree.

It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that students submit all transcripts when enrolling initially at Holmes since some honors, scholarships, elections, and awards are based on cumulative grades rather than grades at Holmes alone. OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS FROM ALL COLLEGES ATTENDED MUST BE ON FILE IN THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE PRIOR TO EVALUATION FOR GRADUATION.   

Students enrolled in less than 12 hours whether day, evening, online, or any combination thereof must meet the following admission requirements to be admitted as a part-time student.

1. An current, complete application for admission.
2. First-time freshmen must submit an official high school transcript from a regionally accredited high school showing the graduation date, type of diploma, and signature of the high school official and it must be mailed from the high school to the Admissions Office. Students who obtained the General Educational Development (GED) credential must have an official GED transcript sent to the college from an official testing center or GED state office.
3. Transfer students must submit an official transcript from the LAST college attended.

Students who enter part-time and change later to full time must meet the admission requirements for full-time students during the first fourth of the semester in which they become full time.

It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that students submit all transcripts when enrolling initially at Holmes since some honors, scholarships, elections, and awards are based on cumulative grades rather than grades at Holmes alone. OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS FROM ALL COLLEGES ATTENDED MUST BE ON FILE IN THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE PRIOR TO EVALUATION FOR GRADUATION.

A transfer student is defined as one who has 12 or more hours attempted on his/her permanent record at another institution. A transfer student must have an official transcript sent from the LAST post-secondary institution attended. A student who is on disciplinary probation or suspension from another institution must petition the Admissions Committee for a special hearing and must meet the same academic achievement requirements as native students.

            1. An current, complete application for admission. 
            2. Transfer students must submit an official transcript from the LAST college attended.
            3.Scores on the ACT or SAT for students who are less than 21 years of age and who have not
               earned a bachelor's degree are required for placement. ACT/SAT scores may be accepted from official
               high school or college transcript provided the subscores, composite score, and date of testing are
               printed rather than handwritten. Additional placement tests may be required for placement in some
               courses or programs.

Holmes Community College does NOT provide INS documentation for student visas and does not provide any other INS documentation to students with other types of visas. Documentation of legal status must be provided prior to registration for students who are born outside of the United States and/or who graduated from a high school outside the United States. Official translations and evaluations of foreign transcripts by an approved agency are required for all foreign-born students at the student's expense. For a list of approved agencies, contact the Dean of Admissions and Records, P.O. Box 398, Goodman, MS 39079. The translation and evaluation must be mailed directly to Holmes Community College from the approved evaluation service. All requirements for admission to Holmes Community College shall be met within the first one-fourth of the semester of initial enrollment. Failure to provide official documentation within that period shall result in the student being administratively withdrawn, changed to audit, and/or placed on admissions hold.

First-time students with ACT composite scores of less that 16 or SAT scores less than 770 will be admitted on Probation. Students admitted on Probation who fail to meet minimum standards of progress (1.75 GPA) at the end of their first semester of full-time enrollment will not be eligible to return to Holmes until they have remained out of school for at least one fall or spring semester.

Transfer students must have a 1.75 or greater GPA on the last semester of full-time attendance in order to be admitted in Good Standing. Transfer students who have below a 1.75 on the last full-time semester will be admitted on Probation. Transfer students who have below a 1.75 on the last two semesters of full-time work at another college will not be admitted until they have remained out of school one fall or spring semester. Part-time work is not a factor in determining academic standing or probationary admission. A student who is on disciplinary probation or suspension from another institution must petition the Admissions Committee for a special hearing.

An academic or technical student with an Enhanced ACT composite score of 13 or below is required to enroll in the Academic Foundations core his/her first semester unless placement tests at registration move the student out of the Academic Foundations Core courses listed below.

This curriculum consists of:

• English course based on ACT 3 hrs.
• Math course based on ACT 3 hrs.
• Reading course based on ACT 3 hrs.
• Essential College Skills (EDU 1203) 3 hrs.
• One course in student's major selected with advisor's approval 3 or 4 hrs.
• Electives (band, choir, p.e., varsity sports) As approved by Advisor

Total 15 to 18 hrs.

Test Scores. As of the October 1989 National Test date, The American College Testing Program (ACT) began using their new Enhanced ACT. The minimum scores required for scholarships, course placements, etc., have been revised. ACT scores earned prior to October 28, 1989, shall be equated to Enhanced ACT scores using ACT guidelines. The following chart represents some of the most frequent uses of ACT scores and their new requirements.

Many Technical and Career programs have competitive admission and a limited number of students will be admitted into the program. These programs have additional admission requirements that must be met in order to be accepted by the program. Program admission requirements are IN ADDITION TO the college admission requirements stated previously.   
 
 

HCC utilizes relevant diagnostic instruments to determine the strengths and needs of students in order to assist in the selection of the most appropriate program options to help assure student success.

All full-time students under 21 years of age must have an official ACT or SAT score on file in the Admissions Office to be used for academic advisement. ACT/SAT scores may be accepted from official high school or college transcripts provided the subscores, composite score, and date of testing are printed rather than handwritten. A minimum ACT composite score of 16 is required for students to be admitted in Good Academic Standing. Students who score below 16 will be admitted on Probation. Students who score below 13 will be required to enroll in the Academic Foundations Core his/her first semester unless placement tests taken at the time of registration move the student out of the Academic Foundations Core Courses. (See Probational Admission)

Students at Holmes Community College are expected to achieve academic success. Full-time students must maintain a 1.75 grade point average each semester of full-time enrollment in order to stay in Good Academic Standing. Should a full-time student in Good Academic Standing have a semester in which his/her GPA falls below 1.75, the student is placed on Academic Probation. If his/her GPA for the next semester of full-time enrollment is above 1.75, the student is once again in Good Academic Standing. However, if the GPA for a second consecutive semester of full-time enrollment is below 1.75, the student will be placed on Academic Suspension and will not be eligible to enroll at Holmes until a spring or fall semester has passed. Upon returning to Holmes, the student will be removed from Academic Suspension and placed on Academic Probation. Part-time work is not included in determining Academic Probation or Academic Suspension.

A student on Academic Probation will not be allowed to use school business trips as extenuating circumstances for missed classes.

Housing Requirement. All students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours to live in campus housing and must maintain a 1.75 GPA to remain eligible for residency. A student whose GPA falls below 1.75 will be placed on housing probation and will have the following semester to improve his/her GPA to 1.75 or better. If he/she fails to do so, the student will be placed on housing suspension and removed from the dormitory for a period of at least one semester.   
 
 

Students who are currently enrolled in high school may take college classes if the following requirements are met.

                1. The student must have earned 14 core high school units such as English, mathematics,
                     science, social science, or foreign language.

                  2. The student must have an overall "B" average on all high school courses. Students
                      will be placed in a given class according to their ACT scores. Prerequisites and corequisites as
                      stipulated in the Holmes bulletin will be followed. 

                  3. The student shall request that the high school principal send an official copy of his/her high school
                      transcript to the Admissions and Records at Holmes Community college at least 10 days be fore
                      the beginning of the enrollment period. A home-schooled student must submit a transcript
                      prepared by a parent, guardian, or custodian with a signed, sworn affidavit.

                  4. The principal or counselor of the high school must submit an unconditional
                      recommendation supporting the student's enrollment in the program. The unconditional
                      recommendation should verify that the student is academically advanced and has the maturity and
                      self-discipline required to benefit from this type of program. This recommendation may be in the
                      form of a list of all participating students and should be included with the high school transcripts.
                      A home-schooled student must submit a parent's, legal guardian's, or custodian's written
                      recommendation. Full credit will be granted but will be reserved until the student graduates from
                      high school and submits a final high school transcript showing graduation or is admitted to college
                      as a full-time student.

Special Condition Admission: Students who have not completed 14 core high school units may be considered for dual enrollment if they have a minimum ACT composite score of thirty (30) or the equivalent SAT score and have the required grade point average and recommendations prescribed above. 
  

Students who have completed one less unit than the state requirement may be admitted to Holmes without a high school diploma or GED. All other admission requirements must be met. Students who are admitted under this provision will NOT be eligible for Federal Financial Aid. However, there may be other grants and scholarships available to the student.

The student is responsible for his/her own fees and purchasing textbooks.

The student is expected to become familiar with the college catalog and student handbook and to abide by all applicable rules.