Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
A Certificate of Proficiency or Competency is a course of study that provides an overall certificate from the College that generally leads to a new career or enhances a person’s skill set to make him/her more productive and marketable.
For a Certificate of Proficiency, students must complete 30 credits of an approved career program and will usually consist of 24 credits in the career specialty and six credits in general education. At least 50 percent of the credits must be earned at Delaware County Community College. Students must have a GPA of 2.0 or higher and at least six credit hours must be in courses that are awarded grade points.
For a Certificate of Competency, students must complete an approved credit-bearing career program that requires less than 30 credits. The student must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. At least six credit hours must be in courses that are awarded grade points.
For credit bearing Certificates of Proficiency or Competency, click on Certificates or phone the Admissions Office at 610-359-5050. For non-credit bearing Certification, hover over the Continuing Education menu or phone 610-359-5362.
If students are offered a Federal Pell Grant, they must register for at least three credits per term to receive some of that grant. The amount of grant increases with the number of credits (3 to 5 credits 25 percent, 6 to 8 credits 50 percent, 9 to 11 credits 75 percent, 12 plus credits 100 percent).
If students are offered a Federal Direct Loan, they must register for at least six credits per term to receive any loan money.
Federal financial aid will not cover more than 30 developmental or ESL credits, and not more than 90 credits total at the college.
For more information, click on Financial Aid.
The College recognizes that students may have to officially withdraw from class(es) because of a call to active military duty (appropriately certified), a disabling injury or serious illness (must be certified by a physician), a life-changing event over which they have no control (must be documented by an appropriate third party), or an administrative reason (must have a staff member provide written explanation to support the request). Upon receipt of the withdrawal form and documentation, the request will be reviewed and may take 4-6 weeks for a decision. The request may be made within the term or no later than 30 days following the term.
NOTE: Future financial aid eligibility may be adversely affected by withdrawals. All students requesting withdrawals are encouraged to speak with the Financial Aid and Student Accounts Offices prior to submitting the form and supporting documentation to determine the potential financial implications based on a possible change in enrollment.
Please be prepared to attach the appropriate supporting documentation when submitting the request form.
Current students should log into delaGATE and complete the Administrative Withdrawal form in Students/Registration and Payment/Withdrawal & Refund Info section. If you have any questions about this process, please email records@dccc.edu.
A sponsoring school district is a school district in Delaware County that contributes financially to the Delaware County Community College budget and provides reduced admission to the College for residents of these areas.
Sponsoring school districts in Delaware County are:
- Chester-Upland
- Garnet Valley (Bethel residents only)
- Haverford
- Interboro
- Radnor
- Ridley
- Rose Tree Media
- Southeast Delco
- Springfield
- Upper Darby
- Wallingford-Swarthmore (Swarthmore and Rutledge residents only)
- William Penn
There are NO sponsoring school districts in Chester County.
For more information, click on Tuition and Fees.
The emergency closing codes for the College are:
Delaware County locations
- 470 for day
- 2470 for evening
- 2470 for special events
Downingtown Center
- 483 for day
- 2483 for evening
Pennocks Bridge Center
- 1295 for day
- 2295 for evening
Applicants can apply to the College through Late Registration (see the Academic Calendar for late registration dates).
It is strongly recommended that students not wait until Late Registration to apply. Applying early allows you time to placement test and attend a College Planning for advisement to get the best selection of classes and services. It also allows you time to apply for financial aid and set-up the payment plan.
If you would like more information about applying to the College, call the Admissions Office at 610-359-5050 or email.
Course prerequisites are courses that a student, or prospective student, must complete before s/he can enroll in a specific class. (Example: to enroll in Organic Chemistry I, a student must have successfully completed General Chemistry I and II). All prerequisites are listed with the appropriate Program and/or within the course description.
To be eligible for any refund, you must officially withdraw from the College. No refund will be issued that is greater than 100 percent of tuition and refundable fees, less any required deposits. Your financial aid status and reason for withdrawal may affect the amount of your refund. Please contact the Office of the Registrar.
For a student who must officially withdraw from the College after the first three weeks of classes because of a call to active duty in the armed services (appropriately certified) or because of a disabling injury or serious illness (either must be certified by a physician), credit for the full amount of tuition paid will be applied to future tuition charges. Federal "return of funds" policies still apply to all federal financial aid.
Withdrawal Form for Medical >>
Withdrawal Form for Military >>
To receive an Associate Degree from Delaware County Community College you must:
- Earn at least 60 credits exclusive of transitional and continuing education courses.
- 24 of the 60 credits must be earned at Delaware County Community College, and at least 15 of these 24 must be in graded courses to earn an associate degree.
- Must have a cumulative GPA (grade point average) of at least 2.0 (“C”) or better (transfer credits are not used in this computation.
- Complete an approved course of study satisfactorily (that is all required courses and electives)
- Pay the graduation fee (for cap, gown and diploma)
Application for Certificate of Competency
Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) is a program established in 2005 by the Community College Commission and the Department of Public Welfare. The purpose is to provide extra support for welfare recipients while they are enrolled at the community college. Students may be enrolled in any credit bearing degree or certificate, but it is not available to students seeking non-credit certificates.
The Keys Office is in Room 2170 at the Marple Campus. To speak with someone, please phone 610-359-5231.
Prometric Testing is an independent testing provider. In the College’s case, it is an authorized Prometric Testing provider for IT Certification from Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, Citrix, and others.
For more information, phone the Community Education & Training at 610-359-5362.
As part of our competency-based curriculum, Delaware County Community College requires high school graduates to be proficient in mathematics, reading, writing and speech communication. All students must take placement tests in these areas before registering for courses. If a student is placed in transitional courses, they are required to complete these courses before registering for more than 12 college-level credits.
For more information, please phone Assessment Services at 610-359-5322.
The TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) test.
For more information, please call the Admissions Office at 610-359-5050.
Admissions is the first point of contact for prospective students wishing to apply to Delaware County Community College and for current students wishing to enroll in Nursing, Respiratory Therapy and Surgical Technology programs.
The Admissions Office provides:
- Campus Tours, Open Houses, and Information Sessions
- Applications for admission
- Course catalogs
- Course schedules
- International student admissions
- Nursing admissions
- Respiratory Therapy admissions
- Surgical Technology admissions
- Scholarship applications
For more information go to Admissions Office or call 610-359-5050.
CLEP (College Level Examination Program) tests are standardized tests that measure a person’s knowledge of the material covered in introductory college courses. This knowledge may have been attained in non-traditional settings (on the job, studying on one’s own, etc.). CLEP credit is treated as transfer credit and is awarded only for a passing score; non-passing scores do not appear on transcripts.
For more information, please click on Assessment Services or phone 610-359-5322.
Act 48 is a requirement for all Pennsylvania certified teachers in K-12 schools. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, teachers must take professional development courses in order to maintain their certification. These professional activities can be:
- 6 Collegiate Credits
- 6 PDE approved credits in the form of seminars or workshops offered by school districts
- 180 Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
- Any combination of the above
Process for reporting Act 48 credits is:
- Students must have registered with PDE
- To get Act 48 credit reported to PDE, the request must go to Student Records, records@dccc.edu
- Students must email their names and PDE identification numbers to Student Records
- The course MUST BE completed prior to sending the email
- The College reports to PDE the hours and credit equivalency
For more information, call Student Records at 610-359-2838.
The follow degrees require the successful completion of a two-year program:
- Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)
- Associate in Arts (A.A.)
- Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.)
- Associate in Science (A.S.)
The following certificates are awarded for programs shorter than two years:
- Certificates of Competency
- Certificates of Proficiency
For more detailed information click on Majors or Course Descriptions.
The dynamic credit course catalog that can be viewed online provides the most up-to-date information on course offerings. View our course descriptions, or for added information including class meeting times and scheduled faculty, view course offerings (select "Collegiate Credit").
See the College (or Course) Catalog >>
The non-credit course catalog may be found under the Community Education and Training section: visit Course Descriptions (non-credit) or search dynamic course offerings (select "Community Education").
Delaware County Community College has two options for GED training.
Grant funded (aka ABLE GRANT)
- Sponsored by PA Department of Education
- 13 weeks long
- FREE
- Space is limited
- Designed for people who need various levels of remediation
- For more information call 484-237-5107
Community Education Department
- Not Free
- Prepares students to take the GED test
- More of a test preparation than a remediation
- For more information, click on GED
Yes.
- For residents of Delaware County to take the GED test, please call 610-359-7373.
- For residents of Chester County to take the GED test, please call 484-237-5121.
For more information, click on GED.
Non-credit courses are quality, affordable and convenient learning opportunities for people of all ages to learn new skills, earn industry certifications and just have fun. There are no credits earned toward a degree when taking non-credit courses.
For more information, click on Course Descriptions (Non-Credit).
To speak with a College representative about non-credit courses, please call 610-359-5362.
Yes. Please call the Business Office at 610-359-5305 or click on Business Services.
The Career and Counseling Center at Delaware County Community College offers educational, career and personal development counseling. Counselors can assist with academic problems, selection of an academic major, career direction and personal concerns.
Career and counseling services are offered at the College’s Marple Campus and Southeast Center in Delaware County and at the Downingtown Center, Exton Center and Pennocks Bridge Center in Chester County.
For more information about the College’s career and counseling services, click on Counseling Services.
Delaware County
Marple Campus
901 S. Media Line Road
Media, PA 19063
610-359-5000
Southeast Center
2000 Elmwood Avenue
Curtis Building
Sharon Hill, PA 19079
610-957-5700
Barclay Square Shopping Center
1570 Garrett Road
Upper Darby, PA 19082
610-723-1250
Chester County
Downingtown Center
100 Bond Drive
Downingtown, PA 19335
484-237-6200
Brandywine Center
443 Boot Road
Downingtown, PA 19335
610-723-1100
Pennocks Bridge Center
280 Pennocks Bridge Road
West Grove, PA 19390
610-869-5100
