Academic Counseling

GENERAL COUNSELING APPOINTMENTS

For in-depth counseling that requires reviewing academic records, transcript evaluations or creating Student Educational Plans, please schedule an appointment with a counselor or call for assistance at (818) 938-8418 and select option 4.

SAME-DAY, IN-PERSON DROP-IN COUNSELING

Same-day, 10-15 minutes in-person drop-in counseling for general questions is available on a first - come - first - serve basis for general questions during these times:

Monday - Thursday 8:00 am - 6:00pm

Friday 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Wait times may vary depending upon demand and counselor availability.

All new students are required to enroll in their first semester classes based on their CAP/Major, request a Student Educational Plan (SEP), and complete the New Student Orientation.

STEP 1: ENROLL IN YOUR FIRST SEMESTER CLASSES

• Based on your major, click on the CAP icon below to view the suggested courses for your first semester. The majors are grouped under Career-Academic Pathways (CAPs). To view the counselor assigned to your CAP, click here.
• • Arts, Media and Design
  • Business Entrepreneurship and Law
  • Health and Public Services
  • Humanities and Communication
  • Manufacturing, Electronics and Construction
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Determine if you are able to attend full-time (12 or more units) or part-time (less than 12 units). If you work full-time (35-40 hours per week), consider enrolling in less than 12 units.
• Enroll in your classes based on your enrollment date.
  • To view your enrollment date, from your Student Portal, click on “Manage Classes” tile, then, click on “Enrollment Dates” tab.
    • Watch these videos to learn how to search for and enroll in classes.
      • How to Use the Searchable Schedule of Classes
      • How to Enroll using Student Portal
• If you are unable to enroll in English and Math course(s), please contact the Welcome Center for placement assistance.

STEP 2: REQUEST A STUDENT EDUCATIONAL PLAN (SEP)

You may request a Student Educational Plan by submitting this form. This personalized SEP will include all the required prerequisite, major, general education and elective courses tailored to your academic and career goal(s).

STEP 3: COMPLETE THE NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION

• Sign in to your Student Portal
• Select Student Status tile
• Click on Student Success Page
• Click on New Student Orientation (available in English, Spanish, Armenian and Russian)

YOUR STUDENT EDUCATIONAL PLAN:

To access your SEP, go to your Student Portal, click on “Manage Classes” tile, scroll down and click on “Student Educational Plan” then click on Current Counselor SEP on File.

Your Student Educational Plan may include courses required for your major (some of these courses may require additional prerequisites), general education and elective courses.

• Prerequisites are courses or skills you need to satisfy before enrolling in a particular course. For example, completion of English 101 with a "C" or higher grade is a prerequisite for English 102.

• Major requirements are a series of courses in a specific field of study or subject area.
  • Major course requirements for Associates Degrees can be found in the Program Mapper or in the LAVC Catalog.
  • Major preparation for students planning to transfer to a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) can be found on www.assist.org.
  • Courses required to transfer to a private and/or out-of-State university may vary for each college/university. Consult with a counselor and/or the intended transfer institution.

• General Education is a pattern of courses from various disciplines which are required for graduation from a college or university.  It is designed to introduce students to the variety of means through which people comprehend the modern world. As of Fall 2025, the following general education plans are offered at the colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District: the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) and the LACCD General Education Plan (LACCD GE).
  • The Cal-GETC is a pattern of courses that students can complete to satisfy Lower-division General Education (GE) requirements at any University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) campus.
  • The LACCD GE plan satisfies general education requirements for an Associate Degree only and should be used by students who do not intend to transfer to a university.
• Elective courses are used to meet unit requirements for a degree or transfer and can be selected from any subject area based on the student's interest. Elective courses used for transferrable unit requirements must be designated as (CSU) or (UC:CSU) transferrable.

Students in Special Programs (i.e., EOPS, SSD, Veterans, TriO, Black Scholars, DRC, etc.) should contact their program for assistance with prerequisite clearance and/or enrolling in excess units.

Students are responsible for meeting all course prerequisites. Course prerequisites are listed in the Schedule of Classes and College Catalog. If a prerequisite course has been completed, at any accredited US college/university with a C or higher grade, a student may request prerequisite clearance. Courses in-progress cannot be used to clear prerequisites. Students may use copies of unofficial transcripts to clear prerequisites, but must request official copies to be sent to LAVC Admissions and Records Office as soon as possible in order to earn credits for those courses.

TO REQUEST A PREREQUISITE CLEARANCE: 

• Complete and submit the LAVC Prerequisite Clearance Form
• Make sure to attach an unofficial copy of your transcript with a passing grade of "C" or better for the prerequisite course.

If your request is approved, you can proceed with your enrollment process. If your request is denied, a counselor may assist you with filing a Prerequisite Challenge with the discipline Department Chairperson.

Students in Special Programs (i.e., EOPS, SSD, Veterans, TriO, Black Scholars, DRC, etc.) should contact their program for assistance with prerequisite clearance and/or enrolling in excess units.

You may enroll in up to 19 units for Fall/Spring semester and up to 9 units for Winter/Summer intersession. In order to enroll in additional units, follow these instructions: 

Complete this Excess Units Request Form and email it to prerequisites@lavc.edu from your LACCD student email account. Requests sent from a personal email will not be processed.

Make sure to include on the form:

• Your Name
• Student ID Number
• Course name and course number you are attempting to enroll in
• Total number of units you are requesting for the term

You will be notified within 3-5 business days if your request was approved or denied based on your academic performance. If approved, you will need to take the completed form to the Admissions and Records Office for processing. 

All students enroll in classes based on one of five different registration groups. Check your Student Portal for your enrollment date.  Also, review the current Academic Calendar for priority registration dates for your student group. 

• Group 1: Fully Matriculated* Populations, Active-duty Military, CalWorks, EOPS, SSD, Foster Youth, Veterans and Student Parents (with dependent child(ren) under 18)
• Group 2: Fully Matriculated Athletes, L.A. College Promise and students completing a first degree in the registration term
• Group 3:  Fully Matriculated continuing, new, and returning students
• Group 4: Non-matriculated continuing students; students with 100+ degree applicable units districtwide; continuing students not in good standing, new and returning students applying after the cutoff date to assign priority registration appointments
• Group 5: Continuing, new and returning K-12 students, K-12 students who applied after the cutoff date to assign priority registration appointments

*A Fully Matriculated student is a student who:

• Is placed in college level English and math course
• Has a Student Educational Plan (SEP) and
• Completed the New Student Orientation

The Academic Success Workshop is designed for students on first or second semester probation to help them understand the types of probation, why they were placed on probation, and strategies to get off probation to achieve academic success. At the end of the workshop students will receive a Certificate of Completion. Make sure to save a copy of the certificate for future use to verify workshop completion.

To start the workshop:

Login to LACCD Student Portal , click on the Student Status tile > Student Success Page > Academic Success Workshop.