Prerequisites/Corequisites
All course requirements, including prerequisites and corequisites, must be clearly listed in the University Catalog course description, and are enforced in the student system at the department’s request. Updates to course requirements can be requested via course action form during the annual curricular review cycle, coordinated by Academic Affairs.
In general, a prerequisite course must be satisfied in a term before enrollment in the “parent” course, while a corequisite course that must be taken during the same term as the parent. Concurrent prerequisites can be taken either before or during the same term as the parent course. Select a topic below for more details:
- Prerequisites
- Concurrent Prerequisites
- Corequisites
- Other Registration Restrictions
- Corequisite Instruction
A prerequisite course, exam or other requirement must be satisfactorily completed in a term prior to enrollment in the “parent” course.
When students are enrolled in a prerequisite course at the time they register for a future term and a final grade has not been assigned, the system assumes successful completion of the prerequisite course and allows registration in the parent course to occur. Departments who wish to monitor whether these students earn the minimum grade required in the prerequisite course can contact the Office of the Registrar for more information.
Enforced prerequisites can be found by clicking on a course title in Self-Service, then clicking on the Enforced Prerequisites tab:
A concurrent prerequisite course may be satisfied in the same term or in a term prior to enrollment in the “parent” course. Concurrent prerequisite courses are considered to be “connected” in Banner. If a student attempts to drop a class that is an enforced concurrent prerequisite of another enrolled class and no registration permit was given, the student will be warned that they must drop all connected classes.
Students may meet a concurrent prerequisite in one of the following ways:
- Earn at least the minimum grade in the prerequisite course in a prior term.
- Current enrollment in the prerequisite course when registering in the parent course for a future term.
- Register in the prerequisite course and parent course in the same term.
Unfortunately, concurrent prerequisites are not distinguished from standard prerequisites in Self-Service. Advisors and academic administrators can identify concurrent prerequisites from the SSAPREQ screens in the Banner Administrative system – look for “Yes” in the Concurrency column.
A corequisite course requires enrollment in both the corequisite course and the parent course in the same semester. Corequisite courses are considered to be “connected” in Banner. If a student attempts to drop a class with an enforced corequisite and no registration permit exists, the student will be warned that they must drop all connected classes.
Enforced corequisites can be found by clicking on a course title in Self-Service, then clicking on the Enforced Corequisites tab.
Other Registration Restrictions
Some course descriptions indicate enrollment is limited to particular student populations, such as those in specific academic program, level, or classification. When the restrictions are reflected in the course catalog description, departments can request enforcement in the student system. Special Permissions (e.g. Instructor or Department Permission required) can be added at the discretion of the department to individual sections on a case by case basis.
Note that Banner only allows registration restrictions to be enforced in addition to enforced prerequisites and corequisites; there is not a mechanism to enforce them as an alternative to enforced prerequisites.
Enforced registration restrictions (other than prerequisites or corequisites) can be found by clicking on a course title in Self-Service, then clicking on the Restrictions tab:
Classes which incorporate corequisite instruction provide additional class meetings to supplement the standard course instruction, and are intended to provide enhanced just-in-time academic support to students who may otherwise require enrollment in a developmental prerequisite course or lower college-level course. These classes can be identified in Self-Service by the Corequisite Section (CRS) course attribute.
While many institutions offer corequisite instruction via a separate course that must be taken concurrently with the standard course, our corequisite instruction model embeds additional class meetings into the standard course offering.