Cisco Systems Inc. Changing Graphic

Credit vs. Non-Credit Courses at Lorain County Community College

Credit courses or Non-Credit Cisco Courses

Lorain County Community College offers the Cisco Networking Academy courses in both a credit and a non-credit format.

LCCC offers two of the Cisco courses within the college’s 15-week semesters. Cisco 1 & 2 and/or Cisco 3 & 4 are offered Fall Semester and Spring Semester. One of the primary goals of the Cisco Networking Academy (credit or non-credit version) is to prepare adults to take the CCNA exam. Differences between the credit and the non-credit version are the following:

Non-Credit version:

  • Earn either a complete, 90% complete, 80% complete, 70% complete or not complete based on your attendance (pass or fail). You are required to take the on-line final exam, the hands on skills exam and may be encouraged to take on-line chapter exams. You must score at least 70% on the on-line final and pass the hands on skills exam to graduate and continue the Cisco sequence. However, you don’t have to be concerned about scoring 80%, 90%, etc. on these chapter exams.

  • With the non-credit version you don’t have to be concerned with having to perform at a high level every week – focus on the final and skills exam.

  • LCCC Non-Credit Classes Schedule

    • Credit version:

  • In credit courses you earn a letter grade (A, B, C, D, or F) based on the percent score for all of the on-line chapter exams, the on-line final exam, a written final exam, and the hands on skills exam. Grading is based on the commonly used 10% scale (90% is an A, 80% is a B, etc.). For the credit course offerings you may be required to take as many as two or three exams each week.

  • The credit version can be used to meet associate degree requirements – non-credit version will not meet degree requirements.

  • The grade you get from a credit version course does affect your overall college grade point average. Students will be placed on probation if their cumulative grade point falls below 1.90 (see Academic Probation and Dismissal; LCCC catalog).

  • LCCC Credit Classes Schedule

    • In General / Cautions

  • If you score above the cut score (about 70%) on the Practice CCNA exam given in Semester 4 (Chapter 9) you will receive a voucher for 50% off the cost of the CCNA exam (this applies to both credit and non-credit).

  • The credit version may transfer to other colleges; non-credit will not. Be sure to check on transferability with the college you desire to transfer to; they decide if they will grant credit.

  • You cannot change a non-credit to a credit class. If you take a course in the non-credit form and you later decide you want (or need) credit for it you must enroll in the credit version and meet all of the course requirements to achieve a grade.

  • If you take the class for credit and don’t do well your overall GPA will be negatively affected – you may be put on academic probation and may hurt your chances to apply to other colleges.

  • The cost of the non-credit version is higher than the cost of the credit version because colleges are reimbursed by the state for credit courses. Colleges are not reimbursed for providing non-credit courses.