Course prerequisite and corequisite information

A prerequisite means a course or other requirement that a student must have taken prior to enrolling in a specific course or program.

A corequisite means a course or other requirement that a student must take at the same time as another course or requirement.

An advisement recommendation means a condition of enrollment that a student is advised, but not required to meet, before enrolling in a course.

When students register for courses the computer system will check for the pre- or corequisite required for the course they have selected. The system will check courses completed or in progress at SUNY Oswego, and transferred courses taken at other colleges that are equivalent to the pre/co requisite required at Oswego when they have been recorded from official transcripts.

If the student does not have the required pre/co requisite recorded or in progress the student will not be able to sign up for the course and will get a “pre-req error” message. If a student believes they have the appropriate pre/co requisite but receives the error message, they should contact their advisor to begin the Challenge Policy process.

The pre and co requisites for all courses can be found under the course descriptions in the College Catalog or by clicking on the course number within myOswego when doing a search of courses that are being offered. Current prerequisites that are enforced are in the online catalog.

CHALLENGE POLICY:

In cases where the student does not meet a stated pre/corequisite of a course and there is no “or Instructor’s Permission” qualifier in the pre/corequisite description, the student's advisor may submit a Prerequisite Deviation Form to seek approval for registering. A Prerequisite Deviation Form in such cases may require additional documentation, such as; explanation of alternative coursework, background, or abilities that adequately prepares the student for the course. 

NON-MATRICULATED STUDENTS ONLY:

Since the college may not have a record of coursework you may have completed at other colleges the pre/corequisite system won’t work the same way for you. SUNY Oswego has developed a process wherein non-matriculated students shall be allowed to register for courses that have prerequisites but they will be expected to provide the faculty with an unofficial transcript prior to the start of class. The faculty will have the option of removing the student from the course if the student has not met the prerequisite requirements. The process to do this is explained in your myOswego account when you go to register for courses. Once you have selected a course to take you will click the “Non-Degree Student Temporary Prerequisite Registration Waiver” link on the Registration tab and enter the CRN for that course. Then you will need to register for the course. Note: The prerequisite waiver will not actually register you for the course (you must complete the waiver and register). 

GRADUATE STUDENTS ONLY:

Course pre/corequisites will not be electronically enforced on graduate level courses. However, in the rare instance where a graduate student seeks to take an undergraduate level course they must go through the same process as non-matriculated students listed above.