By Melanie Arias, January 27, 2026
Prerequisite classes are the foundation of a college degree, with Cal Poly Pomona’s add/drop period ending in Jan. 30 students only had a few days left to make major or necessary changes to their schedules.
Cal Poly Pomona students are required to complete prerequisites through their college years in all majors, and CPP has tools and information to help students understand which classes to take.
CPP has around 1,620 bachelor program courses with prerequisites, according to Director of Faculty of Undergraduate Studies Aaron DeRosa.
Prerequisites are courses students are required to take prior to enrolling in a more advanced division course. Some also require passing with a C letter grade or better. For example, students must earn a C or higher in most general education courses like Calculus before taking Calculus II.
“These courses are important because they set students up with knowledge and give a foundation for high classes,” said the College of Science Advising Center Coordinator Diana Ascencio.
Ascencio added students don’t usually have trouble enrolling in prerequisite courses because CPP uses a time stamping system for registration, which means students who have completed the most units toward their degree get the opportunity to choose their classes first.
Before registration opens in order of units completed, priority registration for some students, including student-parents, students with disabilities and veterans, comes first, typically starting two days before general registration, according to Ascencio.
Although it is not common, exceptions to prerequisites happen, according to Ascencio, but they are decided by the instructor and department chair.
“Departments decide the prerequisites, but faculty do submit changes to the prerequisites, which then are approved by the Academic Senate,” Ascencio said.
There are also course petitions that can be used to substitute a class in place of another, which could allow a student to take a course that requires a prerequisite.
Interim Associate Vice President of Academic Planning Keith Forward said even if students don’t satisfy prerequisites listed but have taken them at a community college, if the university decides they’ve satisfied the requirements, the student could use a course petition.
A course petition is used for substitution, acceptance of college transfer coursework, override schedule conflict. Course petitions require signatures of the college dean, committees, major chair and others. In addition, students will have to meet with an adviser to complete it.
Forward recommended students regularly meet with their assigned adviser, whose name can be found after logging into their CPP account, before the registration window opens to ensure they’re taking the right prerequisites for their future classes. Student success centers are also available in each college to advise and give academic support.
“We are really encouraging students to engage with academic advisers and put (their academic planner) together and discuss the pros and cons, as they know the curriculum and course work,” Forward said.
The academic planner is a tool students can find after logging into the CPP portal and accessing the student center. By clicking on the tool, it will take students to their degree planner and show a run-down of current courses and past courses. The tool shows how many courses are needed to meet the degree requirements while also listing if the classes need any prerequisites.
The planner allows students to plan their schedules for future semesters.
Forward said the academic planner allows faculty to predict demand for future courses, which decreases the chances of students not being able to get a spot in their respective courses.
“The greater amount of engagement we have with the planner, the better we could do in future terms,” Forward said.
Feature image courtesy of Darren Loo
