/Institutions/Laredo-Community-College/json/2018-2019/Catalog-local.json

/Institutions/Laredo-Community-College/json/2018-2019/Catalog.json

Admissions to Special Programs

All students must be admitted to Laredo College prior to admissions into special programs. The following programs require that students be accepted into the program before registering:

Health Sciences Programs - Students desiring admissions to Emergency Medical Services, Nursing (Associate Degree, Vocational and Nursing Assistant), Radiologic Technology, Medical Assistant, Phlebotomy, Physical Therapist Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant or other Health Sciences Programs must apply for admission and be accepted into the individual program.

Admissions into the Nursing Programs and Allied Health Programs require students to be college level ready as per Texas Success Initiative (TSI) requirements, to have acceptable passing scores on standardized examinations, and all prerequisite courses completed with a grade of "C" or better and meet the required LC institution and overall grade point average of each particular program. The Student may further be ranked by the highest GPA. Students should verify admission requirements by visiting with the program directors. Nursing Programs applicants must complete an on-line application at the Nursing Department's application website, http://www.laredo.edu/cms/LC/Instruction/Divisions/Health_Sciences/Nursing/Online_Application_Form/. All other Health Sciences Programs applicants should obtain Admission Packets online through each particular program's website. The completed packets must be returned via email to each particular program by the specified deadline. Students who were previously enrolled in any Health Sciences program(s) at Laredo College OR at any other college or university, must have exited in good standing in order for their application to be considered. Applicants will be notified by LC's official means of communication regarding their admission status.

Child Development -

All students enrolling in CDEC, EDUC & TECA classes requiring laboratory/internship or field experience assignments must comply with the following:

1. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Licensing Division Minimum Standard for Child-Care Centers, April 2017 (P20330-0000)

2. Due to the nature of the curricula and the criteria for child-care center and public school volunteers, determined by the state licensing agency, there are special entrance and continuation requirements for the completion of CDEC, EDUC & TECA Child Development courses.

As required by The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Minimum Standards for Child Care Centers, April 2017, the student must comply with the following:

1. §746.1205. What does Licensing mean by "supervise children at all times"?

Subchapter D, Personnel Division 3, General responsibilities for Child Care Center Personnel September 2003.

Supervising children at all times means that the assigned caregiver is accountable for each child's care. This includes responsibility for the ongoing activity of each child, appropriate visual and/or auditory awareness, physical proximity, and knowledge of activity requirements and each child's needs. The caregiver must intervene when necessary to ensure children's safety. In deciding how closely to supervise children, the caregiver must take into account:

• Ages of the children;
• Individual differences and abilities;
• Indoor and outdoor layout of the child-care center; and
• Neighborhood circumstances, hazards, and risks.

2. Division 2, Requesting Background Checks §745.611. What are background checks?

Chapter 745, Licensing Subchapter F, Background Checks Division 2, Requesting Background Checks June 2008.

At the beginning of each semester, student must complete the following:

• A name-based criminal history check: the Department of Public Safety (DPS) conducts a comparative search between a person’s name and the DPS database of crimes committed in the State of Texas;
• A DFPS central registry check: DFPS conducts a comparative search between a person’s name and the DFPS central registry, which is a DFPS database of people who have been found by DFPS’s divisions of Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, or Licensing to have abused or neglected a child; and
• An out-of-state central registry check: a comparative search between a person’s name and another state’s database of persons who have been found to have abused or neglected a child.

3. Division 3, Criminal Convictions and Central Registry Findings of Child Abuse or Neglect

§745.651. What types of criminal convictions may affect a person’s ability to be present at an operation? Chapter 745, Licensing Subchapter F, Background Checks Division 3, Criminal Convictions and Central Registry Findings of Child Abuse or Neglect March 2015

(a) A felony or misdemeanor conviction under Texas law, the laws of another state, or federal law may affect a person's ability to be present at an operation. There are three charts with information regarding specific crimes that may affect a person's ability to be present at an operation. Each chart specifies whether a conviction permanently or temporarily bars a person from being present at one of the relevant operations while children are in care, whether a person is eligible for a risk evaluation, and whether a person who is eligible for a risk evaluation may be present at the operation pending the outcome of the risk evaluation. The three charts are:

(1) Licensed or Certified Child Care Operations: Criminal History Requirements;

(2) Foster or Adoptive Placements: Criminal History Requirements; and

(3) Registered Child Care Homes and Listed Family Homes: Criminal History Requirements.

(b) The three charts listed in subsection (a) of this section will be reviewed and updated annually, published every January as an "In Addition" document in the Texas Register, and are available on the DFPS website at  www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Care/.

(c) A person currently on parole for a felony offense must have an approved risk evaluation prior to being present at the operation.

(d) For any felony offense that is not specifically enumerated in the relevant chart listed in subsection (a) of this section, a person convicted within the past 10 years for the offense must have an approved risk evaluation prior to being present at the operation.

(e) Substantially similar federal offenses and offenses in other states will be treated the same as the similar Texas offense.

In addition, students must also comply with the following:

• Must have a negative T.B. test or negative chest x-ray from the USA during the first two weeks of the semester. If an outbreak were to occur, an additional T.B. test may be required.
• Must submit two letters of reference (not from relatives).
• Must sign a code of ethics statement at the beginning of the semester.

The student must meet the above mentioned criterion in order to continue in Child Development/TECA classes with laboratory/internship or field experience requirements.

CDEC 2187, CDEC 2188 and CDEC 2486 Internships are either on or off-campus at either LC Camilo Prada Child Development Center or at a Contracted Webb County Headstart Center.

EDUCATION MAJORS: Due to the nature of the curricula and the criteria, for public school volunteers, there are special entrance and continuation requirements for the completion of EDUC courses. All students enrolling in EDUC classes requiring field experience assignments must turn in a clear criminal history background check from the Webb County Sheriff's Department or The Laredo Police Department indicating that the student does not have a criminal history.

If the Criminal History Check identifies any criminal convictions the student will not be permitted to continue in any EDUC course. Upon successful completion of all undergraduate, lower level courses, taken at Laredo College; the transfer institution will determine eligibility into the College of Education. In order to complete upper level course work leading to a four-year degree in Education, the student must comply with the transfer institution entrance requirements to the College of Education. If a student does not meet all of the transfer institution requirements and if the student is not accepted into the college of Education, the student may have to pursue another field of study leading to a different four-year degree.

Upon completion of a Bachelor's Degree in Education, The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) requires all applicants to submit fingerprints for a national criminal history background check. All applicants for Texas educator certification must complete the national criminal history background check through DPS and FBI. http://tea.texas.gov/Texas Educators/Certification/Fingerprinting/.

*NOTE: To receive credit for CDEC, EDUC, & TECA courses, the student must complete all CDEC, EDUC, & TECA, courses with a grade of "C" or better.

Continuing Education - Continuing Education is generally offered to adults in the community who wish to expand their learning through non-credit short courses. Admissions are open to any adult who is at least 18 years of age. However, some specific courses may be geared for a younger audience of the community. Specific requirements for courses will be noted in the course descriptions. Seniors citizens (65 years and older) can enroll in certain Continuing Education open enrollment courses without payment of tuition, if space is available. Qualifying seniors must still pay all applicable fees.

Honors Program - In order to qualify for admissions to the Honors Program at Laredo Community College, students must:

• Be a legal resident within the geographic area of Laredo and Webb County and at the discretion of the Honors Selection committee a county which is contiguous to Webb County.
• Be eligible to take college level courses (no developmental).
• Be exempt from taking a Texas Success Initiative exam (TSI) or pass all portions of a TSI exam or achieve minimum score on ACT or SAT and must meet at least one of the following requirements:
  • SAT= 1070 (verbal and math only) with minimum score of 500 in English and 500 in Math
  • Act=24 with a minimum score of 19 in English and Math
  • Graduation in the top 20 percent of high school class
  • A cumulative high school GPA of 95 or higher

Law Enforcement Academy Requirements - Academy application packets are issued by the Law Enforcement Agency. Completed applications are due at Orientation. For more information contact the department at 956-794-4908.

• Be at least 21 years of age, or become 21 years of age before course completions, or 18 years of age if the applicant has received and associate's degree or 60 semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university.
• Be a U.S. Citizen
• Be a high school graduate
• Be sponsored by a Law Enforcement Agency and meet all State rules and regulations (background investigation, fingerprints, psychological, physical, age and education). Sponsoring Agency must provide a marked vehicle for Emergency Driving and Patrol Procedures components of the Basic Peace Officer Course.
• Pass physical fitness assessment based on the Law Enforcement Ageless Genderless validation study by Tom Collingwood, Ph.D. The assessment includes:
  • 1.5 miles run 15:20
  • 29 push-ups
  • 31 sit-ups