Class schedules, registration dates, and withdrawal and refund dates for 16-week classes are published in the academic calendar. Students should refer to their Concise Student Schedule in myOakton (my.oakton.edu) for any classes shorter than 16 weeks. In order to register, a student must have an application on file and complete enrollment steps listed in their New Student Portal (oakton.my.site.com) or have attended Oakton within the last three years. Students who have been away for more than three years must submit a new application.

A student with an outstanding account balance for unpaid tuition or fees, parking fines, loans, failure to return College property, or similar reasons may be denied the right to register or revise class schedules.

Advising

New Students: Advising is required for new, degree-seeking students and strongly recommended for certificate-seeking and visiting students prior to registration for the first semester at Oakton.

Continuing Students: Continuing and returning students are encouraged to seek advising regularly and prior to registration for each semester for ongoing educational planning. It is important to consult with an academic advisor on changes to a student's individual goals and to remain informed on transfer institution expectations as well as Oakton degree and certificate requirements.

Students are classified as full-time when enrolled in 12 or more credit hours in the semester. Students enrolled for 1 to 11 credit hours are classified as part-time.

For information on advising, contact the Office of Advising, Transitions and Student Success at advising@oakton.edu.

Placement

The following groups of students are required to meet placement requirements before registering for classes:

  • All degree-seeking students – i.e., students planning to earn an associate degree and/or transfer to a four-year college or university to earn a bachelor’s degree.
  • Students who wish to enroll in a math or composition course or wish to enroll in courses that have math or composition prerequisites.

Students can meet placement requirements through the following methods:

ACT Test: A score of 20 or higher on both the ACT English Test and ACT Reading Test, unless a specific reading test is required for a limited enrollment program. This places a student directly into EGL 101.

SAT Reading and Writing: A score of 480 or higher on the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing test, unless a specific reading test is required for a limited enrollment program.

ACT/SAT Math: ACT or SAT test scores will be used to place a student into the appropriate math course. Tests must be taken within the past two years. 

GED Test/HiSET: GED/HiSET test scores will be used to place a student into appropriate English and math courses. 

High School Math: For high school graduates from the Maine, Glenbrook, Niles and Evanston districts, as well as North Ridge Preparation High School, a combination of ACT/SAT test scores (tests must be taken within past two years) and successful completion of specific high school mathematics courses.

Transitional Math: High school transitional math courses that have been approved by the Statewide Portability Panel will earn placement into the appropriate college-level math courses.

Successful Completion of English and/or Math Courses at Another College/University: Students with credit in either EGL 101 or an equivalent course with a grade of C or better are exempt from English placement. For the purpose of math placement, college transcripts are evaluated by the math placement coordinator. Any student wishing to take a math course that is not within their placement after this transcript evaluation must pass the placement test with the appropriate score to earn the desired placement.

High School GPA: Students with a 2.75 unweighted cumulative high school grade point average will receive an EGL 101 writing placement and will not require reading coursework. Eligible students must be recent high school graduates, defined as graduating from an Illinois high school in the past three years.

Completion of Reading, Writing, and Math Placement Exams: English placement test results are valid for three years; math placement test results are valid for two years. Math placement obtained via college transcripts is valid for five years. Test results may limit course selection. Students placed on academic probation who have not taken the English placement test are required to do so before registering. There is no initial charge for taking placement tests; subsequent attempts to take a placement test may require a fee.