Announcement of Courses
Limitations on Scheduling Courses
Some courses in this catalog will not be scheduled in 2026-2027. Additional courses may be added. Skyline College reserves the right to discontinue, postpone, or combine classes and to change instructors when circumstances warrant such changes. Further, it reserves the right to cancel classes that do not reach a minimum enrollment.
Unless otherwise designated, any course may be offered either in day or evening. Additionally, some courses are offered online. Specific information concerning class hours and locations will be found in the current Class Schedule.
Course Descriptions Information
Courses on the following pages form the basic offerings at Skyline College. Generally in the following course descriptions, both semesters of a sequential course are listed together if the first semester course is a prerequisite to the second semester course. If there is no entry, the course has no prerequisite. All courses are offered for a letter grade, unless otherwise noted.
The credit value of each course in semester units is indicated by the number in parentheses following the title. A semester unit of credit is based upon one hour of the student’s time at the college per week in lecture or recitation throughout one semester, together with the time necessary in preparation, or a longer time in laboratory or other exercises not requiring outside preparation. With a normal schedule of 15 college units, the average student will devote approximately 45 hours per week to class attendance and preparation.
Skyline College reserves the right to make appropriate course and program changes during the course of the year which may not be reflected in this catalog.
SMCCCD Course Numbering and Transferable Credit
The course numbering system in use at Skyline College as part of the San Mateo County Community College District categorizes courses according to the following:
100-599 Courses generally transferable to a four-year college or university.
600-699 Courses varying in content and which are usually transferable.
700-799 Courses that are part of a specific occupational program and which are not generally regarded as transferable.
800-899 Courses that are non-transferable in nature.
In an effort to make transferring easier, California Community Colleges share a standardized Common Course Numbering (CCN) system where comprable courses at all colleges in the system share the same subject codes, course numbers, titles, and core learning outcomes. CCN course numbers begin with a "C", followed by a four-digit course number (C1000). See the Common Course Numbering page for more information.
For transferable courses, the description notes transferability at the end of each entry using CSU transfer course or UC transfer course designations. Local Skyline College General Education and California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) designations and approved C-ID attributes are also included. Because transfer regulations between California higher education segments change frequently, students should consult a counselor for the most current transfer information.
From time to time, a department may offer a course which is experimental in nature, covers a special topic, or which consists of independent study tailored to a student’s needs. Because such courses are never exactly the same, you will not find them described in the catalog. They are, however, regular credit courses of the College. Usually they will be described in the Schedule of Classes or in other course advertising and will have a department name followed by one of the following numbers:
- The number 670 is designated for Work Experience courses, which are transferable to the CSU system. These include general Work Experience Education (WORK 670) as well as 670-numbered courses across various vocational disciplines.
- 680 and 880 Experimental Courses are designed to study a particular area or problem beyond the scope of regularly offered courses. These courses can be offered for a letter grade or for Credit/No Credit.
695 INDEPENDENT STUDY (.5 - 3.0 units) (Pass/No Pass or Letter Grade.)
Hours/semester: 24 lab hours by arrangement for each .5 unit. Recommended Preparation: Eligibility for ESOL 400, or appropriate skill level as indicated by ESL assessment and other measures as necessary, or equivalent. Designed for students who are interested in furthering their knowledge via self-paced, individualized, directed instruction provided in selected areas to be arranged with instructor and approved by the division dean using the Independent Study Form. Varying modes of instruction can be used — laboratory, research, skill development, etc. For each unit earned, students are required to devote three hours per week throughout the semester. Students may take only one Independent Study course within a given discipline. Courses numbered 680 or 695 are generally transferable. Courses numbered 880 are not transferable. See a counselor for specifics.