Courses of Instruction

Classification of Courses

College of the Desert offers the following types of courses/classes.

Credit Courses

Credit courses are designated as either associate degree credit courses or nondegree credit courses.

• Associate degree credit courses may be used as required or elective courses in a degree or certificate program.
• Nondegree credit courses are designed to assist the student in preparation for college level course work. Units earned in nondegree credit courses may not be applied toward a degree or certificate.

Noncredit Courses

Noncredit courses are designated as either developmental noncredit courses or Career Technical Education noncredit courses.

• Developmental noncredit courses are designed to assist students in building foundational skills in areas such as basic education, English-language acquisition, and life skills.
• Career Technical Education noncredit courses are designed to prepare students for entry into or advancement within a specific career or industry. Units earned in noncredit courses may not be applied toward a degree or certificate.

Noncredit Courses Offered

​Noncredit courses are offered in the following subjects:

• Academic Skills Center (ASC), Adult Basic Education (ABE), Advanced Transportation Technologies (AUTO), Air Conditioning/HVAC (ACR), Applied Construction Technology (ACT), Art (ART), Automotive Technology (AUTO), Building Inspection Technology (BIT), Business/Management (BUMA), Child Development and Education (CDE), College (COLL), Computer Information Systems (CIS), Counseling (COUN), Culinary Arts (CART), Digital Design and Production (DDP), Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS), Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technology (EMT), Employability Skills (EMP), Energy Systems Technology (ESYS), English (ENG), English as a Second Language (ESL), English as a Second Language Noncredit (ESLN), Film (FILM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Health Sciences (HS), Kinesiology (KINE), Library and Information Studies (LIS), Makerspace (MAKR), Mathematics (MATH), Music (MUS), Natural Resources (NR), Nursing Assistant (NNA), Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA), Sociology (SOC), Spanish (SPAN), Welding (WELD), and Work Experience General (WEG).

All noncredit courses are graded only on a pass (P) and no pass (NP) basis.

Abbreviations and Symbols

Common Course Numbering

• CCN = Common Course Numbering. The California Community College system, including College of the Desert, is implementing a student-facing Common Course Numbering (CCN) system, which will create common course numbers for comparable courses across all community colleges in the state, facilitating smoother transfers to four-year institutions and reducing unnecessary credit accumulation.
• For more information, please visit Common Course Numbering.

Transfer Status

• CSU = meets baccalaureate criteria for the California State University system.
• UC = accepted by the University of California system.
• UC* = University of California will accept course but with some unit limitations or other stipulations. Please consult a counselor.  

Degree Applicability

• AA/AS = applies to the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science and/or Associate in Arts for Transfer or Associate in Science for Transfer degree
• NAA = offered for credit but does not apply to the A.A. or A.S. degree
• NONC = noncredit course
• COD GE = meets General Education criteria for COD's occupational/vocational non-transfer degrees
• CalGETC = Cal-GETC (California General Education Transfer Curriculum) is the general education program that California community college transfer students can use to fulfill lower-division general education requirements at a California State University or University of California campus. 

Key to Subjects

Key to Course Codes