Military & Veterans Service Center

Returning to Cerro Coso After Military Service

Cerro Coso Community College supports students whose education is interrupted by military-service requirements. Eligible Service members and reservists will be promptly readmitted with the same academic status they held when they last attended or were accepted for admission.

Before You Leave

Notify the Admissions and Records Office, your Counselor, or your Educational Advisor of your military service as far in advance as reasonably possible. Notice may be provided in writing and does not have to follow a specific format. Please complete the Military Absence Request Form.

Advance notice is not required when military necessity prevents notice or when providing notice is otherwise impossible or unreasonable.

When You Are Ready to Return

Notify the Admissions and Records Office in writing that you intend to return:

Within three years after completing military service; or
Within two years after completing a recovery period for an illness or injury incurred or aggravated during military service.

Qualifying military-service absences generally may not exceed a cumulative total of five years. Certain types of service are excluded from this limit under federal law.

Your Readmission Protections

An eligible returning student will be readmitted:

Into the next available classes, unless the student requests a later date or unusual circumstances require a later start;
Into the same program or the most similar program if the original program is no longer offered;
With the same enrollment status, unless the student requests a different status;
With previously completed credits preserved; and
With the same academic standing held before the military-service absence.

A student is not required to complete the standard Petition for Readmission solely because of a qualifying military-service absence.

Cerro Coso may request documentation to confirm eligibility but will not delay readmission because documentation does not exist or is not readily available at the time of return.