Why Does LRCC Gatekeep Its CompTIA CE Classes

Why Does LRCC Gatekeep Its CompTIA A+  CE Classes Behind a Graduation Requirement?

I'm getting ready to start Finals week at LRCC (Laurel Ridge Community College). I started my ITP100 capstone project early without the full set of instructions. Why am I doing all this work ahead of time based only on the grading rubric the professor made available? Time crunch. Wise or not, I signed up for a CompTIA A+ class from NOVA's (Northern Virginia Community College) continuing education department that runs Tue. - Fri., 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., for the next 2 weeks. I finished my ITE 152 class 2 months early because we were allowed to self pace. English 112 - as much as I hate English - I'm proficient and fast at it and turned my final project in last week for grading. Logic (PHIL100) class and ITP100 are all I have left. Getting the bulk of the work done for this class, where all I have to do is modify my code to conform to the actual instructions should be relatively easy.

And "why?" might you ask did I sign up for this class at NOVA? I did not verify the information provided on LRCC's website, but on their website it says if you want to take this same CompTIA class as I am from NOVA, you first have to have completed either a different CompTIA certificate or an A.A.S. in an IT field. Yes, that's correct. LRCC is the only community college in the Virginia System, that I am aware of, that requires you to complete an IT degree program BEFORE taking a CompTIA CEU course. SMH. 

Why? I've got no idea. It's not the first time I've had to deal with a gatekeeping policy at LRCC. I wanted to take a course - ITN 260 - this summer that has as a prerequisite ITN 100. I asked for and was denied permission to take them concurrently - despite the fact that I had previously passed the ITN 100 (Introduction to Telecommunications) some time ago when it was listed under the old IST program. I didn't ask to skip the prerequisite course, just to take it concurrently with another course that requires it as a prerequisite. I'm not going to elaborate on how, but I was able to have the original Dean's decision that denied my request overturned. 

I'm concerned I may have burned some bridges in getting the prerequisite waived for ITN 260, but the gatekeeping of these things is at a next level. I understand it's there for a reason, but if a student can demonstrate a sufficient reason to modify or waive it, it shouldn't take actions that burn bridges or requires a student to apply to a further away community college to get things done. Instead of butting heads with the administration again, this time over the CompTIA certification class prerequisite requirement, I chose to bypass LRCC all together in this decision. Easy enough. No fuss, no fight.

I have one other problem with LRCC's CompTIA classes - they all seem to be in-person/ on campus classes and run on a very limited schedule. NOVA's has a myriad of classes. Zoom, in-person, and hybrid; spanning multiple time frames. NOVA's classes are just more accessible vis-a-vis time and place (NOVA's summer schedule is a little tighter though than when they run classes during the regular semesters. The classes in summer also run on a condensed time frame that is still better than what LRCC offers).