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Laney College

How to Apply and Enroll

How to Apply and Enroll

New Students

Laney College has two ways to take ESOL classes at most of our levels. The first way to take classes is for credit, which means you get college credit when you pass these classes. Take classes for credit if you are planning to get a degree or certificate in the future. The second way to take our classes is for non-credit. This means you don’t get college credit for classes you take, but you don’t pay for the classes—they are free. If you are not sure which class to take, go through our Guided Self-Placement to learn more.

Noncredit Classes

Noncredit classes are free for everyone. We offer all our classes at all levels for non-credit.

If you want to take Noncredit classes, these are the steps for enrollment:

  1. Fill out the online noncredit application. You will need an email address.  You do not need to write a social security number. 
  2. Check your email. In 24 -48 hours, you will get an email with your 8 digit student ID number and passport.
  3. After you get your ID number and password, keep them to use again later.  Then go to sa.peralta.edu to enroll in classes. This video shows you how to enroll:

 Do you need help? Contact Department Chair David Mitchell

Credit Classes

You can take most of our classes for college credit.  However, our Basic English courses are only offered non-credit.

  • You can use these classes to earn a degree or certificate or prepare to transfer to a four-year college. 
  • We have four levels of classes in reading and writing, listening and speaking, and grammar. 
  • We also have classes in English for Career and study support classes to help you reach your goals.

There is a fee to take credit classes, but many students get financial aid to cover their fees and other expenses. You can fill out an application for financial aid when you apply to the school. In addition, the EOPS program offers support for many low-income students.

Here are the steps to apply and enroll in credit classes.

  1. Go to the Peralta College Admissions page and click on Laney College. Then, create an OpenCCC password for the California Community Colleges. This video shows you how to get started.
  2. Complete your Application. This should take 30-90 minutes. You will need to enter information about your educational history, how long you have lived in California, and your goals. If your English is low, you may want to ask an English speaker to help you with the application. This video shows you how to start your application: 
  3. After you submit your application, wait 24 hours. You will get an email with an 8-digit student ID number and password. You need this number to choose and enroll in classes.
  4. Watch the Laney ESOL Orientation video, learn about our 4 levels of ESOL courses, and choose the level that is right for you. To do these three steps, go to the Guided Self Placement page. You will explore our classes and then go through an activity to help you learn about what level is best for you. This step will take about 1 hour. 
  5. Use your 8-digit student ID number and password to enroll in the level of classes that is right for you. This video shows you how:

Do you need help? Contact Department Chair David Mitchell

Returning Students

If you are a returning student and already have an ESOL placement level, go to Campus Solutions to enroll in classes. You can also search the online schedule of classes.

If you have not taken a class at Laney, Alameda, Merritt or BCC in 2 years, you will need to apply again before you can add classes. 

If you need help, this video or the Welcome Center can guide you!

California Residency and Undocumented Students

The fee for classes depends on whether you are a California resident or nonresident. To be a resident, you must have lived in California for one year and a day before the first day of the semester. (If you do not have residency, you can still take non-credit classes for free). Undocumented students may be able to pay resident tuition if they already attended school in California. In order to apply, please carefully read the information at https://laney.edu/ab540. If you are undocumented and want to know about other options, please contact Laney’s Adult Transitions Liasion, who can help you to make a plan.