Audit a Class at Paul D. Camp CC: Cost & How-To (2026)

Paul D. Camp Community College serves the Western Tidewater region of Virginia from campuses in Franklin, Hobbs Hampton Roads (Suffolk), and Smithfield. If you live in Franklin, Suffolk, Smithfield, or surrounding counties and want to take a Camp course without committing to a grade, you're allowed to. Camp permits auditing — sitting in on a class without earning credit, taking exams, or submitting graded coursework. The cost depends entirely on whether you qualify for Virginia's senior tuition waiver.

Here's what auditing actually costs at Camp, who can do it, and the practical step-by-step.

#What auditing means at Camp

Auditing is enrollment in a Camp course where you attend lectures, participate in discussion if you choose, and have access to the instructor — but you don't take exams, don't submit graded work, and don't receive a grade or course credit on your transcript. The course shows on your record as "AU" rather than a letter grade.

The general explainer on what auditing means is in our hub article on auditing a class. What follows is Camp-specific: what it actually costs, the application process, and the constraints unique to this college.

#What it costs

Camp applies the same tuition and fees to audit students as to credit students. There is no audit discount in the standard cost model. A 3-credit class that costs roughly $500 in tuition and fees for a credit student costs roughly $500 to audit.

For most non-senior auditors, that price means auditing is a deliberate choice. You're paying real tuition for the experience of sitting in the class without the grade pressure or financial-aid eligibility.

The senior waiver exception — if you're 60 or older and meet the residency and income criteria under Va. Code § 23.1-905, Camp's audit policy notes that auditing is free for eligible seniors under Virginia's 60+ senior tuition waiver. Tuition goes to zero; small mandatory fees may still apply.

If you're not eligible for the senior waiver, expect to pay full freight. If you are, Camp's audit option is one of the more accessible deals in the Western Tidewater region — particularly given Camp's smaller-college, adult-learner-friendly profile.

#Who can audit at Camp

Camp's posted criteria are open compared to peer institutions:

• Minimum age 18. No upper age limit.
• Residency not required. You don't need to be a Virginia resident or live in Camp's service area to audit. Out-of-state rates apply where relevant, but the option is open.
• Senior discount available for residents 60+ — see the waiver detail above.
• Instructor approval may be required. Some instructors require an in-person conversation or written request before approving an auditor. Lab sciences and certain technical-program courses are the most likely to require this; standard lecture courses are usually open.

#How to actually enroll as an auditor at Camp

Camp's audit process is managed through ordinary course registration plus one extra notification to admissions:

1. Apply for admission to Camp if you don't already have a student record. Use the VCCS application portal at apply.vccs.edu. There's no separate "auditor" application.
2. Contact Camp admissions by email at info@pdc.edu (or phone 757-569-6700) before you register. Tell them which course (course code + section number) and which campus or online section you want to audit. They'll confirm the section is open to auditors and walk you through any instructor-approval step.
3. Register through the normal Camp enrollment system when registration opens for the term. Most audit registrations are completed by admissions based on your email request.
4. Pay tuition and fees by the published deadline. If you're a senior using the waiver, complete the waiver paperwork at the same time. If not, you pay credit-equivalent rates.
5. Attend the course. Once enrolled as an auditor, you can sit in throughout the term. If you change your mind and want to switch to credit (or the reverse), the request must be filed before Camp's add/drop deadline — typically the end of the second week.

#Practical constraints

A few things worth knowing before you commit:

• Financial aid does not cover audited courses. Federal aid, state grants, and most scholarships specifically exclude audit enrollment.
• Audit courses don't count toward financial-aid satisfactory academic progress. If you're already enrolled and trying to maintain SAP for federal aid, an audit course doesn't add to your credit total.
• Switching audit-to-credit (or credit-to-audit) is a hard deadline. Miss the add/drop window and your registration is locked in for the term.
• Some courses are not auditable. Clinical placements, internships, capstone courses, and competitive-admission program courses generally cannot be audited.
• Multiple campuses with different course mixes. Franklin and Hobbs Hampton Roads (Suffolk) campuses each have different course concentrations. When you contact admissions, be specific about which section and location.
• Smaller catalog than larger VCCS colleges. Camp's catalog is narrower than NOVA's or TCC's by design. Some specific courses may only run once a term or once a year — plan ahead.

#When auditing at Camp makes sense

A few situations where it works well:

• You're 60+ and a Western Tidewater or Hampton Roads-adjacent resident. The Virginia senior waiver makes auditing essentially free. Try a humanities elective, a course in something you've always meant to study.
• You prefer smaller class sizes. Camp's smaller-college profile means many sections have under 20 students — an unusual benefit for an auditor who wants real instructor access and discussion-based learning.
• You're considering a career change to a Camp program. Audit one course in the program before committing to the full sequence. Camp's programs span general academics, business, IT, and several technical workforce paths.
• You want a class without GPA exposure. If your GPA matters for scholarships, transfer admissions, or graduate school, auditing avoids the GPA hit.

#Where Camp sits compared to other VA community colleges

Camp's audit policy is typical for the VCCS system — open eligibility, same-cost for non-seniors, free for waiver-eligible seniors, instructor-approval optional. The differences compared to peer VCCS colleges (like Germanna, NOVA, Reynolds, or TCC) are mostly process detail. Camp's contact is info@pdc.edu / 757-569-6700.

If you're shopping across multiple Virginia community colleges, Camp's main differentiators are the smaller scale, the Western Tidewater location bridging rural and Hampton Roads communities, and the more intimate class sizes. The catalog leans toward general academics and a focused set of workforce programs — narrower than the urban VCCS colleges but with more individual instructor attention.

If you want to know how transfer credits would work afterward, our Virginia transfer guaranteed-admission explainer covers what credit enrollment unlocks vs. audit.

#The bottom line

Auditing at Paul D. Camp Community College is allowed, the process is straightforward, and the cost depends entirely on the senior waiver. If you're 60+ and a Virginia resident, it's effectively free. If you're not, it's full tuition without any of the credentials or financial-aid eligibility — a real cost for the experience of structured learning without the grade.

Either way, Camp admissions at info@pdc.edu (757-569-6700) is the right first contact. They'll confirm section availability across the Franklin and Hobbs Hampton Roads campuses, walk you through any instructor-approval step, and tell you exactly when the add/drop deadline closes for the term you want.