COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS GUIDELINES

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1 1 COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS GUIDELINES INTRODUCTION If you will be a college-ready seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade student next year, the College Credit Plus (CC+) program provides you with an opportunity, not a guarantee, to earn college credit. The purpose of the program, which replaces PSEO and dual enrollment, is to promote rigorous academic pursuits and to provide a wider variety of course options to students. Students can take college courses to satisfy their high school graduation requirements or to explore college coursework. CC+ offers only transcripted credit to the student upon successful completion of the college course. The student will be enrolled in college and high school simultaneously. You and your parents may have questions about this program. This guide can help answer some of them. For more help in deciding whether this opportunity is right for you, check with our designated point of contact. The contact here at MCS is our guidance counselor. This contact will be able to answer questions regarding the program s operation and will act as a liaison to the state of Ohio to monitor future changes or amendments to the program. ANNUAL NOTICE TO STUDENTS Students and parents must be notified annually prior to March 1 st, with current information on the CC+ program. This notification should be through multiple easily accessible resources including but not limited to the school s website, flyers and communication events. INFORMATIONAL MEETING/COUNSELING Student participation requires a counseling session prior to participation. This counseling can be in the form of the public information meeting that is provided annually. This informational event must be prior to March 30 th and all colleges and universities within a 30 mile radius must be invited to participate. In satisfying the required annual informational session with partnering colleges, multiple districts may participate together in a combined event, as long as parents and students receive information from each participating postsecondary and their secondary school, so they will understand their college credit plus opportunities. If you cannot attend, please contact the guidance office to make other arrangements.

2 2 INTENT TO PARTICIPATE COSTS FUNDING Students must notify the MCS guidance office and Ohio Department of Education of their intent to participate before April 1 st. Intent to Participate forms can be found in the guidance office, downloaded from ODE s website or MCS s website. Failure to meet this deadline means that you will not be permitted to participate in CC+ that particular year. If a nonpublic secondary school with a student receiving funding under the program (EdChoice Scholarship) was not able to comply with the annual notice requirement due to the timing of the election of the student s participation in the program, it shall comply with the annual notice requirement the following academic year. There is no cost to students who are attending a public institution of higher education. There may be a cost for books if attending a private higher ed institution. This would not be true to students who are economically disadvantaged as determined by ODE. However, students will be responsible for paying for their class if they fail to complete it, drop it too late or receive a failing grade. All nonpublic secondary schools must allow college-ready students who qualify for college admission to participate. However, nonpublic school students are not funded in the same manner as public schools so participation may be limited. Private schools will be offered allocation units which is defined as a semester credit hour. Allocation decisions are issued by the Ohio department of education after a student has been accepted by a college and sends ODE an application for funding. This application includes the name of the school in which you are enrolling and the number of credits you are requesting. The department marks each application with the date and time it is received and will then calculate the allocation based upon the money that is set aside by the general assembly for such purposes. All grade twelve applications shall be processed first with all students having equal opportunity to participate. Subsequently, all grade eleven applicants shall be processed in the same manner. This will continue through the other remaining grade levels until funds are exhausted. Traditionally our seniors have only received a maximum of 6-9 credit hours and underclassmen traditionally have received 3 hours. Upon successful completion of your class, ODE will reimburse the college as outlined in Ohio Revised Code

3 3 COLLEGE ENTRANCE Students may participate on-line or on campus at any other participating institution of higher education as long as they meet their college-readiness entrance requirements. Students must apply and get admitted into a college based on their college entrance requirement for other traditional students. Readiness can be based upon placement tests including but not limited to the ACT, SAT, Compass test, or Accuplacer. This deadline for submission of ODE application has not been announced yet but has traditionally been May 1 st. Your admission to the college you are choosing must be completed before that time. Students may be concurrently taking courses at more than one institution of higher education. COURSEWORK GRADES Students and parents should review the course catalog (can be found online) of an institution of higher education for a full listing of course offerings by the institution. Students can choose ANY course work that applies to a degree or workforce certification at a college. This includes courses that are used for MCS graduation requirements. Coursework must be nonsectarian and non-remedial and can only be taken during the regular academic year. Courses will follow the same course syllabus, same text books, aspire to achieve the same learning outcomes and are assessed using the same methods as the college course delivered on that campus to other students. The most common college coursework taken by our students are General Education Requirements such as Speech, Psychology, Sociology, and English Composition. A college credit plus course transcripting three or more semester credit hours shall count as one full high school credit. A course transcripting two credit-hours will earn students 2/3 of a credit and a one credit-hour college course will convert to 1/3 of a high school credit. MCS awards grades are calculated class standing for CC+ courses in a manner that does not disadvantage participating students. Grades will calculated at the same standard (weight) as Advanced Placement courses here at MCS. Upon completing your college classes you will then be responsible to forward your college transcript to all future universities to which you apply. EARLY DISMISSAL You may leave school any time after lunch time to attend classes. A parent s consent is required for a student to leave school early. Unless students are leaving to attend classes on campus we strongly suggest that they remain at school for a

4 4 full day of classes. Study halls may be used for CC+ classes assuming computers are available during that time. DECIDING TO PARTICIPATE Before you decide to participate in the program, you and your parents should consider the following points: 1. Future Plans If you plan well, this program can assist you in making future educational and career decisions and in exploring post-secondary educational opportunities. 2. High School Graduation Even if you participate in this program, you still must meet Madison Christian High School s graduation requirements in order to earn a high school diploma. Review the requirements and your academic standing with your school counselor or principal. You should keep in mind that the grades you earn in post-secondary courses may affect your grade point average, and may affect your eligibility to graduate and scholarship opportunities. 3. College-level work You should find college-level classes to be more accelerated and academically challenging than high school courses. You need to be able to work without supervision and have self-discipline both academically and socially. Be sure you are ready for these responsibilities. 4. Transportation If you attend classes at both a high school and post-secondary institution, you need to think about transportation between the two schools. Be sure you can make arrangements to get to classes on time. 5. Extracurricular Activities If you take part in this program, you may not be in your high school full-time. You may not be able to participate in some high school activities. PROGRAM ADVANTAGES 1. You have the opportunity to take courses that may not be offered by your high school. 2. You have a chance to experience college-level work and college life prior to making a final decision about post-secondary education. 3. You can take classes that academically challenge you or explore content that is of interest to you.

5 5 4. You will receive transcripted college credit prior to your freshmen year in college. 5. Classes are weighted. 6. Ohio s Transfer to Degree Guarantee means that many entry-level courses earned at Ohio public colleges are guaranteed to transfer to any other Ohio public college. Credits earned at a private college, or those that you want to transfer to an out-of-state- institution, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the institution you are seeking to attend. Visit to learn more about credit transfer. PROGRAM DISADVANTAGES/RISKS 1. You will have increased responsibility for learning. 2. You may have reduced opportunities or time for participating in high school activities (athletics, music, band, vacations, etc.) or employment. 3. Your grades in your college course(s) could affect your high school grade point average and class standing which could in turn affect scholarship opportunities. 4. You may need to plan for increased time to travel to and from the postsecondary institutions and increased time for study. 5. There is no guarantee that you will get the courses or funding that you request 6. You may experience some social discomfort when you are with older students at college functions/online discussions. 7. It is your full responsibility to notify the university and MCS if you withdraw from a class within their documented timeframe. If you withdraw from a course past deadlines, your parents may have to pay the costs of the course. 8. If you fail a course that is being used to meet MCS graduation requirements, or fail to provide MCS with proof that you are progressing satisfactorily one week before graduation, you will not receive a diploma or participate in graduation ceremonies. 9. Students must be aware of maintaining their OHSAA eligibility guidelines (passing 5, one credit courses) even though they will have a reduced schedule 10. Yearly schedules and vacation times usually are different between the MCS and participating colleges.

6 6 STEPS TO FOLLOW 1. Attend an informational event that will occur before March 30 th. 2. Discuss your plans as a family. 3. Complete your Intent to Participate forms and return them to the guidance office and Ohio Department of Education prior to April 1 st. 4. Research the institution of higher education online and what their college readiness requirements are as well as potential classes in which you are interested. You may also contact their CC+ department for individual assistance. 5. Apply to the institution of higher education once you have determined that you meet their admission standards. Notify the guidance office so a transcript can be sent. 6. Send Funding Application to Ohio Department of Education before their deadline. * This has not been established yet but has traditionally been June 1 st. 7. Notification of funding has traditionally occurred during the month of July. Sometimes schedules must change if you don t receive the number of credits for which you planned.