Conundrum in dealing with NARHS, i need some help or ideas

[Shelly in IL]

If anyone has dealt with narhs before, i would love a hand up. I signed my fresh. son for Great Books Academy. He is obviously doing a great books study with this company, and we've been pleased. My question is, when we signed up, great books speaks of the college credit or high school credit you can receive from their program. Credits for history, lit., ethics, philosophy are commonly given participation in their program.

 

My problem is that how am i going to fulfill the hours requirement for narhs? I had assumed (yes, i know) that the merit of the program would stand on it's own, and I would not have to jump through horrible hoops to get this credit. I've been emailing my counselor, and she has been prompt in her replies, but they have been very tight, regulation wise. For example, the professor at great books needs to send a notarized documentation of what my son has completed. Really? I don't have to have my own classes documented jn that way, but I do for a course I paid for?

 

Anyway, any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[ccm]

A NARHS credit will be awarded if students "read 12 high school or adult-level CLASSICS and write a 2-page paper for each. Present all 12 papers dated, corrected, and graded in the portfolio." (page 53 of the High School Resource Advisor)

Suggested selections are found on pages 7-10 of the same book.

 

Another way is to document hours, but I find that to be burdensome.

 

HTH!

Edited May 4, 2011 by ccm

[gingersmom]

I knew NARHS sounded too good to be true.

[1Togo]

I have been looking at NARHS because we do not know where we will be living throughout high school, and dd is not set on her plans after high school. I posted another thread about verified grades, but didn't receive any responses. When our sons graduated from homeschool high school, we were only deaing with state universities and the Navy. No problems with either accepting our homeschool transcript, but we are considering other options for dd. Could someone using NARHS offer some input on the advantages and disadvantages of their service? We're using a variety of materials/approaches for high school, so we can't use a service that requires specific textbooks.

 

Thanks for you help.

[JoyinWI]

I use NARHS, and perhaps it depends on your adviser, but we've had no problems with outside classes. I simply forward on the main components of work my ds completed for the class as well as whatever the instructor gave to us as proof of completion. That proof has been anywhere from a simple signed document (speech and debate and I actually assigned the grade) to a "report card" (Biology)

 

I would think that if you send in his work as well as whatever Great Books sends you as proof of completion that will be sufficient. I've never had them ask me to notarize anything.

 

Hope this was somewhat helpful ;)

Joy

[Shelly in IL]

There isn't much work - 4 papers, 2 oral exams, etc. The bulk of the learning comes from the reading and discussion. And I would like him to earn 2 credits for it, one for history and one for lit. Both are obvious to me. For 36 weeks of class online meetings = 72 hours of online class. Plus a huge body of work (all from Ancient Roman times - so you know that takes awhile to get through) to read, plus the papers, plus the 2 hours of exams. I think it makes 160 hours seem pretty easy to get! Maybe I am making this harder than it is??

[ccm]

There isn't much work - 4 papers, 2 oral exams, etc. The bulk of the learning comes from the reading and discussion. And I would like him to earn 2 credits for it, one for history and one for lit. Both are obvious to me. For 36 weeks of class online meetings = 72 hours of online class. Plus a huge body of work (all from Ancient Roman times - so you know that takes awhile to get through) to read, plus the papers, plus the 2 hours of exams. I think it makes 160 hours seem pretty easy to get! Maybe I am making this harder than it is??

 

From what you have stated here, I think documenting your hours should not be that difficult.

 

I have two self-designed courses (P.E. and Music Theory) and I dislike having to keep track of hours.

[Corraleno]

My problem is that how am i going to fulfill the hours requirement for narhs? I had assumed (yes, i know) that the merit of the program would stand on it's own, and I would not have to jump through horrible hoops to get this credit. I've been emailing my counselor, and she has been prompt in her replies, but they have been very tight, regulation wise. For example, the professor at great books needs to send a notarized documentation of what my son has completed. Really? I don't have to have my own classes documented jn that way, but I do for a course I paid for?

If I understand the issue correctly, you would like your son to get two HS credits for his work with the Great Books Academy, but you didn't keep any records of the time he spent? In the NARHS Handbook, they explain very explicitly what they will accept as proof of completion of coursework, and that includes either written evidence of having completed a "standard" textbook (e.g. all chapter review questions plus 2 exams) or tracking of hours (minimum 80 per course). They even have special planner/notebooks you can use to track the hours spent each day in each course, which you can submit with your portfolio. They will also accept transcripts from other accredited schools, but the Great Books Academy is not accredited, so you (or someone from the school) would still need to provide proof of the work done.

 

If you are now asking them to just take your word for it that your son did 2 credits worth of work, when you have no record of the actual hours spent and the only written work you have to send them is 4 papers, then I'm not surprised that they are asking for something from the teacher verifying the hours and the work done. NARHS is obligated to verify the credits they are giving — the whole point of having an accredited diploma is that colleges and employers know that the work has been verified.

 

Is there a problem with having the teacher send NARHS a statement of the hours your son put into the course, or at least the hours that he believes is normally required to complete the course, and that in his opinion your son completed it? I don't think that's unreasonable at all.

 

Jackie

Edited May 4, 2011 by Corraleno

[Corraleno]

I knew NARHS sounded too good to be true.

 

If you thought that NARHS would grant an accredited diploma without requiring any proof that the work was completed, then yes, that particular scenario is "too good to be true." If it were true, then NARHS would be just another diploma mill and the diploma would be worthless. NARHS is very clear about what they will accept as proof of completion of a credit, and parents do have to submit portfolios every year with adequate proof of the work completed.

 

Could someone using NARHS offer some input on the advantages and disadvantages of their service? We're using a variety of materials/approaches for high school, so we can't use a service that requires specific textbooks.

 

I'm not using NARHS, but I looked into them in detail because of an issue with our state's Lottery Scholarship program, which requires either an accredited diploma or a GED.

 

Advantages of NARHS include:

(1) The state of Maine is very generous in terms of what they consider one HS credit (e.g. they only require 80 hours per credit) and they only require 17.5 credits for graduation, so in that sense NARHS is an easy option for someone looking for an accredited diploma with minimum requirements.

(2) The state of Maine also has a provision for issuing a HS diploma if a student has completed one year of college work, which NARHS will do (although you still pay the 12th grade tuition fee).

(3) NARHS is extremely flexible as to the content of the courses — there are no required textbooks or papers or exams, and they accept "proof" in many forms including video, audio, photos, digital files, etc.

 

Disadvantages:

(1) There are several required courses, including US History, Health, Info Tech, Fine Arts, and a few others. You can design these courses in any way you like, and use whatever materials you choose, but you do have to have something that fits those categories on the transcript.

(2) You have to provide a portfolio of work every year, and you do have to keep a record of hours spent for any courses that are unusual or self-designed.

(3) It costs $500-600/yr, although they will accept without charge any credits transferred from other accredited schools. (IOW, if a student completed 9th & 10th grade at a public or private school, you can transfer those credits for free and just pay the tuition for 11th & 12th grade.)

 

Jackie

Edited May 4, 2011 by Corraleno

[1Togo]

Thanks, Jackie. Except for the cost, none of the disadvantages are a big problem for us, especially since we planned to do the required courses in some fashion anyway. I am undecided about this because we have never needed verified credits/accredited diploma in the past. It's just that our life is uncertain because dh's company will be closing, and we will relocate somewhere.

[Corraleno]

Thanks, Jackie. Except for the cost, none of the disadvantages are a big problem for us, especially since we planned to do the required courses in some fashion anyway. I am undecided about this because we have never needed verified credits/accredited diploma in the past. It's just that our life is uncertain because dh's company will be closing, and we will relocate somewhere.

If you keep good records of your student's work (including hours for any unusual courses), then you can decide as late as 12th grade if you want to use NARHS or not. As long as you have proof of the work completed, they can grant credit for it retroactively. You would still have to pay the fee for each year of credit you want on the transcript (so the cost would be the same as if you had been using them all along), but at least you wouldn't be out any money if you decide that you don't need them after all. And if you eventually decide to put your student into PS or a private school once you get settled somewhere, then the records you have will help validate the work the student did.

 

NARHS sells a very useful notebook/planner thingy (around $15 or so) that you can use to record all the work done in all courses for the week (includes 7 days), with a little box to write the hours in for each subject each day. (Students can do this themselves). Then there are boxes on the bottom of the page to total the hours for the week in each course, the hours carried over from past weeks, and the total hours so far. At the end of the year you have a complete record of all the work done that year, in one notebook, with total hours for all courses.

 

Jackie

Edited May 4, 2011 by Corraleno
typo

[gingersmom]

If you thought that NARHS would grant an accredited diploma without requiring any proof that the work was completed, then yes, that particular scenario is "too good to be true." If it were true, then NARHS would be just another diploma mill and the diploma would be worthless. NARHS is very clear about what they will accept as proof of completion of a credit, and parents do have to submit portfolios every year with adequate proof of the work completed.

 

 

 

 

 

I never thought they were a diploma mill. If they were I would not be interested in them.

 

I did not expect them to require a notarized documentation of what my child has done. My son/daughter are both taking online classes now (University of Missouri and Oklahoma State University-both accredited). I will be getting a transcript from both schools upon completion of their classes. I can't imagine requiring them to have it notarized.

 

I would also be unhappy if one advisor at NARHS imposed one set of requirements and another advisor another.

[Corraleno]

I did not expect them to require a notarized documentation of what my child has done. My son/daughter are both taking online classes now (University of Missouri and Oklahoma State University-both accredited). I will be getting a transcript from both schools upon completion of their classes. I can't imagine requiring them to have it notarized.

 

I would also be unhappy if one advisor at NARHS imposed one set of requirements and another advisor another.

The difference is that your children's courses are accredited, and NARHS will be receiving official transcripts from those universities, so they don't need additional proof. Great Books Academy is not accredited, and the OP doesn't have enough written work, or a record of hours spent, in order to prove that her son did 2 credits worth of work, so the advisor is offering an alternative means by which the OP can meet the school's requirements.

 

Jackie

Edited May 4, 2011 by Corraleno

[Tammyla]

:iagree: And enjoyed reading your descriptive posts.

 

The details and documentation:tongue_smilie: take a bit of getting used to, but we've had no problems with them. I do love the NARS Daily Log Book, even used it for a year before making our decision. It's very easy to follow.

 

 

If you keep good records of your student's work (including hours for any unusual courses), then you can decide as late as 12th grade if you want to use NARHS or not. As long as you have proof of the work completed, they can grant credit for it retroactively. You would still have to pay the fee for each year of credit you want on the transcript (so the cost would be the same as if you had been using them all along), but at least you wouldn't be out any money if you decide that you don't need them after all. And if you eventually decide to put your student into PS or a private school once you get settled somewhere, then the records you have will help validate the work the student did.

 

NARHS sells a very useful notebook/planner thingy (around $15 or so) that you can use to record all the work done in all courses for the week (includes 7 days), with a little box to write the hours in for each subject each day. (Students can do this themselves). Then there are boxes on the bottom of the page to total the hours for the week in each course, the hours carried over from past weeks, and the total hours so far. At the end of the year you have a complete record of all the work done that year, in one notebook, with total hours for all courses.

 

Jackie