College credits on transcript

[Hunter's Moon]

June - August I'll be taking a Human Body/Health & Disease course. It is worth 3 credits. How would that convert to high school credits? Would it be 1 credit, 1/2 credit, other?

 

July - August I'll be taking a General Psychology which is also worth 3 credits.

 

Thanks!

[Brenda in MA]

I ask this question because my son's college would not accept CC course credits for transfer if they were used to fulfill high school requirements.

 

Fortunately, once he got to his senior year of high school, he had enough high school credits so that the courses he took at the local CC were not needed as high school credits that would count towards his graduation.

 

I chose to list his CC courses in the "Notes" section of his high school transcript, and I included course descriptions for them (from the CC catalog) with my course description document. I also sent his CC transcript to the colleges he was applying to.

 

This approach worked out in that his 4-yr college did accept all of his CC courses for transfer credit. After he was accepted and applied for the transfer of the credits, I had to sign a statement saying those credits didn't count towards his high school requirements. During the transfer process, he also had to supply the 4-yr college with the syllabus from one of his classes so they could evaluate it and decide whether to accept it, so keep all information from your CC courses, especially the syllabus & prof contact info. if you hope to transfer those credits.

 

Also -- if you have a few target 4-yr colleges in mind, you might want to contact them to see if they accept transfer credits, and if they do, what documentation you'll need when the time comes.

 

Best wishes,

Brenda

[AngieW in Texas]

Transfer credit isn't a problem for my dd because she's going to a state school, so they have to accept her cc credits as college credits.

 

I checked to see how much credit the local ps gave for cc courses. I mostly used the same credits they did. I didn't feel that Drawing I and Drawing II were each worthy of a full credit because there was almost no work outside of class.

 

http://www.austincc.edu/ecs/students/available_courses.php

 

I linked our cc's suggested dual credit page above.

[Ellie]

One high school credit. All college-level courses=1 high school credit.

 

On your transcript, you could put a "T" next to the grade, with a legend on the bottom of the transcript that says something like "T=transferred credit H.S. level or above."

[regentrude]

One high school credit. All college-level courses=1 high school credit.

 

How do you distinguish between a three hour class and a five hour class?

Do you really count a 3 hour, one semester class as a full HS credit?

[Dana]

How do you distinguish between a three hour class and a five hour class?

Do you really count a 3 hour, one semester class as a full HS credit?

 

In this state, yes, they do count 3 credit hours as a year-long hs course.

 

From what I've seen, the developmental algebra we teach at the cc is pretty much a typical algebra I course, intermediate algebra is algebra 2. Does make you question why students who are recent high school graduates test into developmental math. :glare:

[Lori D.]

Take a look at your state Board of Education website, specifically the info about dual enrollment; they may list how they convert college credits into high school credits.

 

We're not in the state of MA, so our public schools may convert it differently than yours, but *generally* a 2- or 3-unit college course converts to a 0.5 credit high school course, a 4- unit college course converts to a 1.0 high school course, and a 5-unit college course converts to a 1.5 credit high school course.

 

If you can't find any guidelines of conversion for your state, then here is a suggested conversion, based on hours:

It is reasonable to put in 75-90 hours for a 0.5 semester high school SCIENCE course (again, depending on how a public ed. system calculates credits), and you will easily do that with a college course -- probably about 45 in-class hours, and that much again for outside-class work. I'd suggest keeping a log of your hours, and if you go over 90 hours of legitimate work for the class, then consider counting it as a 1.25 credit high school class.

 

 

BEST of luck, both in your college classes AND in the administration aspect of tracking them for transcripts! ;) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

PS -- edited to add

I just googled and found this MA Board of Education guide for high school counselors which may be of great help to you in a variety of areas, especially as your work on a transcript. On page 8, it seems to indicate that dual enrollment courses will be counted as 1 credit -- BUT, because they were college-level courses, you get to indicate on your transcript that for your GPA, those courses are given the same additional weight as an AP course.

 

Also, as I recall, you recently joined a homeschool group so you could participate in graduation this next year. I'd strongly recommend getting in touch with the group and see if a "BTDT" parent could help walk you through this -- or, contact your state home school group for more specific information on this topic. Perhaps try the "Got a Question" heading at the MA Home Learning Association..

 

Best wishes for every success, and warmest regards, Lori

Edited May 4, 2011 by Lori D.
added info