Another transcript/app question... Instructor bios?

[yvonne]

If your student did outside classes, did you include a one or two line bio about the instructor on your course descriptions?

 

I would think that a well-qualified instructor would add credibility to a course. An AP score of 4/5 or a high SAT subject exam score would also certainly add credibility, but not all courses have AP exams or SAT subject exams. For those courses, in particular, would it be useful to include the instructor's qualifications in the course description?

Thanks!

 

[EKS]

In my older son's intro to viola course description I said the course was taught by "professional musician Jane Doe."  For my younger son's German descriptions (that I probably won't use because he is going to ps), I said "This course was taken as a tutorial with Jane Doe, who was formerly a German instructor at [name of Ivy League caliber school]."

 

So I guess my answer is yes, I think it's a good idea.

[yvonne]

Thanks, Kai.  I was thinking about something along those lines... short, one or two liner.  Good qualifications don't always make for great instructor, but they definitely can and have for several of my sons' classes.

 

 

[dirty ethel rackham]

I didn't with any of my kids apps.  Just like I don't feel the need to justify my own credentials for teaching my own children, I don't feel the need to justify someone else's credentials.  In the educational partners section of the school profile, I do describe the partners we have used (usually an online provider or a college for Dual Enrollment.)  If I had hired a person to teach a course, I would possibly put something in there about that person as an educational partner, but not try to justify the class they taught, but to inform.  

[Jann in TX]

It depends on the university.. when my dd applied to Texas A&M and Texas State University they explicitly stated NOT to include course descriptions/text lists/reading lists... apparently they were reacting to being bombarded by homeschoolers over-sending what was required/needed.

 

-- Our PS once bragged about having a math instructor with a PHD... what they did not say was that his PHD was in physical education!!!   I seriously doubt that a university would give merit to who taught a particular class at the high school level... as far as homeschoolers go test scores are weighted the most.... my dd got into TAM and then transferred to TSU  not based on her test scores (they were pathetically low due to test anxiety!)-- she was admitted because of her dual credit transcript AND a writing sample (first chapter of a novel). 

 

I'm sure there are a FEW selective universities that might be interested in course descriptions that included an instructor bio... but the majority of state universities will not.

[8filltheheart]

I didn't with any of my kids apps.  Just like I don't feel the need to justify my own credentials for teaching my own children, I don't feel the need to justify someone else's credentials.  In the educational partners section of the school profile, I do describe the partners we have used (usually an online provider or a college for Dual Enrollment.)  If I had hired a person to teach a course, I would possibly put something in there about that person as an educational partner, but not try to justify the class they taught, but to inform.  

 

I agree.  I am actually leery of the idea that we need to justify homeschooling by having to give credibility to a legal educational option.   

[8filltheheart]

To expand on my post above, my current college freshman took every single class at home with me.  The only outside classes she had were Russian, French for 2 yrs, and stats 2nd semester of sr yr (so not even applicable for when she applied to college).   She had a single SAT sitting and 2 subject tests, and a CLEP exam when she actually applied.  Admissions depts did not question her transcript.  They accepted that she was an honors student who was highly competitive for their top merit scholarships.  

 

With all of today's outsourcing, I really hate to think on top of thinking that outside courses are superior to homebrewed classes, that teacher qualifications need to be incorporated into the application.

[Ellie]

To expand on my post above, my current college freshman took every single class at home with me.  The only outside classes she had were Russian, French for 2 yrs, and stats 2nd semester of sr yr (so not even applicable for when she applied to college).   She had a single SAT sitting and 2 subject tests, and a CLEP exam when she actually applied.  Admissions depts did not question her transcript.  They accepted that she was an honors student who was highly competitive for their top merit scholarships.  

 

With all of today's outsourcing, I really hate to think on top of thinking that outside courses are superior to homebrewed classes, that teacher qualifications need to be incorporated into the application.

 

I was just confused by the thread title: "Another transcript/app question". Because a transcript and a course description are two different things.  :confused1:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I did include bio info for a couple outsourced courses. I'm these cases they were online classes with lesser known programs and the instructors had advanced degrees in their subject. I didn't provide bios for DE courses or co-op classes.

 

Eta And by a bio I mean a one line statement of their degree level and concentration. It was the last line of the course description just before the booklist.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Sebastian (a lady)

[Julie of KY]

I did not include any bio information other than the course was an online course taught by so and so through PA Homeschoolers.

I will include that my daughter is having private Spanish tutoring by a native Guatemalan, but other than that I only include the name of the teacher if not me.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Julie of KY

[yvonne]

Thanks, Sebastian and Julie.

 

 

I did not include any bio information other than the course was an online course taught by so and so through PA Homeschoolers.

I will include that my daughter is having private Spanish tutoring by a native Guatemalan, but other than that I only include the name of the teacher if not me.

 

I pulled my course descriptions document back out today to proof & make any  final polishing touches & it looked a little bare.

 

I originally did something like yours... just put down the name of the instructor and the provider after the description and the list of materials/texts used...

      "Instructor:

       Jane Doe, Wilson Hill Academy"

 

An irl friend shared her course description & she'd put in a separate section at the end of all the course descriptions w/ longer bios for the different instructors.

 

So.... I was thinking maybe something between the two... not just a "Jane Doe, WHA" because what does it really matter that it  was JD at WHA vs anyone else? But also not a sheet of more extensive bio info.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by yvonne

[yvonne]

Should the course descriptions document be uploaded to the Common App?

 

 

If yes, can I change it later, if I want to?  Or is it trapped there, as-is, forever once I upload it? 

 

(I won't need to change content, but I may want to change the formatting. Right now, I have each course on a separate page. But that seems difficult to read. I may think of a better way to format it but I've got to move on to the next bit... counselor letter.)

[GoodGrief]

I think it might be appropriate if it adds clarity to the content of the course itself in some way. On the other hand, if there is a class or two with instructors that do not have "pretty" qualifications on paper, the absence of a bio there might appear a significant omission.

[snowbeltmom]

I had a section in my school profile document that I named "Educational Partners" where I listed the outside instructor bios.  I had a one page-transcript and a separate course description document.  I uploaded both of these files as pdfs under the Transcript field on the Common App.

[8filltheheart]

Should the course descriptions document be uploaded to the Common App?

 

 

If yes, can I change it later, if I want to? Or is it trapped there, as-is, forever once I upload it?

 

(I won't need to change content, but I may want to change the formatting. Right now, I have each course on a separate page. But that seems difficult to read. I may think of a better way to format it but I've got to move on to the next bit... counselor letter.)

If you have a page per course, you are including way too much info.

[yvonne]

I had a section in my school profile document that I named "Educational Partners" where I listed the outside instructor bios.  I had a one page-transcript and a separate course description document.  I uploaded both of these files as pdfs under the Transcript field on the Common App.

 

Thanks, snowbeltmom! 

 

I guess that's another way I could go. I'm not sure what's best.  We've used a couple of instructors for multiple years, so doing just one bio page would make it less repetitive. 

 

Was your bio page just a single page with all the bios?

 

If I went with one bio page, I'd probably attach it to the end of my course descriptions since that's where the teachers are mentioned.

 

Hm. Although putting it w/ the school profile would help explain why we chose to outsource the way we did.

 

 

There are too many variables in all this! I think I've been stricken w/ analysis paralysis! I can't even figure out how best to format the course descriptions doc. At least it's written. (How did you format your course descriptions? One course/page? That's what I have currently.) I'm probably agonizing over trivialities that don't matter.

On the other hand, a professional presentation would convey a different impression overall than a sloppy, haphazard one.

[yvonne]

If you have a page per course, you are including way too much info.

 

My course descriptions don't fill up the entire page; I just have each course on a separate page.

 

(Have to say... an irl friend did full page course descriptions and they were beautifully done. Looked professional, well-written, etc. Her dd got into some selective schools, so it didn't hurt her!  Mine aren't nearly as beautifully done. Mine are much more bare bones, but I'm more of a bottom-line person.)

[8filltheheart]

My course descriptions don't fill up the entire page; I just have each course on a separate page.

 

(Have to say... an irl friend did full page course descriptions and they were beautifully done. Looked professional, well-written, etc. Her dd got into some selective schools, so it didn't hurt her! Mine aren't nearly as beautifully done. Mine are much more bare bones, but I'm more of a bottom-line person.)

Are you a memeber of the hs2coll yahoo group? If not, you should join. They have sample formats for all the different components required.

 

Fwiw, I doubt very seriously that they are going to spend much time reading standard courses' course descriptions. They probably skim the texts/sources and maybe the unusual course titles' descriptions.

[yvonne]

Yes, I am on hs2coll. LOL Gathering all the samples from there and a couple other sites is what's gotten me into this quandary.

I think you're right about only admisisons folks only skimming texts/sources, though. I guess I'll stick with what I have.

I'd still be interested in knowing if I can pull the doc off the Common App site once I've submitted it and replace it with a different doc if I find a better format.

[Julie of KY]

I submitted the course descriptions as a second transcript as many others on this board have done.

 

I don't think you can change your counselor documents once they are submitted. There is a required midterm report in which you can report any changes and I think there is also an optional report.

[yvonne]

Thank you so much, Julie. That's exactly what I needed to know!

[mirabillis]

My course descriptions don't fill up the entire page; I just have each course on a separate page.

 

(Have to say... an irl friend did full page course descriptions and they were beautifully done. Looked professional, well-written, etc. Her dd got into some selective schools, so it didn't hurt her!  Mine aren't nearly as beautifully done. Mine are much more bare bones, but I'm more of a bottom-line person.)

 

how many pgs were her course-descriptions?

 

i would think ad-coms would hate to be overwhelmed with too much paperwork. i've created my first stab at course descriptions (oldest only 10th grade), and i'm trying for a 3 column format. i put it in subject order, and it should fit nearly an entire subject (math for instance) 9th-12th grade on 1 page. i may try out a single column format, and see if that shrinks it more. i've of the mind, as long as it's clean and easy to read, and not too long, that is best. i've seen many that vary between 9-14 pages...

 

as for instructor bios, i've seen a sample school profile that included short instructor bios separately (not in course descriptions at all). and i thought they looked great and may just do that myself. *eta - after finishing the thread, like snowbeltmom said - 'educational partners'

Edited September 15, 2017 by mirabillis

[snowbeltmom]

Thanks, snowbeltmom! 

 

I guess that's another way I could go. I'm not sure what's best.  We've used a couple of instructors for multiple years, so doing just one bio page would make it less repetitive. 

 

Was your bio page just a single page with all the bios?

 

If I went with one bio page, I'd probably attach it to the end of my course descriptions since that's where the teachers are mentioned.

 

Hm. Although putting it w/ the school profile would help explain why we chose to outsource the way we did.

 

 

There are too many variables in all this! I think I've been stricken w/ analysis paralysis! I can't even figure out how best to format the course descriptions doc. At least it's written. (How did you format your course descriptions? One course/page? That's what I have currently.) I'm probably agonizing over trivialities that don't matter.

On the other hand, a professional presentation would convey a different impression overall than a sloppy, haphazard one.

My instructor bio info was embedded in my school profile.  It was less than a page.

 

My course description documents for both of my kids were 9 pages, so I had multiple courses listed per page.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Yes, I am on hs2coll. LOL Gathering all the samples from there and a couple other sites is what's gotten me into this quandary.

I think you're right about only admisisons folks only skimming texts/sources, though. I guess I'll stick with what I have.

 

I'd still be interested in knowing if I can pull the doc off the Common App site once I've submitted it and replace it with a different doc if I find a better format.

You can upload, delete, and replace documents UNTIL you hit submit on the counselor report.

[yvonne]

You can upload, delete, and replace documents UNTIL you hit submit on the counselor report.

 

That would solve it!  Thank you!