Q: Can freshman and sophomores enroll in community college courses?
A: Generally speaking, no. Freshman and sophomores may enroll in engineering and industrial CTE pathways. Otherwise, students must be high school juniors or seniors to enroll.
Q: Will high school students be able to enroll in any CCP programs for which they are “college-ready”, or will their choices be limited to areas that match their chosen HS career clusters?
A: High school students may enroll in any pathway for which they are college ready and meet all of the program eligibility requirements.
Q: Are high school students allowed to take community college courses (especially online courses) from a community college outside of the geographic area that their local community college serves?
A: Yes, provided that the courses are included as part of the student’s chosen program(s) of study.
Q: Are students allowed to apply/register even though they might not yet be in the 11th grade? (i.e., can a 10th grade student who is showing progress towards high school graduation register during the early fall registration period in March/April of their 10th grade year?)
A: Students in the second semester of 10th grade may apply and register to accommodate their high school registration process. However, the high school must certify that students are eligible to participate prior to enrolling, and students must be juniors prior to beginning college classwork.
Q: Are home school and private school students eligible to participate in Career & College Promise?
A: Yes, students attending a registered home school or a private school may participate in CCP; these students must meet the same participation criteria applied to regular public school students.
Q: Is there an age restriction for CCP?
A: No. The high school or homeschool must certify that the student is a junior or senior and is making progress toward graduation.
Q: Some private and home schools do not use traditional grades. How do these students meet GPA and testing requirements?
A: Like other students, the home school student’s principal must certify that the student meets minimum requirements for participation. These students also must provide official evidence to the community college admissions office that the student achieved “college-ready” scores on an accepted college readiness assessment.
Q: If the student meets the benchmark through PLAN or PSAT, will they also have to take the college placement test (or have appropriate SAT or ACT scores) to meet the prerequisites for the course?
A: No. Students demonstrate college readiness by achieving minimum scores on one or more of the approved assessment tests. Students must meet college ready thresholds in all three areas – English/writing, Reading, and Math.
Q: If a student doesn’t qualify for CCP using one of the approved assessment tests, may s/he use a combination of tests for qualifying scores? For instance, a student passes English and Reading on PLAN but fails math. Can that student then take Accuplacer to try to pass math and use PLAN for English and Reading and Accuplacer for Math?
A: Yes, high school students may qualify as college-ready using multiple assessments.
Q: What constitutes “continue to make progress toward high school graduation”?
A: The LEA, home school administrator, or private high school administrator will monitor student academic progress to ensure that students are progressing towards high school completion.
Q: Can a student be tentatively admitted based upon expected grades at the end of the semester? For instance can a student with a 2.9 GPA be enrolled in CCP for the Spring semester based upon current grades and the expected final grades for the fall since the 1st semester doesn’t end until mid-January?
A: No, eligibility is based upon the student’s GPA at the time the counselor assesses his/her eligibility.
Q: How do I apply to participate in the Career & College Promise program?
A: Students should first see their high school guidance counselor to apply for CCP. Applications for CCP will be submitted online at CFNC.org. Guidance Counselors will approve the CFNC application and once approved students can then apply to South Piedmont Community College to participate.
Q: Can students under 18 years old who are not high school graduates enroll in a community college outside of Career & College Promise?
A: No, except for some non-credit courses taken on a self-supporting basis, including safe driving courses.
Q: Are students who attend a high school outside of North Carolina—but are NC residents—allowed to participate in the CCP program?
A: North Carolina high school juniors and seniors are eligible to participate in Career & College Promise.
Q: What is the maximum number of college credits that a CCP student can take?
A: There is no maximum number of college credits that a CCP student can take. All students must maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher on college courses within a program of study and must continue to make progress towards high school graduation.
Q: Are CCP courses that are part of a specific “program of study” allowed to be offered on high school campuses?
A: Yes.
Q: If college courses are offered on high school campus, will regular college students be allowed to take those course sections also?
A: Probably not, but ultimately the school district must decide this in light of their security policies.
Q: Will the high school students enrolled in CCP be allowed to take a Credit by Exam for classes that normally allow college students to receive Credit by Exam?
A: CCP participants may receive college credit by exam at the community college.
Q: Can high school students take community college courses on a self-supporting basis? (The student/students parents pay tuition.)
A: Generally, no. However, high school students under the age of 18 are permitted to take non-credit safe driving courses on a self-supporting basis at any time. Additionally, colleges may choose to permit persons under sixteen years old to take non-credit courses on a self-supporting basis during the summer quarter only.
Q: Are high school students still eligible to dual enroll in continuing education courses such as fire classes, defensive driving, etc.?
A: The effect of the Career & College Promise legislation on high school students taking continuing education courses has potentially created unintended consequences and created some ambiguity. As such, the System Office is actively pursuing legislative clarification to address high school students’ ability to take continuing education courses. While the System Office pursues this legislative clarification, community colleges should continue to offer continuing education courses to high school students.
Q: Will the CCP students receive weighted high school credit for completing college courses?
A: All college transfer courses receive weighted (honors) credit, CTE courses, in general, are not eligible since they are not transferable.
Q: Other than some selected math courses, are there any other community college courses that DPI will allow to count towards high school core course graduation requirements?
A: Yes. Some CTE college courses may count towards high school CTE core requirements. There also will be allowances for dual credit for College Transfer pathway courses as well. NC DPI has a team working to define dual credit opportunities to ensure minimum State Board of Education requirements are met. Specific dual credit information will be communicated as soon as it is finalized.
Q: Who is responsible for advising the CCP high school students?
A: Advising is primarily the responsibility of the high school. However, the students may also seek advising from the college staff.
Q: Are there any minimum class attendance requirements for CCP students?
A: With respect to community college courses being taken by CCP participants, high school students enrolled in community college courses will be held to the same rigorous attendance and academic requirements as adult students.
Q: What is the minimum number of high school credits that a CCP student must take?
A: There is no minimum number of high school credits that a CCP student must take. It is contingent on local school board policies. Please consult with the LEA. Please keep in mind, however, that students who complete the CT pathway have NOT met all of their general education requirements. Students must complete the “Core 44” (44 hours of core requirements as described in the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement) in order to complete the general education requirements. Students who complete the Core 44 can transfer all their credit to a UNC system school as a block, thereby meeting the general education requirements for a bachelor’s degree. Students who complete LESS THAN the Core 44 may find that UNC system schools transfer their credit, but that some transfers as elective credit rather than general education credit.
Q: Are CCP participants under 15 years old required to have a parent/legal guardian present?
A: No. Students who are eligible to participate in CCP are not required to have a parent on campus, regardless of the student’s age.
Q: What constitutes a “junior” or “senior” standing for CCP?
A: The local school administrative unit has a clear definition of how many earned credit hours constitutes ‘junior’ and ‘senior’ standing.
Q: If a student can take all of their courses in their senior year on the community college campus, does that impact their eligibility for high school athletics?
A: It does not. These students remain enrolled high school students and retain eligibility to play, assuming they meet all other requirements (attendance, academic performance, etc.)
Q: Do community college courses that count for high school credit count as a full credit or a partial credit?
A: College courses count as one (1) full high school credit. However, when a course sequence is required to meet content standards for a graduation requirement, the full course sequence must be completed to ensure students are eligible to graduate.
Q: Do courses in the college transfer or CTE pathway count as advanced placement (AP) courses for credit purposes?
A: No, pathway courses count as honors courses for credit purposes.
Q: Will high school students be able to enroll in any CCP programs for which they are “college-ready”, or will their choices be limited to areas that match their chosen HS career clusters?
A: High school students may enroll in any pathway for which they are collegeready and meet all of the program eligibility requirements.
Q: May students within certain college transfer tracks (e.g., humanities and social sciences) participate based on satisfying an individual community college’s “college readiness” math benchmark, rather than placement into MAT 161/171? For example, if a college considers MAT 140 the gateway math course for A.A. transfer students, can a student gain entry by meeting that standard?
A: No. Students must meet the college readiness benchmarks on one of the approved assessments to enroll in CCP.
Q: Why are there specific “program of study” areas (e.g., Business and Economics) for the college transfer pathways and not just a general “program of study” for AA, AS and AFA areas?
A: The designated programs of study were designed to provide structured pathways that consistently lead to transfer student success.
Q: Are colleges permitted to make course substitutions within the college transfer programs of study?
A: The Chief Academic Officer at each community college campus has the authority to substitute courses in the CCP pathways, within the following guidelines:
- Academic soundness – the substitution must be academically sound for the individual student requesting the substitution – no “blanket” substitutions are permitted. The substitution may NOT come from a different discipline (for instance, a college may not substitute an HUM course for Art 111) be a lower level course (for example, a 100-level course cannot be substituted for a 200-level course) under any circumstances.
- The documentation and the justification for it (based on academic soundness) must be documented in writing. The community college system’s auditors will ask to see it for each student. Documentation must be completed on a student-by-student basis.
Q: Can a college substitute another course for ACA 122?
A: No. The college must offer an ACA course that is listed in the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) and transferable to 4-year colleges and universities. Currently, ACA 122 is the only course that meets this requirement.
Q: If a student completes the College Transfer pathway, is s/he ready to transfer into a four-year institution with the necessary general education requirements?
A: Students who complete the CT pathway have NOT met all of their general education requirements. Students must complete the “Core 44” (44 hours of coursework as described in the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement) in order to complete the general education requirements. Students who complete the Core 44 can transfer all their credit to a UNC system school as a block, thereby meeting the general education requirements for a bachelor’s degree. Students who complete LESS THAN the Core 44 may find that UNC system schools transfer their credit, but that some courses transfer as elective credit rather than general education credit.
Q: Can a student begin the CT program of study at one community college and transfer to another community college? Is so, what if the original college has utilized a “substitute” course? Is the receiving institution required to accept the substitute course?
A: Yes, provided the student maintains his/her eligibility for continued enrollment. The receiving institution must accept the substitute course as long as the substitute course was on the original college’s approved program of study.
Q: What is the minimum number of hours that high school students need to be at the high school?
A: There is no requirement for students to be at their high school for a minimum number of hours. Student schedules may vary depending upon how many CCP courses a student has, where those course sections are offered (at the high school or at the college, and when those sections are offered.
Q: If a high school student completes all high school requirements in December (eligible to graduate) can he/she continue with the courses, tuition exempt, even if he/she has no high school classes? Or does the student need to “save” one high school course for spring semester?
A: High school juniors and seniors who meet all eligibility requirements can participate in the CCP program. A student that has not graduated from high school and that meets all of the eligibility requirements can enroll in the program.
Q: Does a high school student have to be present a minimum number of hours at the high school to be sports eligible?
A: As long as student-athletes attend their classes and meet academic performance requirements, athletic eligibility will not be affected. This requires schools to plan for how to record attendance for students participating in CCP off-campus.
Q: Are CT pathway completers considered Freshmen or Transfer students when they enter college – and how will that affect scholarships that are only available to Freshman?
A: Classification as freshman or transfer student will be determined by the four-year college or university to which the student is applying. Counselors should ensure that the college or university decision may impact a student’s eligibility for scholarships.
Q: Can CCP participants pursue both the college transfer and CTE pathways at the same time (for instance, a student who wishes to go to college for pre-med and wants to become a licensed EMT?
A: Yes. A student may choose to participate in a CT program of study and a CTE program of study at the same time. Students may also choose to participate in up to two (2) CTE programs of study at the same time.
Q: In the CTE pathways, a student can be recommended the principal when they don’t meet the minimum GPA requirement of 3.0. Can a college establish a bottom limit on what GPA they will accept?
A: No.
Q: Are high school students enrolled in the CTE pathway required to earn an industry-recognized certification?
A: No, students are not required to earn an industry-recognized certification, but colleges are encouraged to provide certification information for students wishing to complete/acquire a credential.
Q: Is the community college tuition waived for home schooled and private schooled students?
A: Yes, tuition costs are paid for students. Students do not need to take any action.
Q: Who pays the cost of the student’s text books?
A: No state funding is available for CCP or any other textbooks at this time. Community colleges and the LEA must work together to determine how to pay for students’ textbooks.
Q: Can high school students take community college courses on a self-supporting basis? (The student/students parents pay tuition.)
A: Generally, no. However, high school students under the age of 18 are permitted to take non-credit safe driving courses on a self-supporting basis at any time. Additionally, colleges may choose to permit persons under sixteen years old to take non-credit courses on a self-supporting basis during the summer quarter only.
Q: If a student takes all their classes at the college, is s/he still counted as a high school student?
A: All students enrolled in the district and participating in the CCP program are counted as part of the school district’s Average Daily Membership.