This manual provides local guidance on the policies and practices of the High School 21+ program (HS 21+) within the Basic and Transitional Studies (BTS) division at South Seattle College. The information is intended to be consistent with the policies of the Seattle Colleges, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), the Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Seattle Colleges and the AFT, and any applicable state or federal guidance. In cases of inconsistencies, the policy the Seattle Colleges, the SBCTC, the Faculty Agreement or state and federal guidelines take precedence over what is described here.
| Table of Contents |
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| Roles and Definitions |
| Enrollment |
| Advising and Graduation |
| Coursework |
| Grading |
| Credit for Prior Learning/Experience |
Roles and Definitions
The policies describe various roles and tools that are defined below.
Coordinator: The High School 21+ faculty coordinator, a faculty member who oversees various administrative responsibilities for the program.
DSP/Directed Self-Placement: A tool developed by faculty so students can make well-informed choices when selecting their coursework.
Evaluator: The High School 21+ transcript evaluator, typically a part-time employee whose various duties include transcript evaluation, trained by the campus Director of High School Instruction/co-director of Career Link High School.
Education Plan (Ed Plan): The quarter-by-quarter plan of classes that a student must complete in order to graduate.
G-Drive: The shared drive on the college's computer servers; the G-Drive includes various folders where documents and records can be accessed.
WABERS: The Washington Adult Basic Education Reporting System, the statewide database where specific records are entered for federal reporting, data tracking & analysis, and other purposes.
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Enrollment
· Transcripts for potential HS21+ students should be placed in the transcript folder on the G-Drive or sent to the evaluator.
· The evaluator will create an appropriate graduation year educational plan form, highlight credits needed on the ed plan, and post the highlighted ed plan on the G-Drive.
· If the student has taken classes at the college previously, the Coordinator will also enter those classes onto the ed plans.
· The Coordinator will map out when students will take classes on the ed plan, email the plan with an explanation to the students, and meet with them to go over the plan if necessary.
· At the end of each quarter, the Coordinator will update the ed plans.
· At the end of each quarter, the Evaluator will enter the courses from the ed plans into WABERS.
· During enrollment week, GED/College prep students are emailed a DSP tool that includes math, reading and writing. Students respond by choosing the courses that they determine to be most suitable for their level.
· If students are potentially interested in HS21+ but their transcripts have not been received, students will be placed on the GED track and will be given the DSP referred to above. Once their transcripts are received, evaluated, and a plan is created, they will be placed in HS21+ program the following quarter and will get credit for the classes they took.
· Students who have been enrolled in the Career Link program who are interested in HS21+ will be placed directly into HS21+ classes based on the transcript evaluation that CL provides.
· The ed form plan will be based on each student’s graduation cohort. The cohort will be selected based on the year the student entered 9th grade as indicated on their high school transcript. If a student lacks a transcript or never entered 9th grade, the cohort will be selected based on when the student was 14 years old on July 1 prior to the upcoming academic year.
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Advising and Graduation
· The Transitional Studies Advisor (TS Advisor) will visit the Pathways class each quarter to introduce themselves to students and talk to them about transitioning into a college or career training program.
· The Coordinator will send out a list of HS21+ students (to who??) and indicate which students will be graduating that quarter and continually monitor the progress of all HS21+ students.
· The Coordinator will send a final list of graduating students at the end of the quarter to the Director of High School Instruction (Career Link co-director) and the TS Advisor.
· Students will be required to meet with the TS advisor when they are applying for graduation for their high school diploma. During this “exit” appointment, they will fill out the graduation application, sign up for commencement (if desired), and plan their next steps.
· The TS advisor will send the graduation applications, along with a copy of students’ final SSC transcripts, high school transcripts, and transcript evaluation forms in a batch after grades are posted to the Director of High School Instruction (Career Link co-director).
· The Director of High School Instruction (Career Link co-director) will evaluate the transcripts against graduation requirements, fill out the required paperwork to issue the diploma, and send it all to the Credentials Evaluations office.
· The Credentials Evaluation office will mail diplomas to the students. Processing their diplomas should be a priority, so they can receive financial aid and get registered for college classes.
· Because issuing the diplomas is a lengthy process, the Coordinator will send an email with a diploma verification letter to all graduating students to assist with financial aid and other processes while awaiting the formal diploma to be issued.
· If a student is below a 2.0 GPA in classes at SSC prior to entering the HS21+ program, and the student successfully completes the HS21+ program, an exception to policy can be made for that student to receive his/her diploma. The Dean of Basic and Transitional Studies and Vice President of Instruction will sign off on an exception form and will give to the Director of High School Instruction (Career Link co-director), who will then include it in the student’s graduation application.
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Coursework
· GED classes taken at SSC prior to fall quarter 2014, non-credit ESL from anywhere, and GED & basic skills classes from other schools will not be accepted for high school credit.
· GED tests with passing scores from 2014 and later will be accepted for HS 21+ credit and will satisfy all credit requirements in their particular subject area.
· Developmental and college-level classes will be accepted.
· Students who age out of high school and who have enough credits to graduate are required to go through orientation and/or test at 7th grade reading level to be eligible for HS21+ coursework. They will be required to take the Pathways class in order to graduate.
· Students who test directly into ABE 042 Language Arts, US History, or Science based on reading level will receive 1 additional English credit after passing the course.
· Digital Literacy is 1 elective credit.
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Grading
· Students must attend 80% of the time. It is up to the individual instructors to be flexible with this guideline if the student is doing the required work, communicating with the instructor about absences and is performing at required competency level.
· It is up to the instructor to decide whether the student is at competency level, but some record of that should be available ie. GED practice test scores, project grades, quiz grades etc.
· Instructors should be monitoring HS21+ students’ performance. If a student is not meeting the requirements, instructors should be contacting the students and guiding them to be successful.
· If a student passes the class, the instructor will give an “S” grade at the end of the quarter. The Coordinator will update ed plans accordingly at the end of each quarter.
· The Coordinator will check in with instructors, update plans and fill out enrollment forms for the next quarter for HS21+ students according to their plans.
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Credit for Prior Learning/Experience (CPL/E)
· Prior learning/experience will be used for elective credit only.
· If a student needs several elective credits, classes we offer will (i.e. civics, math portfolio etc) must be taking prior to awarding any CPL/C. CPL/E will be used to fill in the rest of the electives.
· For continuing education and other similar classes, 3 hours = 1 credit.
· There is a maximum of 3 elective credits that can be earned for prior learning/experience.
· Work experience/volunteer experience/professional certifications can be used for a maximum of 1 elective credit. Students must provide evidence--documentations, certifications--which faculty can evaluate for credit. Faculty determine if the evidence if sufficient to award credit.
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