Transfer Courses and Proficiency

Transfer Courses and Proficiency Credit

CREDIT THROUGH EXTENSION, ONLINE, AND CORRESPONDENCE COURSES 

Credit earned through extension, online, or correspondence courses may be applied toward the satisfaction of graduation requirements provided that such study commences after the successful completion of the 8th grade year. Such credit shall be earned through the satisfactory completion of courses offered by an institution accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools or any other regional accrediting association or by an institution that is recognized by a state office of education.  Students who wish to earn credit through extension, online or correspondence courses MUST seek course approval from their counselor before enrolling in the course.  Division Heads must have the opportunity to fully review and approve the syllabus for any courses taken outside of OPRFHS.  Online courses should not be used to acquire the graduation credit in a laboratory or speaking based course (this would apply to Science, Applied Arts/Technology, Fine Arts, and World Language Courses).  Online courses may not be used to satisfy the Civics, Health, and Physical Education graduation requirements. 

A maximum of 4 such credits may be used on the OPRFHS transcript. Requests for credits to be applied to the permanent transcript must be received by the appropriate counselor prior to August 9 of the school year. If a student takes a credit through extension, online, or correspondence during his/her senior year, the final transcript must be received from the outside institution by April 15 to ensure participation in graduation. Any transcript submitted from an outside institution will show as a transfer credit grade on the transcript and will become part of the student’s permanent record at OPRFHS.

HOMESCHOOL POLICY/PROCEDURES

A parent can choose to homeschool their student for a specified duration of the time they are not a student at the high school. If a student is seeking to attend a homeschool full-time, with the intention of transferring credits back to OPRF, that student will need to withdraw from our school. Earned homeschool credits will be granted as transfer courses (no limit for these) when brought back to OPRF. If a student is seeking to attend a homeschool part-time while also attending classes at OPRF as a part-time student (taking 1 to 4 classes), credits will be accepted if they are designated as homeschool courses on the transcript. The transcript has to specify that it is a homeschool program, not independent online classes. Homeschool courses are not the same as correspondence course (where only up to four credits are allowed) and, as such, are not included here.

The following steps must be followed when seeking Homeschool options:  

  • Parent needs to withdraw the student from OPRF and inform the Registrar that the student will be homeschooled.
  • Parent will need to complete a Home Schooling Registration Form through the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE): https://www.isbe.net/Documents/87-02_hs_reg.pdf then send the completed form to ISBE (a copy must be sent to our registrar via email at registrar@oprfhs.org).
  • Once an accredited program has been identified and approved (program must be accredited by Cognia, formerly AdvancED, for credits to transfer back to OPRF), the student can register for and complete online courses. At completion of the program, the parent will then need to create a home school transcript. A list of the completed course credits earned through the accredited online program must be submitted to the Registrar upon the student’s return to school. (Note: Transcripts cannot come directly from the online program as that course work will be viewed as corresponding courses and not part of the homeschool program).  
  • All completed courses must be from an accredited program. Courses that do not receive pre-approval before beginning, they will not be accepted by the school as transfer credits. Parents and students can verify accreditation of the courses with their counselor or the Registrar prior to enrolling for it.
  • Students considering participation in a sport at a Division I or II college/university will need to make sure the Homeschool high school courses are also NCAA-approved.
  • Part-time and full-time homeschooled students may enroll at OPRFHS and be eligible to participate in extra-curricular activities and clubs, as long as they are district residents and pay tuition in full. If homeschooled students wish to participate in sports, the student needs to be enrolled in a minimum of five (5) classes with curriculum approval by the Associate Superintendent. Weekly progress reports must be provided to the Athletic Office and is overseen by the Illinois High School Association.
  • Students who wish to be eligible to earn an OPRFHS diploma, at least 22 out of the required 43 credits must be earned at the high school.

COMPUTER PROFICIENCY TESTING

Students may satisfy the computer proficiency requirement by achieving a qualifying score on the local computer proficiency test. This test is given the third Wednesday of quarters 2, 3, and 4. An additional test date is scheduled during the third quarter. The test dates and signup procedures will be announced in the student bulletin.  Students may register for the test twice each year until they pass the test but not after the second semester of the junior year. The student may not be enrolled in a class which meets the computer proficiency requirement during the semester that the test is taken.

While successful completion of this test satisfies the computer proficiency graduation requirement, the student must successfully earn 1 additional elective credit to compile the minimum number of credits required for graduation.