Pullman High School

The Advanced Placement (AP) Program, sponsored by College Board and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) offers high school students the opportunity to participate in challenging college-level course work and may receive credit and/or advanced placement in college. This course guide identifies the AP courses offered here at PHS. Advanced Placement Exams are offered annually at PHS in May. Students enrolled in AP courses are expected to take those specific subject exams in May. There are fees for each subject test a student registers to take. Students can also register and pay for any AP exams regardless of having taken the AP course. 

Some CTE courses may be available for students to earn both high school and college credits. These options are noted in the specific course descriptions. The requirements for earning dual credit will be provided in writing by the instructor at the beginning of the course. Students must meet all requirements to obtain dual credit. An example of some requirements would be registering with the sponsoring institution, student tuition, fees and/or grade requirements. It is also important to know that dual-credit courses may be limited when transferring outside of Washington state. Please check with your intended college or university before you plan on these credits being included as part of your college transcript or degree. 

Some CTE courses may qualify to meet other graduation requirements if the district or state has approved equivalencies in non-CTE coursework. Additional graduation requirements may be met by completing these courses but will not count for credit in more than one subject area. The student earns one credit while meeting two graduation requirements. The total number of credits required for graduation remains unchanged. The student will need to earn an additional elective credit.

In addition to the CTE dual credit or 2 for 1 option some non-CTE courses are available for dual credit through the College in the High School program. These options are noted in the specific course descriptions. The requirements for earning both high school and college credit will be provided in writing by the instructor at the beginning of the course. Students must meet all requirements to obtain dual credit. An example of some requirements would be registering with the sponsoring institution and paying student tuition and/or fees. Students taking any of these courses for just high school credit will not be required to pay any college level tuition or fees. Enrolling in any College in the High School program for both high school and college credit automatically starts an official college transcript regardless of a student’s performance in the course. It is also important to know that dual-credit courses may be limited when transferring credit and may only count as elective credit at any higher education institution. Please check with your intended college or university before you plan on these credits being transferred to your college transcript.

College in High School Program

For students who are credit deficient, options may be available for adding on-line coursework to a class period under the supervision of a certificated instructor. Credit recovery is available in English, Social Studies and Science. Transcript grades for retrieved credit will be as follows:

• Repeated coursework will receive a “P” grade on transcript 
• The previously failed course remains on transcript and retains the grade of “F” 
• The credit earned for the “F” grade will be zeroed out when the “P” grade is posted. This will take the failed grade out of the GPA calculations

In certain circumstances students may earn credit in core subjects toward graduation through options that demonstrate they are competent in subject areas based on proficiency testing. Some examples are English and Math State Assessments, SAT or ACT Tests, ASVAB test, World Language Proficiency Testing and Advanced Placement Exams. All proficiency credit earned will be posted with a “P” on the student’s transcript. This credit is not an option for elective credits. If this credit is used to recover credit for failed courses, the original course will remain on the transcript along with the F grade, but the GPA credit will be zeroed out. If you think you may benefit from any of these options, please meet with your guidance counselor.

The Flexible Education (FlexEd) program is available to Pullman High School students who may benefit from independent online learning outside of their scheduled school day. Since Pullman School District does not have a full curriculum available in the online format this program is considered supplemental. As a result, students cannot fulfill all of their graduation requirements through this program. All interested students must go through an approval process to qualify for the FlexEd program. The FlexEd Program is governed by rules adopted by the State of Washington for Alternative Learning Experiences (ALE). This program is still subject to Washington State attendance policies which are met through a contract. This approval process is initiated by meeting with the student’s guidance counselor and approval will be based on the following considerations:

• Extenuating life circumstances
• Credit recovery for graduation requirements
• Extraoridinary scheduling needs
• “At risk” for dropping out of high school
• Issues related to student’s social, emotional, or behavior needs that warrant further consideration of an alternative learning experience

Students have the opportunity to take high school courses in 7th or 8th grade to receive high school credit. Students who earn high school credit (pass the course) before attending high school will have that credit automatically transcribed onto their high school transcript. If students fail high school courses before attending high school the grade will not be included on their high school transcript. 

Students and their parent/guardian may also request that the credit earned before high school be transcribed with a nonnumeric grade of “pass”. Nonnumeric grades are not included in the student’s high school grade point average, but the course still applies to fulfilling high school graduation requirements. Students and their family have until the end of the 11th grade to request a nonnumeric grade for credit earned before attending high school.

Students and their parent/guardian can request this change in writing through their guidance counselor. 

Occasionally, Pullman School District students may take courses outside of their scheduled school day and desire to receive credit on their high school transcripts. Before students enroll in any outside course for which they expect credit, a preapproval form with a detailed explanation of the proposed coursework must be submitted for guidance counselor and principal approval. These forms are available from your guidance counselor. Once the coursework is approved, students must still maintain a full schedule. 

Since these are not Pullman School District courses:

• Students will not be scheduled into free periods or study halls during the school day to work on outside credit.
• Pullman School District is not responsible for any fees or tuition related to this coursework.
• The district will not provide any teacher or tutors for this coursework. 
• The district will not provide any technology support for the coursework (computers, software, cameras, internet services, etc.). 
• Student must take responsibility to submit an official transcript documenting the completion of the course and earned credit to their guidance counselor. 
• This policy is limited to 3 credits total that can be transferred to a PHS Transcript per student. Students can take as much outside coursework as they desire, but only 3 credits can be approved for transfer to their PHS transcript.
• Students who take courses for outside credit may be required to present those grade reports or transcripts for college admissions. This may apply even if you have the credit on your Pullman High School transcript. 
• Credits will not be transferred simply to enhance GPA and must be applied to graduation requirements.
• All grades will be posted exactly as they are issued from the accredited curriculum provider. Pullman High School will not change any letter grade to a Pass/Fail, or convert an issued Passing grade to a letter grade. All courses posted to the student transcript will remain on the transcript.
• For pre-approved coursework that is not accredited only P/F grades will be issued. 

Running Start is a college credit program that enables a high school junior or senior to earn credit simultaneously for high school graduation and a college degree. Running Start in Pullman is available from Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) and Washington State University (WSU) during the regular school year. Running Start is not available during the summer sessions. It is also important to know that dual-credit courses may not transfer to all schools outside of Washington state. 

Requirements for students who participate in Running Start programs include: 

• Junior or Senior status. Students participation in this program is limited to two years
• Application to the program during the college enrollment period.
• Courses that are approved by the high school guidance counselor (meets graduation plan/at least 100 level)
• Be responsible for transportation, fees and text books. 
• Confirming courses will transfer to their intended school after graduation.

Running Start students will not be allowed to schedule and take a PHS class that is in conflict with the time schedule for a Running Start class. The PHS staff will be flexible if the PHS schedule is changed for an assembly, testing, school delays, etc. However, students will not be allowed to routinely arrive late or leave early to a PHS class because of any Running Start class. 

Students should meet with their guidance counselor to confirm details of participating in either Running Start Program. 

Grades are issued by SFCC and WSU at the end of each term. All grades will be posted exactly as they are issued from the college. Pullman High School will not change any letter grade to a Pass/Fail, or leave a failed course off of the PHS transcript, or convert an issued Passing grade to a letter grade. PHS will translate college courses to earn high school credit as follows: 

Limited online courses are available during the summer session for students who need to recover credit to meet graduation requirements. These courses are overseen by certificated teachers. Summer School usually runs five weeks with students required to attend sessions onsite at Pullman High School. Summer School information will be available in May. Guidance counselors will assist students with course selection to assure summer classes will meet graduation requirements.

Pullman High School may grant a waiver of a maximum of two elective credits required for graduation. In order to graduate, students granted a waiver must earn seventeen required subject credits (four English, three Math, three Science, three Social Studies, two Health and Fitness, one Arts, one CTE). The procedure for processing requests for waiver of high school graduation requirements shall be as follows: 

• A petition for Waiver of Graduation Requirement form must be submitted to the high school principal at least 30 days in advance of the anticipated graduation date.
• The high school principal, along with the counseling team will review the Petition of Waiver of Graduation Request.
• The high school principal shall approve or deny the petition based upon appropriate data.
• In the event a petition is denied, the parent or eligible student shall be notified that an appeal may be made in writing to the superintendent within twenty days of the decision. 
• All requests will be placed in the student’s cumulative permanent records.