Little Chute Area School District high school students who meet the eligibility requirements defined in applicable statutes, regulations, and district policies, and who submit timely and complete applications and notices, may be permitted to enroll in one or more courses at an institution of higher education (IHE) through the Early College Credit Program. Under this policy guideline, "institution of higher education" means an institution within the University of Wisconsin System, a tribally controlled college, or a private, nonprofit institution of higher education located in the state.
The High School Principal, or their designee, shall be responsible for (1) ensuring that the District appropriately processes requests/applications related to the Early College Credit Program; and (2) determining whether the District will approve individual applications and pay for specific courses based on the criteria established in state law, any applicable state regulations, and applicable District policies and procedures.
The authority of the program administrator(s) includes, but is not limited to, the authority to make or approve the following determinations on behalf of the district:
- Whether a student meets the minimum eligibility criteria established in state law;
- Whether a proposed course is comparable to a course already offered in the district;
- Whether the proposed course and any resulting credit meets any of the district’s high school graduation requirements; and
- Whether the student will be eligible to receive high school credit for the successful completion of a proposed course, and, if so, the amount of high school credit.
Initial Applications and Notices Students Are Required to Submit
Students interested in enrolling in an institution of higher education (IHE) for the purpose of taking one or more nonsectarian courses under the Early College Credit Program must do all of the following to start the application process:
Submit a timely and complete application to the applicable IHE in the semester prior to the semester or session in which the course is scheduled to begin. The student must adhere to all application deadlines and other related requirements established by the IHE; and
Submit a timely and complete written notice to the district that identifies the student’s intent to take one or more courses under the Early College Credit Program. A separate notification form must be completed and processed for each IHE semester/session in which a student intends to take a course.
- The initial notification form must be submitted to the school counselor by March 1 if the student intends to enroll at the IHE in the subsequent fall semester, by October 1 if the student intends to enroll in the subsequent spring semester, and by February 1, if the student intends to enroll in the subsequent summer semester/summer session.
- In addition to any other information required on the form, the initial notice must identify the name of the IHE the student plans to attend, the titles of the course(s) in which the student intends to enroll, the number of postsecondary credits of each course, and whether the student will be taking the course(s) for high school credit, postsecondary credit, or both.
Responsibility for Costs; Limitations on District Payments
To the extent required by state law and as applicable to each course that a student takes under the Early College Credit Program, the district shall pay the appropriate tuition amount to the IHE and such other costs (if any). The student or the student’s parent or guardian shall pay the amounts (if any) specified as the student’s responsibility for each course under state law and district’s policy. The following also apply:
If a student takes a course at an IHE that is comparable to a course offered in the district, the district will make no payment for the course. Instead, the student taking the comparable course is responsible for paying the tuition and fees for the course.
If a student takes a course at a college or university that is not comparable to a course offered in the district, the district will pay 75% of the tuition amount and the state reimburses 25%.
If a student takes a course at an IHE for postsecondary credit only, and the course is not comparable to a course offered in the district, the student or the student’s parent or guardian shall pay to the district 25% of the tuition amount that the district is required to pay to the IHE, unless such 25% payment is determined to pose an undue financial burden on the student’s family under standards and procedures set by the Department of Public Instruction. If applicable to a course and not waived pursuant to state law, the following provisions further govern the timing and method for making such 25% payments to the district:
- The student or his/her parent or guardian must make payment for such courses made payable to the Little Chute Area School District. Payments attempted in other forms, including in U.S. currency, are not acceptable and will be refused or returned to the payor. If a check is returned as non-payable due to insufficient funds, a stop-payment order, or any other reason, any related fee(s) charged to the district by a financial institution will be added to the amount due.
- Unless the district’s business office has agreed in writing to a different plan of scheduled payments, payment is due in full within 30 days of the date on which the district provides the student (or student’s parent or guardian) with an invoice of the specific amount due. A family may request a payment plan to the district’s business office before the start date of the course(s).
- If the district receives any payment from the student or the student’s parent or guardian as a share of tuition, and it is later determined that the district is not responsible for paying tuition for the course, or if the amount received as payment exceeds the amount of the student’s actual payment obligation, the district will refund the appropriate amount to the student or his/her parent or guardian.
- Any past-due payments for a share of course tuition that are owed by a student may result in the denial of certain school-related privileges in the same manner that applies to other past-due school fees and charges.
The District shall pay for no more than the equivalent of a combined total of 18 postsecondary semester credits per student for any courses that are taken through the Start College Now technical college course program (section 38.12(14) of the state statutes) or the Early College Credit Program.
The district shall only pay for courses that are successfully completed. If a student receives a failing grade in a course or fails to complete the course, the student’s parent or guardian or the student, if an adult, is responsible for reimbursing the district for the costs paid by the district. If this reimbursement is not made upon request, the student is ineligible for any further participation in the Start College Now technical college course program and the Early College Credit Program.
In order for a student to avoid a payment obligation (where applicable) for a course taken through the Early College Credit Program, it is the sole responsibility of the student and his/her parent or guardian to ensure that the student withdraws from the course prior to the applicable IHE’s deadline for doing so such that the IHE will not charge the district any tuition for the course.
Unless otherwise required by law, the district is not responsible for providing transportation to an IHE course taken under this policy or paying for transportation-related costs.
Satisfaction of Graduation Requirements; Awarding High School Credit for College Courses; and Course Comparability Determinations
Pending the development of any new state regulations applicable to the Early College Credit Program that address the granting of high school credit for a course taken at an IHE under this policy, the satisfaction of high school graduation requirements, and/or the determination of whether a course offered by an IHE is comparable to a course offered in the district, or the adoption of other specific local standards for making such determinations within the Early College Credit Program, the district shall apply the mandatory and discretionary standards found in PI 40.07 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, as such standards were in effect as of December 31, 2017. If a student who intends to take a course through the Early College Credit Program disagrees with a district decision regarding comparability of courses, satisfaction of high school graduation requirements, or the number of high school credits to be awarded for a course (if any), the student may appeal the district’s decision to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction within 30 days after the decision.
Please see the Wisconsin DPI application page.
