Hello, everyone!
Welcome to the family information page for the College and Career Promise program at Southwestern Community College.
You’re all very different - parents, grandparents, family members and others - but what you have in common are young people who are about to launch their college careers from a high school setting.
This is an exciting time! Let’s talk about what we can do for your students and what you can do to support them:
- One big difference between high school and college is FERPA, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, passed by Congress in 1974. FERPA means that colleges need written permission from students to reveal anything more than “directory information”, i.e., name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. This means that without written permission from students, we can’t discuss their grades, attendance, or academic performance with you. This applies even to students who are under 18 and are still living at home.
- This is part of a general cultural difference between high school and college. In high school the institutional relationship is with the students and their parents; in college the institutional relationship is almost exclusively just with the student. For example, parents calling a high school teacher to talk about their student’s performance is perfectly routine; but it’s not really part of the culture of higher education. CCP students, like all college students, are treated like adults even if they are not legally one yet.
Think of college as your students' job. They take responsibility for their actions, it’s up to them to understand what’s going on, they talk to their supervisor, they expect to be judged on outcomes, they are responsible for their own success.
So with all this in place, what can you do to support your student? Plenty!
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Review our CCP brochure so you can become familiar with our requirements, policies, and procedures. Make sure your student has completed Admission, Registration, and Keys to Success Form - particularly since the latter needs your signature.
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Make sure your student has all necessary supplies: textbooks, technology, a reliable way to connect to the Internet before the first day of class.
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Stay in touch with your students! Talk to them about what they’re learning, how things are going, and check with them that they’re doing the work they need to do to succeed. They may be swimming solo now, but you’re still their coach. Your role as their educational guide and mentor hasn’t ended - it’s just changed.
Special Content for Homeschooling Families:
Hello!
I’m writing you this special note as a product of a homeschooling family myself, because I know this can be an especially difficult time. You’ve had the opportunity to monitor your young learners' educational progress and mentor them through an exciting time in their lives. Don’t worry - your role in mentoring them isn’t over by any means; it’s just changed.
Here are some tips I’ve picked up to smooth your learner’s transition into SCC:
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Make sure you have the right paperwork to get your student admitted into our program. Your student’s transcript should look something like this: Sample Homeschool Transcript. If you’ve been keeping it in a different format, here’s a blank version where you can transfer grades: Homeschool Transcript Template. Feel free to reach out to our office if you’d like a more detailed run-through of how to make sure all students are treated fairly by the system.
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This is a good time to encourage your learners to get to know people outside of their immediate social circle so they can impress them with their talents. Recommendation letters from professors, staff, and other people who have professional (rather than family) relationships with them are going to have a lot of weight when they’re looking for a job or a four-year degree after they graduate.
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As you read on our main page, FERPA means we can’t disclose academic information about our students to parents without getting the written permission of the students. Here’s a link to our FERPA release form if that’s something your student would like to do. Additionally, another thing that can help is making sure that the person who’ll be most in contact with us is listed on your official NCDPI forms as the principal of your homeschool. That way, even if there’s an issue with FERPA, we can still share information with you as it’s considered one educational institution (us) talking to another (your homeschool.)
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It’s okay to “feel your feelings” - this is a big moment in your learners' lives and yours! Stay in touch with them about their learning and their classes. You can help them stay on track; and with all the new things they’ll be learning, you’ll probably have some new and interesting things to talk about. Talk with them about their plans once they have their degree; you’re still a great source of knowledge for them.
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Relax! You raised smart kids, and they’re attending a good school. You’ve got it!
NC Community Colleges have tried to answer some of your frequently asked questions below. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have more!
FAQ:
How do students apply to participate in the Career & College Promise program?
How to Enroll and Register for Courses
Our registration periods occur before the beginning of each semester, exact dates can be found on the SCC academic calendar. All students must complete the following forms:
Public or Private High Schools
Step 1: Speak to someone in your guidance office about fitting an SCC class into your high school schedule.
Step 2: Speak to the CCP Advisor at your high school.
Feel free to contact the CCP Advisor for your school directly! We can help you look at which class(es) and pathways might be most appropriate for you.
You will need the following documents:
A. Your High School Transcript
B. Test Scores (if you have taken the ACT, SAT, Pre-ACT, or Pre-SAT)
Home School
Please arrange a meeting with a Career and College Promise Advisor based on your county of residence. At this meeting you will need to provide the following documents:
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High School Transcript- Here is an example of what we accept
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Home School Verification Card with the Principal Listed
Can high school students enroll in a community college outside of Career & College Promise?
No, except for some non-credit courses taken on a self-supporting basis within continuing education
What is the maximum number of college credits that a CCP student can take?
There is no maximum number of college credits that a CCP student can take. However, students must complete their entire CCP pathway before pursuing additional courses. All CCP participants must maintain eligibility status.
Are local colleges permitted to let high school students take a course outside the pathway at the same time as their pathway-completing course?
No, students must complete their pathway before taking additional courses.
Can high school students take community college courses in the summer and have tuition waived?
All curriculum courses taken by Career and College Promise students at community colleges in accordance with in G.S. 115D-20(4).are tuition-waived except courses offered on a self-supporting basis. (This applies to Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.)
Will CCP students receive honors or AP credit for completing college courses?
All community college courses included on the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) will receive weighted credit in accordance with NCDPI policy GCS-L-004. CTE and other courses not included in the CAA are not eligible for weighted credit.
Are there any community college courses that DPI will allow to count towards high school core course graduation requirements?
Yes, principals are permitted to award dual credit based upon course content relative to available high school courses and State Board of Education policy GCS-M-001, which allows students in a College Transfer pathway to receive high school credit toward graduation requirements using community college courses. Additionally, some CTE college courses may count towards high school CTE core requirements. Contact the high school counselor or principal for more information.
Are there any minimum class attendance requirements for CCP students?
CCP students enrolled in community college courses will be held to the same attendance and academic requirements as traditional college students.
What constitutes a “junior" or “senior” standing for CCP?
Junior or senior standing is determined by the local school administrative unit.
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?
No, high school graduates cannot participate in CCP. However, if the high school semester ends after the community college semester has started, the student would still be eligible for CCP. (Example: The community college semester begins on January 6th and the high school
semester ends January 18th – the student would still be eligible for CCP because they were still a high school student when community college semester started).
Home school students and private school students:
Are home school and private school students eligible to participate in Career & College Promise?
Yes, students attending a registered home school or a private school may participate in CCP. Generally, private school students are required to establish eligibility using the same criteria applied to public school students (GPA, assessment scores). Home school students and students from private schools not using traditional grading scales shall follow our established procedures for assessing eligibility and determining placement.
Can a college set a minimum and maximum age limit for home-schooled students? How do we know if they are juniors or seniors?
No, the home school student’s principal (usually a parent) must certify that the student is a junior or senior and is making progress toward graduation.
Funding:
Who pays the cost of the student’s text books?
Textbooks are a student’s responsibility, however, depending on what school the student is enrolled in, there may be local provisions for them. Students should check with their principal or counselor to verify how these costs are paid.
Are student fees (e.g., technology fees and insurance fees) waived in addition to the waived tuition for CCP students?
Southwestern Community College generally does not charge student fees.
Are any funds available to assist the high schools with transporting students to the college’s campus?
Cooperative Innovative High Schools (including early college high schools, middle college high schools, and other CIHS models) get transportation funding. Otherwise transportation is the student’s responsibility. No additional transportation funding is available for other CCP students.
If you’d like more information about CCP at Southwestern Community College, please email CCP@southwesterncc.edu. We hope to hear from you!
