June 8, 2012
TO
Superintendents
FROM
Rebecca Garland
CAREER & COLLEGE PROMISE COURSE CODE CLARIFICATIONS
The Career & College Promise program (CCP) offers opportunities for students to customize their high
school experience with college coursework that supports their post-secondary plans. The ability to
customize can also create confusion due to the array of courses that must be accommodated. We have
received many questions about course coding for CCP students. Please carefully review the information
below. We believe this discussion will clarify how school personnel should identify community college
courses taken by students in the CCP program
.
Identifying College Transfer Pathway Courses
All academic courses included in one of the four College Transfer pathways have been assigned course
codes. These codes have been distributed state-wide and are also included as part of this communication
(see attachment). The numbers on this list are assigned to the course and not to the pathway; therefore,
these course codes are valid for any student who enrolls in one of the courses, irrespective of his/her
pathway.
Only one course, ACA 122 College Transfer Success, has not been assigned a course number. This
course is not a course that receives high school credit and therefore it will not be assigned a course code
for entry into NC WISE.
Identifying Career and Technical Education Pathway Courses
All community college Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses in any career cluster will use one
of two generic course codes, depending upon the course level, plus a standardized long-title description.
Additional guidance on establishing course levels follows this course code discussion.
For Level 1 courses, please use 8598 and the type designation (I, U, T or X), plus the exact community
college course designation for the first six digits of the long title. For example, a class designated as
Level 1, titled Business Law, and identified as “BUS 210” by the community college should be coded as
follows:
8598UA
BUS110
ACADEMIC SERVICES AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
Rebecca Garland, Ed.D., Chief Academic Officer | rgarland@dpi.nc.gov
6368 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-6368 | (919) 807-3200 | Fax (919) 807-3388
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER
You are free to use the remaining characters in the long title however you wish. We recommend you use
the actual name of the community college course, as in the first example below. Any of the following
are acceptable, as are other notations not included here:
8598UA
8598UA
8598UA
8598UA
BUS110 Introduction to Business
BUS110_INTRO
BUS110_Introductory course
BUS110_businessintroduction
For Level 2 courses, please use 8599 and the type designation (I, U, T, or X), plus the exact community
college course designation for the first six digits of the long title. For example, the same class as above
(Business Law, and identified as “BUS 110” by the community college) designated as Level 2 should be
coded as follows:
8599UA
BUS225
As with Level 1 courses, you are free to use the remaining characters in the long title as you wish. Like
the example above, we recommend you use the actual name of the community college course (see the
first example below), but any of the following are acceptable, as are other locally determined notations:
8599UA
8599UA
8599UA
8599UA
BUS225 Business Finance
BUS225_BusFin
BUS225_Finance
BUS225_businessfinance
Defining CTE Pathway Course Levels
For students completing a CTE concentration, at least one of the four CTE courses must be a Level 2
course. The definition of a community college course as Level 1 or Level 2 is the responsibility of the
local school or school system, as was customary in the past via the override process. A single course
may serve as a Level 1 course for one student, but may be a Level 2 course for another student
depending upon differences in the two students’ course selections. Please use the following general
guidance when designating a student’s course levels (and, therefore, choosing between the 8598 and
8599 codes):
x
x
x
If one course is a pre-­‐requisite for another course the student wishes to take, the pre-­‐
requisite should be designated as Level 1 and the second course should be designated as Level 2. Lower-­‐level courses (i.e., 100 level vs. 200 level) may be designated Level 1 and higher-­‐
level courses may be designated Level 2. It is possible to have any combination of levels within a CTE pathway; for instance, it is possible to have one Level 1 course and three Level 2 courses. CTE Concentrators must have at least one Level 2 course. 2
Identifying Cooperative Innovative High School Pathway Courses
For students in an early college or other CIHS school, course numbers are exactly the same as for other
students. There are no special numbers for CIHS students.
If an early college student enrolls in a course that is included in a College Transfer pathway, use the
course code from the attached list as if the student enrolled as part of the CT pathway.
If an early college student enrolls in a course that is included in the Career and Technical Education
pathway, use the same course code that would be used if the student enrolled as part of the CTE pathway
(please refer to the detailed examples above), keeping in mind the following:
x
x
For CIHS students, designation of a course as Level 1 or Level 2 is irrelevant EXCEPT in situations where the student is completing a CTE concentration. For non-­‐CTE Concentrators, we suggest using 8598 for all courses. For CTE Concentrators, please designate courses as described above, taking care to identify at least one Level 2 course as part of the four-­‐course sequence. If an early college student enrolls in a course that is not included in either pathway, there are two
options:
x
x
Use the existing course code. If you cannot locate the correct course code, please contact the NC WISE Help Desk to request the code. The Help Desk may be reached at 919.807.HELP (4357) or via email at dpi.incidents@its.nc.gov. Missing course codes may need to be “re-­‐opened” or created. If counselors, data managers, or NC WISE coordinators have multiple course code needs, they should
send a consolidated list of courses needing codes to the Help Desk via email. That will result in quicker
response time than sending multiple requests for individual courses.
Please be aware that ONLY CIHS students are permitted to enroll in coursework outside the defined CT
and CTE pathways, except for permitted substitutions (discussed below). Please remember also that
ONLY CIHS students may participate in college courses as freshman and/or sophomores.
Course Substitutions
The programs of study as defined within the College Transfer pathway may not always be the best “fit”
for every CCP student. For instance, in several CT pathways, the math component as defined is not
suitable for students intending to apply to a four-year college or university in the UNC system. To
accommodate these situations, the Community College System Office allows the Chief Academic
Officer at each community college campus to substitute courses in the CCP pathways, within the
following guidelines:
x
Academic soundness – The substitution must be academically sound for the individual student requesting the substitution – no "blanket" substitutions are permitted. The substitution may NOT under any circumstances: o come from a different discipline (for instance, a college may not substitute an HUM course for ART 111), or 3
x
o be a lower level course (for example, a 100-­‐level course cannot be substituted for a required 200-­‐level course). Documentation – The decision and the justification for it (based on academic soundness) must be documented in writing. The course code guidance for substitutions is the same as for CIHS students:
x
x
x
If a student needs to substitute a course that is included in a College Transfer pathway, use the course code from the attached list as if the student enrolled as part of the CT pathway. If a student needs to substitute a course that is included in the Career and Technical Education pathway, use the same course code that would be used if the student enrolled as part of the CTE pathway. o For substitutions, designation of a course as Level 1 or Level 2 is irrelevant EXCEPT in situations where the student is completing a CTE concentration. o For non-­‐CTE Concentrators, we suggest using 8598 for all courses. For CTE Concentrators, please designate courses as described above in the CTE Pathway section, taking care to identify at least one Level 2 course as part of the four-­‐course sequence. If a student needs to substitute a course that is not included in either pathway, there are two options: o If your students have taken the course in previous semesters, please use the existing course code. o If your students have never taken the course in question, please contact the NC WISE Help Desk to request the correct course code. The Help Desk may be reached at 919.807.HELP (4357) or via email at dpi.incidents@its.nc.gov. Finally, thank you for your patience as we finalize the CCP program logistics. I understand this has been
a difficult process for everyone in the field due to the rapid rollout required to accommodate the
legislative mandate. If you have additional questions or concerns about identifying course numbers for
Career & College Promise students, please contact Rob Hines at 919.807.3244 or via email at
rob.hines@dpi.nc.gov.
c:
Principals
Counselors
NC WISE Coordinators
C&I Leaders
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