College policy 3.23

Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEO)

Part 1. Definitions

Subpart A. Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEO)

The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program is the program established by Minnesota State Statute 124D.09 to "promote rigorous educational pursuits and provide a wider variety of options for students." Through PSEO, Minnesota high school students may earn both secondary and post-secondary credit for college or university courses completed on a college or university campus, at a high school, or at another location.

Subpart B. Concurrent Enrollment Course

A PSEO concurrent enrollment course is a college level course made available through the PSEO program, offered through a secondary school, and taught by a secondary teacher.

Part 2. Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Expectations

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities shall provide opportunities for students to participate in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program. Students shall be admitted according to criteria that promote progress through college-level coursework and that augment their continued academic growth consistent with board policies and system procedures.

Subpart A. Enrollment on Campus

Enrollment of PSEO students in courses at MCTC shall be allowed on the basis of available space as defined by the college.

Subpart B. Compliance with Standards

MCTC requires all PSEO students to perform to the college's academic and student conduct standards. Students that do not meet satisfactory academic progress after each term shall be suspended from the PSEO program. Students may appeal the suspension to the Admissions Office and if approved will be reinstated on a probationary status.

Subpart C. Developmental Courses

MCTC does not enroll students in developmental courses through PSEO.

Subpart D. Summer Session Courses

The Minnesota PSEO program does not enroll students in summer session courses. High school students seeking summer session enrollment may be eligible to enroll at MCTC if they meet Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) eligibility requirements and expectations and pay for their enrollment. Students admitted under this option are responsible for payment of all tuition, fees, books and supplies associated with their enrollment. Refer to the High School Non-PSEO Program webpage: http://www.minneapolis.edu/prospectivestudents/nonpseo.cfm for application procedures and deadlines.

Part 3. Admission Requirements for PSEO Students

Subpart A. Eligibility Standards

PSEO participation shall be available to juniors and seniors enrolled through a Minnesota high school, home school, or alternative learning center who present evidence of the ability to perform college-level work. Such evidence includes the following:

For juniors, 15 years of age or older, class rank in the upper one-third or 66th precentile of their graduating class or an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or a score at or above the 70th percentile on a nationally standardized, norm-referenced test such as ACT or SAT;
For seniors, 15 years of age or older, class rank in the upper one-half or 50th percentile of their graduating class or an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher or a score at or above the 50th percentile on a nationally standardized, norm-referenced test such as ACT or SAT;
PSEO applicants choosing to enroll in college courses, including PSEO concurrent enrollment courses, shall have a minimum placement into READ 0200 as demonstrated on the MnSCU approved Assessment for Course Placement. In addition, students enrolling in courses must meet academic program placement and minimum course placement requirements listed;
If the applicant does not meet class rank or GPA requirements or if the high school/home school does not have a class rank, a letter of recommendation must be provided by the high school counselor, principal or instructor attesting to the applicant's ability to perform at the college level.

Refer to the PSEO Program webpage:

http://www.minneapolis.edu/prospectivestudents/pseoapplicant.cfm for application procedures and deadlines.

Subpart B. Eligibility Review Process

Applicant files will be reviewed by the Admissions Office after the program deadline and candidates for admission will be notified of their admission status via US mail within 30 days of the program deadline.

Part 4. PSEO Student Support and Performance

Subpart A. Student Support

All applicants admitted to the PSEO program are required to attend a mandatory PSEO orientation to ensure that they are provided with information that describes available academic and student support services and outlines student responsibilities, including their responsibility to communicate with their high school about their academic performance in courses offered through PSEO.

Subpart B. Student Performance and Program Effectiveness

MCTC collects data about the performance of each student enrolled in courses through PSEO for use in monitoring student progress and measuring PSEO program effectiveness. These data shall be reported to the MnSCU Office of the Chancellor.

Part 5. PSEO Offered Through Concurrent Enrollment Courses

Subpart A. Definition

As defined in Policy 3.23, a PSEO concurrent enrollment course is a college or university course made available through the PSEO program, offered through a high school, and taught by a high school teacher. As specified in Minnesota Statute 124D.09, concurrent enrollment courses enroll only high school students who may earn both high school and college credit for satisfactorily completed courses.

Subpart B. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Courses

PSEO concurrent enrollment courses shall be college-level courses approved through the college curriculum process, shall meet institutional standards required for accrediation, and shall follow the college-approved course outline.

Subpart C. Concurrent Enrollment Agreements

MCTC and each school district wishing to offer one or more concurrent enrollment courses shall complete an agreement, signed by the appropriate representative of each party, which shall, at a minimum, address:

Qualifications and responsibilities of high school instructors as defined in Subparts E and F of this procedure, including documentation of high school teacher qualification;
College support to be provided to the instructor as defined in Subpart D of this procedure;
Other resources, such as laboratory space and course materials, needed to support quality concurrent enrollment teaching and learning;
Compliance with student participation requirements as specified in Part 2 and Part 4, Subpart H, of this procedure;
Financial arrangements for offering the course(s); and
Duration of the agreement and frequency of its review, which shall be at least annually.

The form of the agreement between the college and a district and the financial arrangements for delivering concurrent enrollment courses shall be in conformance with system-determined practices for concurrent enrollment agreements that exist at the time the agreement is signed.

Subpart D. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Instructor Support

For each high school teacher approved to provide PSEO instruction as a concurrent enrollment instructror, MCTC shall:

Provide a college faculty member who shall communicate regularly with the concurrent enrollment instructor and monitor assignments, exams, projects, student academic achievement, and instructional effectiveness to ensure that the course meets the learning outcomes contained in the course outline approved by the college and that students are held to college-level standards; and
Provide each concurrent enrollment instructor with a required orientation to the concurrent enrollment program and on-going opportunities to participate in appropriate campus-based and/or program-specific faculty development activities.

Subpart E. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Instructor Designation

Designation of a high school teacher to be a concurrent enrollment instructor requires:

Completion of an application by the high school teacher;
Approval by the teacher's principal as part of the application; and
Approval by MCTC after consultation with faculty in the relevant discipline, consistent with Subpart F of this procedure.

Participation in a concurrent enrollment program by a high school teacher shall require compliance with all expectations for communicating with the college faculty member and participation in any required orientation and professional development activities, as outlined in the concurrent enrollment agreement and as described in Subparts C and D of this procedure.

Subpart F. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Instructor Qualifications

The minimum qualification for concurrent enrollment instructors shall be those determined by MCTC, consistent with the system-established credential fields and minimum qualifications for faculty designated in MnSCU Board Policy 3.32 and System Procedure 3.32.1, College Faculty Credentialing.

When no teacher in the high school meets these qualifications, the partners shall explore a variety of options for providing access to courses through the PSEO program, including:

On-line courses taught by college faculty members;
On-campus college courses; and
College courses offered by a college faculty member in the high school.

If the partners determine that none of these options is feasible, and with the approval of MCTC and the school district as specified in Subpart E of this procedure, a teacher who does not meet the minimum qualifications may be approved to teach a concurrent enrollment course based on evidence of a combination of substantial teaching experience, advanced coursework appropriate to the discipline, and/or other relevant experience and expertise. Approval to teach a PSEO concurrent enrollment course on this basis may be made contingent upon:

Completion of additional graduate coursework;
Field experiences; or
A program of structured independent study appropriate to the discipline or credential field within mutually agreed upon time parameters.

A high school teacher who was approved as a concurrent enrollment instructor prior to November 10, 2008 may continue to teach the same course or courses at the discretion of MCTC after consultation with the faculty member assigned to work with that high school teacher.

An annual report of high school teachers approved by MCTC as concurrent enrollment instructors shall be provided to the Office of the Chancellor. The report shall include the total number of concurrent enrollment instructors, the number of concurrent enrollment instructors who do not meet the minimum qualifications, and information about the basis for approving those concurrent enrollment instructors who do not meet minimum qualifications.

Subpart G. Students in PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Courses

PSEO concurrent enrollment courses shall not simultaneously enroll PSEO and non-PSEO high school students except as provided in Subpart H of this procedure.

Subpart H. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Exceptions

A high school that wishes to have MCTC offer a PSEO concurrent enrollment course to its students, but cannot generate sufficient enrollment to offer that course only to PSEO students, may request approval for an exception from the president of the college. The president shall approve or deny the request after the appropriate college consultation process. In any concurrent enrollment course that enrolls both PSEO and non-PSEO students:

PSEO students shall be the majority of the students in the course; and
The concurrent enrollment instructor and college faculty member shall ensure that all PSEO students are held to college-level course standards.

An annual report of all concurrent enrollment exceptions granted by MCTC shall be provided to the MnSCU Office of the Chancellor and shall include information about efforts made to reduce the number of exceptions approved.

Date effective: 12/16/2008
Date last amended: 12/16/2008