Policy 3.23.01

Part 1. 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 on-campus or on-line PSEO courses and for Minneapolis College concurrent enrollment courses without course prerequisites:

1. For juniors: class rank in the upper one-third or 66th percentile 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
2. For seniors: 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

For Minneapolis College concurrent enrollment courses with course placement prerequisites, 10th-12th grade students who meet the course prerequisites will be deemed eligible for PSEO concurrent enrollment participation.

If the applicant for on-campus PSEO or online PSEO courses or concurrent enrollment courses that do not have a course prerequisite, 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.  The course instructor (in the case of on-campus PSEO OR online PSEO courses) or faculty mentor (in the case of concurrent enrollment courses ) would decide whether or not to admit the student to the class. 

10th graders/sophomores in PSEO on-campus

• Are eligible for only CTE (Career & Technical Education) courses when taking PSEO on-campus courses. Students must pass 8th grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) in Reading and meet any other course or program prerequisites of the CTE course they wish to enroll in. These standards include but are not limited to assessment test scores, program admission or other requirements.
• If a sophomore receives a grade of C or better in the course, the student shall be allowed to take additional career or technical education courses in subsequent terms.
• Course cannot be online.
• A student who first enrolls under this provision while in 10th grade and wishes to enroll in general education courses as an 11th or 12th grade student must take the system Assessment for Course Placement and achieve the required scores prior to enrollment.

Subpart B. Eligibility Review Process

PSEO 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 2. 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 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

Minneapolis College 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 Minnesota State system office.  

Part 3. PSEO through Concurrent Enrollment Courses

Subpart A. Concurrent Enrollment Agreements

Minneapolis College 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:

1. Qualifications and responsibilities of high school instructors as defined in Subparts E and F of this procedure, including documentation of high school teacher qualification
2. College support to be provided to the instructor as defined in Subpart D of this procedure
3. Other resources, such as laboratory space and course materials, needed to support quality concurrent enrollment teaching and learning
4. Compliance with student participation requirements as specified in Part 2 and Part 4, Subpart H, of this procedure
5. Financial arrangements for offering the course(s)
6. 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 B. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Instructor Support and Mentors

For each high school teacher approved to provide PSEO instruction as a concurrent enrollment instructor, Minneapolis College shall:

1. Provide a college faculty member ("mentor") 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.
2. 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.
3. For college faculty mentors, the required activities and documentation demonstrating compliance with mentorship duties will be conducted and/or submitted according to instructions from the faculty mentor-liaison handbook. Mentors may be required to return compensation in instances when evidence of mentor work is not submitted.

Subpart C. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Instructor Designation and Expectations

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

1. Completion of an application by the high school teacher
2. Approval by the teacher's principal as part of the application
3. Review of credentials by Minneapolis College Human Resources
4. Approval or denial by dean who supervises faculty in the relevant discipline
5. High school instructors approved to teach in the concurrent enrollment program will be listed as co-instructors in ISRS along with the course mentor-liaison, though the instructor remains an employee of the school district and compensation for the instruction is entirely the responsibility of the school district.

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.

In the case that a Concurrent Enrollment instructor is found to be in non-compliance with expectations:

1. The faculty mentor-liaison or program director will outline concerns with the instructor and set a reasonable time for the instructor to address concerns and come into compliance.
2. If concerns are not corrected within the outlined timeframe, the program director will contact the appropriate high school administrator to discuss the specific steps needed for compliance.
3. If non-compliance continues, the concurrent enrollment instructor and administrator will receive a formal letter from the institution stating the date by which compliance must be met, and the consequence for continued non-compliance, which shall be cancellation of the concurrent enrollment agreement for the course.

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

Subpart D. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Textbooks

During the instructor application process, school districts must submit information about the proposed textbooks or materials to be used for the course. The program dean or academic representative for the program will approve or deny the textbook or materials as appropriate for the course. In all cases, textbooks will be categorized as college-level by the publisher.

Subpart E. PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Labs

High school laboratories used for concurrent enrollment courses must be approved before a concurrent enrollment course will be offered. The proposed course mentor-liaison or academic representative for the program will make arrangements to physically tour the laboratory and assess appropriateness for the course.

Subpart F. Drop/Withdrawal from PSEO Concurrent Enrollment Courses

Deadlines for dropping or withdrawing from concurrent enrollment courses will be on the same pro-rated basis as for courses on campus. Students who registered for a concurrent enrollment course and never attended will be administratively withdrawn.

Date of Adoption:

Date of Implementation (if different from from adoption date):

Date of Last Review: 5/30/2019

Date and Subject of Revisions: