Independent Study Courses (Grade Replacement)
SEC offers tutoring for high school or college credit through accredited correspondence and independent study courses from BYU Independent Study, Mesa Distance Learning Program, Pinnacle Virtual High School, Arizona Virtual Academy, Prima Vera Online High School, Blue Print Education, Indiana University, University of Missouri, University of Portland and more. These can be used to help replace or fulfill Course requirements in most public schools. Private school students must check with registrar on individual school policy. Flexible alternative to summer school.
Scottsdale Education Center is a certified proctoring location for over 190 high school correspondence courses that are accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS) and Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) and over 50 high school correspondence courses accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement as well as the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation.
Correspondence Courses
Credits earned through correspondence courses to meet graduation requirements shall be taken from an accredited institution as defined in R7-2-601. Credits earned thereby shall be limited to four (4), and only one credit may be earned in each of the following subject areas:
- English as described in
subsection (1)(a) of this rule - Social Studies
- Mathematics
- Science
To receive a diploma from a Scottsdale Unified School District high school, a student must be enrolled at the SUSD home campus for at least four classes during the semester in which the student plans to graduate.
Correspondence exams must be proctored by approved personnel, which may include home school staff. Students must receive prior approval from an administrator or his or her designee to receive credit for any correspondence course.
Repeat of a Course for Grade Improvement
A course may be repeated for remediation of an "F" or to better a poor grade. A student who fails a required course must repeat it until it is passed successfully. The credit for that course resides with the better grade, and only the better grade is computed into the GPA. The course repeated remains on the transcript, but the credit column will show "R". Only courses designated as repeat courses may be counted toward graduation more than once.
It should be noted that Honors courses differ from regular-track courses to the extent that one cannot replace the other. If a student has obtained credit in two courses in the same subject, one in the regular track and one with an Honors grade weight, the student will receive credit for both courses, and both grades will be computed into the grade point average. Only one of the courses can be used to satisfy a graduation credit (e.g., Biology I and Biology I H would not count as two lab sciences). The second course would count as an elective course.
“My GPA went up a full point by replacing my troubled grades with SEC tutoring help for my BYU orrespondence Courses in math and science.”
- SEC/Saguaro Student
The Process:
- Student must first receive course approval through his or her high school and fill out the necessary paper work.
- Student will then register independently with the course provider. SEC can provide the paperwork for registration.
- Courses taken during summer: student must commit to a minimum of 12 hours of tutoring per semester course at SEC during which time course lessons will be submitted for credit.
- Courses taken during the school year: student will set up a weekly tutoring hour at SEC.
- Student must get approval from his or her high school in order to have final exam proctored at SEC. If approved, there is a proctoring fee for finals taken and submitted.
- It is the student's responsibility to request that transcripts be sent to his or her high school, and transcripts may be requested approximately four weeks after final is submitted.