AP, CLEP, DE, and Honors Courses

One of the things about homeschooling is it allows you to design a plan of study that is tailored to the needs of each student. Some students take dual enrollment (DE) courses, honors courses, music, vocational, career training, computer, coding, business, and other courses based on goals and interests. The options are almost endless. Effective August 2024, Honors courses are weighted .5 and DE/AP/CLEP courses are weighted 1.0. Weighted GPA from previous years will not be affected by the change. ***Beginning August 2024, weighted GPAs will automatically be included on transcripts.

  • Dual enrollment courses are generally equal 1 high school credit.
    • Each 3 and 4 credit college course counts as 1 high school credit.
    • Each 1 and 2 credit college course counts as .5 high school credit.
  • HLA will accept any DE courses offered by the college.
  • Dual enrollment courses should be titled according to the official college course title.
  • HLA does not allow dual enrollment credit for ACT scores as a substitution for required high school courses. The student must be taking an actual college course either online or in-person to be counted as a DE course.
  • HLA will need a transcript or grade report from the college for grade reporting purposes. An unofficial transcript or scanned PDF copy from the college website is acceptable. You can email these to records@homelifeacademy.com or fax to (901) 384-0731.
  • To Enter the DE courses in Applecore:
    • Select the course category.
    • Select Dual Enrollment.
    • Complete the Dual Enrollment information such as course number, course title, etc.
    • You will list the course by its exact course title.
    • The grade received will be listed on both the HLA transcript and the college transcript.
    • Once a DE grade is entered and the grade has been verified, the course will be locked down (TX will show next to the course).
    • TX indicates a Transfer Course (course transferred from another school or institution).
    • The TX symbol will help our transcript team to know to include the DE course on the HLA transcript.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING AP COURSES

IMPORTANT: For approved AP courses taken at a tutorial or high school, HLA must receive a school transcript for verification of In Progress or completed courses. You can email these to records@homelifeacademy.com or fax to (901) 384-0731.

  • AP Courses, which are trademarked by CollegeBoard, must be included in the AP Course Ledger with CollegeBoard in order to be designated as such on a student’s transcript. There is an audit process through CollegeBoard which is completed by teachers at schools, online schools, or homeschool providers in order to be approved to teach an approved AP course.
  • HLA is not an AP course provider, therefore students cannot use AP in the course title on their HLA transcript. To be titled an AP course (AP Chemistry), we must be able to verify the course on the AP Course Ledger with College Board, otherwise, you will need to list the course without the AP designation (Chemistry) or a title reflective of the subject area taught.
  • If an AP course was taken prior to enrollment with HLA, HLA should receive that in the student’s records and we will verify the course and include it on the student’s transcript.
  • When requesting a transcript for college admissions purposes, please specify any special requests such as including exam scores or including AP transcripts (if we have them on file).
  • AP Exams by CollegeBoard are rigorous multiple-component tests that are administered at high schools each May. High school students can earn college credit, placement, or both for qualifying AP Exam scores. Please contact your local public or private school for further information about taking AP exams the summer before the school year starts or by the time school starts in your area. For information concerning how to schedule an AP exam visit Registering-for-Exams.
  • If your student wishes to take an approved AP course, you will need to contact College Board for a list of schools in your area offering AP courses. There are options to take AP courses with local schools, tutorials, or through online options.
  • For more information about AP courses, the Audit Process & FAQ visit www.collegeboard.com.

  • HLA accepts CLEP, DSST, and other similar college-level exams toward high school credit. Note: these are not to be designated as DE courses on the high school transcript.
  • When registering with the College Board, you will need to list our school as Home Life Academy with a space because that is the way they have it listed.
  • When reporting;
    • Each CLEP, DSST exam is worth 1.0 high school credit.
    • You can title the course according to the official exam title and apply the CE tag.
    • OR, if you do not take the official CLEP or DSST exam, you can title the course according to the corresponding high school course and use the Honors tag.
  • You decide what letter grade to report for the student. As a guide, if the CLEP exam is passed, you may report an ‘A’ for the course.

Please be aware that not all homeschool courses/resources are considered as honors, even though the material may be more advanced than traditional public school resources.

Please use the following guidelines when determining if a course is designated as an Honors course:

  • The Honors course is a core course taken through a tutorial and designated by the teacher as an Honors course.
  • The curriculum is designated as an Honors course by the author/publisher.
  • The course is supplemented to MAKE the course Honors. Please list rationale for Honors designation in AppleCore.
  • Many Honors courses are taught on a college level using college-level texts or are heavily supplemented and are not typically designated prior to high school.
  • When reporting Honors courses (core courses only)
    • You can use Honors as part of your course title. Be sure to use the Honors (HN) tag.
    • Use care and only use the Honors tag or title for truly advanced level core courses.
    • Remember your child’s ACT/SAT scores should validate his/her transcript.

Note: Effective August 2024, the Honors GPA is weighted adding .5 and on a 4.5 scale while the Credit by Exam (CLEP, DSST) is weighted 1.0 and on a 5.0 scale.