That’s a super interesting question, Joe. Since home school programs are so varied, it’s difficult to verify their reliability, UM uses satisfactory performance on ACT/SAT scores to verify ability to benefit, and a list of courses plus a signature from the home school teacher or administrator. Missoula College, on the other hand, doesn’t require test scores of any freshman (aside from placement at Orientation).
I’ve asked OCHE for guidance in the past about your second paragraphy and this is what I received from Amy Williams at OCHE: “Here is the policy language for homeschool students from the MUS Dual Enrollment Guidelines: “(to participate in dual enrollment opportunities, home-schooled students may enroll through the school district in which they reside);” There is no further guidance on how this occurs and in fact this language may refer to students actually attending dual enrollment classes in the high school (concurrent enrollment), which would obviously need coordination with the high school. Lacking clear reference, and desiring clarification on the origin of the language, I asked OPI about how/what way home school students interact with the school district or need to for dual enrollment. Here is the response I received from OPI:
· The OPI doesn’t have administrative rules about home school students taking college courses. They can simply sign up for them at the college and get college credit. They don’t need credits from a high school.
· School districts may want homeschool students to be enrolled in the district at least quarter time so the school and receive some funding for that student (this is if the student wants to take concurrent enrollment classes). Also, these students need to meet the requirement for being a home schooled student which means they have to be registered with the county superintendent.
· I don’t know when those guidelines about homeschool students were written, but the OPI doesn’t have rules around dual enrollment except for teacher licensure.
In summary, what I have been able to tease out is that we need to check or have the family provide proof that they have registered with the superintendent as a homeschool student in order to be a dual enrollment student.”
Has anyone been checking with the school district to see if the students are registered? Am I the only one with enough home schooled student for this to be an issue? If not, maybe this is a larger conversation for Spring MACRAO, because the further I dig, the more unclear I become.
Violet Hopkins I Associate Director of Admissions I Missoula College
909 South Ave W. I Missoula, MT 59801 I Voice: 406-243-7828 I Fax: 406-243-7929 I
From: MACRAO Listserv [mailto:MACRAO@LISTSERV.GFCMSU.EDU] On Behalf Of Joe Simonsen
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2016 8:54 AM
To: MACRAO@LISTSERV.GFCMSU.EDU
Subject: Re: Homeschool question for the two year schools
Our requirements for home school students are the same as other applicants: placement for math/writing, immunizations, and high school completion. No one here has agreed on what might count as “satisfactory performance” on tests for home school admission, so any test scores provided are for the purposes of placement and not in lieu of high school transcript/diploma. We also require the home school transcript to be signed by a “home school official” and their signature to be notarized, since transcripts generated in MS Word are otherwise difficult to authenticate.
I’d be curious to hear about anyone’s experience verifying that a home school is registered with OPI. I’m given to understand that they don’t register – they’re asked to notify the local superintendent, but it isn’t an enforced requirement, and OPI does not (as far as I know) produce a list of them. OPI also doesn’t review home school curricula or verify that they “include instruction in the subjects required of public schools as a basic instructional program” as the law requires. In the absence of “satisfactory performance” from test scores, we just take it on faith that these applicants truly are college ready. This isn’t ideal, but it’s what we’ve got here.
| Joe Simonsen | |
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From: MACRAO Listserv [mailto:MACRAO@LISTSERV.GFCMSU.EDU] On Behalf Of Hopkins, Violet
Sent: Thursday, December 1, 2016 3:40 PM
To: MACRAO@LISTSERV.GFCMSU.EDU
Subject: Homeschool question for the two year schools
Hello all,
This is for the two-year schools (or those of you with 2 year experience): what do you require for admission for students who are home schooled? Are you asking for ACT/SAT scores? Something else? Are you verifying the home school is registered with OPI?
For quick reference, BOR 301: A. Students must have graduated from a high school accredited by the state accrediting agency, OR have a high school equivalency completion assessment designated by the Montana Board of Public Education to be admitted to any campus of the Montana University System. At the discretion of the institution, for students who complete their secondary education through home schooling or at unaccredited secondary schools, this requirement may be met by “satisfactory performance” on the ACT, SAT, or a recognized testing instrument defined in the Federal Register as indicative of a student’s “ability to benefit.”
C. The two-year campuses and some two-year programs of the four-year campuses of the Montana University System are open admission, in which the only academic requirement is (A) above. However, individual programs of study within those institutions may have more selective admission requirements.
Violet Hopkins I Associate Director of Admissions I Missoula College
909 South Ave W. I Missoula, MT 59801 I Voice: 406-243-7828 I Fax: 406-243-7929 I
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