College Coursework for Acceleration and Enrichment
Concurrent College Studies Program
Please see the Guidance Dept. if you are interested in participating in the options listed below
All CUSD students have access to a valuable arrangement the school district has with Saddleback College. The Concurrent College Studies Program lists over 200 courses that CUSD students may take at Saddleback College at no charge. Many of these courses are transferable to either the California State University or University of California systems. Students in grade nine and ten may, with permission of their principal, enroll in a Saddleback College course as one of their required six courses. Students in grades 11 and 12 may enroll in one of these courses to meet their required five classes with permission of the principal. Students in the spring semester of grade 12 may petition the Executive Director, Secondary Instructional Services to take two classes at Saddleback College. All of the Saddleback College courses are available as electives and do not replace CUSD required core courses such as English, history/social science, mathematics, or science. However, this does not prevent students from taking additional courses within other disciplines beyond the CUSD graduation requirements.
Any time a CUSD student enrolls in a Saddleback College course for Concurrent Enrollment credit, he/she must be enrolled in a course giving three credits/units. If a student elects to enroll in a course offering a lesser number of credits, the student must select other courses until the amount of credit for the semester equals three credits. This includes Physical Education.
District Policy 6146 states "College courses will be equated to high school credits on the following basis: each semester unit of college credit is equal to 1-1/3 high school credits."
Correspondence Courses
The District accepts private, independent study course work, including course work completed via the Internet, under specific guidelines (Board Policy 6146). California state high school graduation requirements (Education Code 51225.3) may not be taken via independent study unless the student has failed the course on his/her first attempt. The District will accept not more than ten (10) credits from private study during one school year. Further, students may not accumulate more than ten (10) credits from private study in the following academic disciplines: English, history, mathematics, and science. In world languages, students may accumulate as many private study credits as the granting institution offers as long as that language is not offered at the Capistrano high school of attendance.
Institute for Educational Advancement Gifted Resource Center--Provides a search mechanism based on personal criteria leading to a list of many correspondence schools which provide courses for the gifted and talented high school student. In the "Gifted Resource Center" look under "Distance Learning."