Dual Credit Counselor Handbook

CWI dual credit students are charged $75 per credit for any dual credit class.

• Some classes may have additional fees (e.g., lab fees, supplies, and material fees).
• Dual credit classes taken at the high school or through IDLA may provide students with textbooks at no cost to the student.
• Students who complete classes online or on the CWI campus are responsible for purchasing textbooks.
• There is no application fee required to register for dual credit classes.
• To find out when payment is due, please refer to the Important Dates section on Dual Credit Advising & Resources. 

Advanced Opportunities

To support students in opportunities to earn college credit, Idaho’s Department of Education provides several programs through the Advanced Opportunities initiative. Through the initiative, high school students in Idaho are allocated funds to use toward the cost of college credits, training, and courses as outlined below. Advanced Opportunities funding does not cover the cost of textbooks or additional fees. 

Public School

• Grades 7 – 12
• $4,625 allocated to use toward eligible expenses
• No state funding limit
• Dual Credits: college course taken by high school students that are transcribed on both their high school and college transcripts
• Exams: college credit bearing or career-technical exams (e.g., Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or Career & Technical Education (CTE) exams)
  • Public Schools Approved Exams & Costs
• Workforce Training: regionally-approved workforce training courses at Idaho public colleges
• Overload Courses: high school level course taken in excess of the student's regular school day
• Out-of-District Funding: Covered when course has approved Advanced Opportunities funding. If funding is not approved for a course, students may submit a Certificate of Residency to their county.

Nonpublic School

• Students attending a Cognia accredited Idaho nonpublic school in grades 7 – 12
• $2,500 allocated to use toward eligible expenses
• State funding limited
  • Program Funding Allocation Procedure
• Dual Credits: college course taken by high school students that are transcribed on both their high school and college transcripts
• Exams: college credit bearing or career-technical exams (e.g., Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or Career & Technical Education (CTE) exams)
  • Nonpublic Schools Approved Exams & Costs
• Workforce Training: not included
• Overload Courses: not included
• Out-of-District Funding: Not covered by Advanced Opportunities funding. Student may submit a Certificate of Residency to their county.

How to Apply for Advanced Opportunities Funding

A great way to support your dual credit students is to familiarize yourself with the CWI Dual Credit page. Here you will find: 

• What is Dual Credit? – eligibility, locations, cost, financial assistance, and available programs and classes
• Registration & Important Dates
• Advising & Student Resources

Understand Division of Responsibilities

As a high school counselor with a lot of responsibilities, we want to support you as much as possible! It works best for everyone involved if you are responsible for the high school side of things (high school graduation requirements, high school policies/procedures, etc.) and, at your best discretion, refer the student to us for any questions about their CWI classes, degrees/certificates, processes, etc.    

Promoting Self-Advocacy

Students who participate in the dual credit program are asked to take ownership of their college education. For questions about a student's record, class assignments, or degree or certificate requirements, please encourage the student to contact Dual Credit directly prior to any parent or guardian involvement. 

College Resources

In order to direct students appropriately, parents and guardians are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the College resources such as Tutoring Services, the Library, and Dual Credit Advising. 

Support

Parents and guardians can support their student by listening, providing reassurance, refraining from coming to the rescue when there is a problem, and encouraging time management and a healthy balance between academics and extracurricular activities. 

CWI places a high priority on student advising and considers it an integral part of the student’s academic experience. CWI Dual Credit has three Academic Advisors dedicated primarily to assisting students in defining and achieving their academic goals and making choices consistent with their interests, aspirations, and degree requirements.

Advising Resources

Major/Career Exploration

Major and career exploration is a process of exploring and choosing a college program/major or area of interest. Advisors can help students explore different options and see what may best fit their interests or career goals. Advisors can also help students interested in career exploration take a FREE MyPlan assessment.

Certificate/Degree Planning

Students who know which program/major they would like to pursue or are pursuing a General Education Academic Certificate and have already completed a dual credit class can meet with an advisor to get a semester-by-semester plan of what it would look like to pursue that degree.

• • The student must first fill out the High School Schedule Worksheet which tells the advisor their remaining high school schedule/high school graduation requirements. This includes a way to designate which classes the student is taking for dual credit at their high school or through IDLA.
  • After receiving the High School Schedule Worksheet, the student’s Dual Credit Advisor will see which classes they are taking through their high school and fill in the remaining classes that will be needed to complete their degree through CWI.

When to Meet with an Advisor

Any student who has already completed a dual credit class and is interested in earning a degree or certificate from CWI can make an appointment to meet with a Dual Credit Advisor. To see who best to contact and how to schedule an appointment, visit Dual Credit Advising & Resources.

Advising Appointments

Expectations

Students are required to be present for all advising appointments. Anyone else (parents/guardians, counselors, etc.) are more than welcome to join in these appointments, but the student must be present and be the main communicator during these appointments.

Content

During advising appointments, advisors will discuss an overview of the program, pros and cons of receiving a college degree or certificate while in high school, the degree planning process, as well as answer any specific questions the student may have.

Duration/Location

Advising appointments can be anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour, depending on what the student would like to go over. Appointments can be schedule on-campus, online (via Zoom), or over the phone. If a student is meeting with an advisor for the first time, an in-person or online appointment is required.

Frequency

We recommend students who are pursuing a degree or certificate schedule an advising appointment each semester (once a year at minimum) to make sure they are on track with their plan and nothing has changed. Students are able to schedule an advising appointment whenever they want to and as often as needed.

Graduation

Students graduating with an associate degree or an academic certificate from CWI by high school graduation are required to meet with their advisor the fall semester of their senior year to go over the dual credit graduation requirements. 

• Students will apply for admission to CWI, apply for graduation, and RSVP for the commencement ceremony.
• Students receiving their General Education Certificate are not eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony.

Students pursuing an associate degree or academic certificate through CWI after high school graduation should meet with their advisor the fall semester of their senior year to go over the admissions process.

• Students will apply for admission to CWI, apply for financial aid, complete New Student Orientation, and connect with their new advisor.

Dropping/Withdrawing from a Class

It is the student’s responsibility to drop or withdraw from a class by completing a Withdrawal Form. Completed forms should be sent to dualcredit@cwi.edu by the deadline.

• Advanced Opportunities funding could be affected if a student fails or withdraws from a class.
• When a student takes an IDLA course for dual credit, they must first drop the course through IDLA and submit a withdrawal form to CWI to drop the dual credit portion of the class.

Appeals

Students may appeal any decision they believe is false or unfair. Students interested in filing an appeal are encouraged to contact Dual Credit for assistance.

Grade Appeal

This procedure is used when a student believes the final grade assigned for a class, taken on campus or online at CWI, was based on prejudice, discrimination, arbitrary or capricious action, or other reasons not related to academic performance.

• A student must first consult with their instructor to try and work out the issue.
• If the issue is not resolved, the student must then appeal to the instructor’s supervisor.
• If the issue is still not resolved, the student can then submit an Academic Grade Appeal.

Academic Records Appeal

This procedure is followed when students want to request an exception to academic policies or deadlines, which may include requesting a drop (no W grade issued), registration, or a withdrawal (W grade issued) past the deadline.

• Student should complete an Academic Record Appeal Request.
• As part of this request, the student must also submit a typed letter of explanation, a typed letter from their teacher/counselor, and any other supporting documentation (e.g., medical records, financial records, pictures, etc.). These items should be completed prior to completing the request as they will need to be attached to the online form. 

Updating Student Information

If a student needs to update or correct personal information such as their name, birth date, or social security number, they can do so by completing a Student Information Update Form. Completed forms should be sent to dualcredit@cwi.edu along with a copy of their government-issued ID.  

Students who are taking classes on campus or online at CWI can update their address, email, or phone number directly in their Self-Service Toolkit, accessed on myCWI. Visit Locate Your Student ID & Profile in the Dual Credit Strong Start Guide for step-by-step instructions.

Transcripts

Students who are taking classes on campus or online at CWI can access their unofficial transcript in their Self-Service Toolkit, accessed on myCWI. Visit View Grades & Transcripts in the Dual Credit Strong Start Guide for step-by-step instructions.

Visit Transcripts & Verifications to request to have your official CWI transcript sent to another institution.

• An official transcript is required to transfer credits from CWI classes to another institution.
• To determine which CWI dual credit classes will transfer to meet degree requirements at another institution, students must contact the institution directly.