Post Secondary Education Opportunity

College Credit Plus

Dual Enrollment and PSEO has been replaced by College Credit Plus.

If you are currently a sophomore or junior at Tuslaw High School the Postsecondary Enrollment Options program (PSEO) can provide you with an opportunity to take college level courses for free. The colleges you can go to are limited only by your willingness to pursue this opportunity and your academic standing. The purpose of this program is to promote rigorous academic pursuits and provide a wider variety of options to students. You and your parents may have many questions; hopefully this guide will assist you as you begin to figure out if PSEO is right for you.

Here are some of the facts about PSEO from the state guidelines:

You are allowed to enroll in PSEO for most any nonreligious courses colleges offer. Please note that some colleges limit the choices of courses and/or the number of credit hours taken. Speech does not count as an English credit for graduation.

Athletic eligibility still counts under PSEO and those considerations should be fully explored with Mrs. Derheimer when scheduling. General rule of thumb: students need to take at least 5 courses. It is recommended that students take more than that to ensure athletic eligibility. Some courses are now being offered as 8 week classes. These courses will only count for 1 nine weeks towards eligibility and another course will be needed for the remainder of the semester.

You must have all paperwork returned (Intention Form and the Acknowledgement form) by March 30th (no exceptions). These sheets notify the district office of your intentions. Many schools have application deadlines that need to be met also. Check with each institution individually to become aware of those deadlines.

In order to be admitted you and your parents must follow all steps as outlined by the college or university you choose. Tuslaw Schools have no control over any aspect of the PSEO application, scheduling, or restrictions for the institution you may be applying to. Students should be completing their own applications, not the parents. Be in contact with the institution to be aware of what you need to turn in. It is your responsibility to contact the university and make sure the correct information is turned in.

As outlined in the Ohio Revised Code sections 3365.02 and 3365.07, students may enroll in courses under either of the following options:

Option A is for college credit only and you have to pay for everything.

Option B has us, Tuslaw Schools, pay for tuition and books. Option B also allows students to earn both high school credit and college credit. Most students and parents choose Option B under the PSEO program.

Credits for college classes taken are counted towards graduation requirements for Tuslaw High School. You need to use the Carnegie Units sheet in this packet to figure just how much each college class is worth to our school.

Students CANNOT exceed 40 semester hours during the course of a school year (including high school and college courses). If a student exceeds 40 semester hours, they will be required to pay for the additional credits. For example: A student takes 2 credits for the year at THS (2 cr. x 5 = 10 semester hours – see Carnegie Conversion Chart at end of packed), they are then able to take 30 hours at the college level throughout the course of the entire year (ex: 15 hours each semester). Exceeding the 40 semester hours is a very, very hectic and tough schedule. We do not recommend that students carry this heavy of a course load. Please be sure to divide courses equally among semesters to ensure that you are athletically eligible (if necessary).

Students in PSEO may attend full time (13 credit hours) or part time at the college level with the remainder of the day at THS.

** All high school students must have a full schedule. Partial schedules are not accepted and you will be required to add additional courses.

Do not count on going to college classes only two days per week. That works for some students, but not for all. You must schedule your PSEO courses around your high school courses. THS teachers will not allow you to attend 2 or 3 days per week because you do not want to take PSEO classes every day of the week. That is the choice you are making when you choose to take PSEO classes. You may have to go 5 days per week. Also, you may want to carpool with others, but that may not work for your schedule. Students participating in PSEO may pay a substantial amount of money in gas (please consider that when deciding about the PSEO program).

High School courses are your first priority. It is difficult, if not impossible, to miss class at THS. Your teachers here are not required to work around your PSEO schedule. You need to work around the high school schedule for your PSEO courses. This is true for second semester also (and your course times may change 2nd semester as the college schedule changes.) Keep this in mind if you have a really tight time frame for allowing courses. It is easier to schedule if you have a larger window of time to schedule the courses.

Should you go PSEO?

PSEO has special considerations and ramifications if you choose to participate. Here are a few things to consider.

If you plan well, this program can help you in making future career and education decisions.

You are always a high school student and you must fulfill the requirements for Tuslaw Local Schools. You should have a complete understanding of your earned credits and the credits you must complete in order to earn a diploma. Colleges do not have any idea what Tuslaw requires and that responsibility lies on the student.

Grades you earn in PSEO will effect positively or negatively your GPA. Grading scales may be different than the THS grading scale. Grades are transferred as a grade, not a percentage (regardless of the grading scale at the college level).

Part-time students have to seek information from both Tuslaw and your PSEO school and carefully schedule. You have to maintain 6 credits here to be full time. 13 credits are considered to be full-time at PSEO (and eligible for athletics).

These classes are college level and students who participate should be able to work without academic supervision and have self-discipline both academically and socially. This is the one where you have to be candid with yourself and parents about your readiness to leave our school.

Extracurricular involvement will/may suffer due to PSEO. You will not be in the building for all/part of the day. There’s only so much you can do and your schedule may be as such something you currently are involved in may not work any longer.

Students taking less than 5 classes at Tuslaw will not be eligible for Honor Roll or Merit Roll (or an academic letter due to the fact that those are based on honor roll and merit roll).

There is some financial commitment. Students who receive an “F” for any subject will be financially responsible for all cost/s associated with the class they failed. In addition, there are financial consequences of dropping a class based on each individual college (students are financially responsible for dropped classes after 14 calendar days.) Tuslaw will not pay for a student to retake a college level course (ex: a student can’t take Psychology two times at Stark State). Lastly, Tuslaw will not pay for transitional or remedial courses at the college level (nor do they count towards graduation requirements). Example Cost: Stark State Courses are $116 per semester hour (most classes are 3 hours) – Dropping a course or failing a course could cost $348 dollars. That price may be more costly at other schools. Each school has their own policy for dropping courses. For the most part, students are able to drop the course within the first two weeks without penalty. After the two week period, the fee will be the equivalent of the entire course.

Should a student fail a course in college that is being taken for high school credit, credit shall not be awarded. If a failed course is a graduation requirement, the student will not graduate.

Returning books: All PSEO books are purchased by Tuslaw Local Schools. At the end of the semester, students attending Stark State should return their books to Mrs. Derheimer. Students attending all other universities should return their books to that college/university. Students attending Stark State will be billed for their books if they do not return them to Mrs. Derheimer.

Beginning with the class of 2014, all students will need to fulfill a state required “Financial Literacy” curriculum.

THS has no knowledge of how well/poorly students are achieving in each class. We are not given grades at the typical interim time/report card time. Students will only receive one grade (at the end of the semester.) The colleges do not inform high schools when students are not attending a class, etc. Students are now considered college students and they will be treated as one. Many schools will not update parents on their child’s progress without the student being present. Students may drop classes at any time without permission from the school or parents. A parent is financially responsible for this. Colleges will not discuss concerns you have about a course, content, assignments, etc. That is up to the student to discuss such concerns. The college will not talk to parents without the student being there.

It is very important to carefully weigh this decision. If PSEO does not work out during the first semester, it may be difficult (if not impossible) to return to courses at Tuslaw. Many of our courses are year-long courses and students are not able to enter the course in the middle of the year or the middle of a semester course.

NEW this year…. Financial Aid – Students are eligible for a specific number of credit hours worth of financial aid at the college level. For example – a student may be eligible to receive financial aid (loans, grants, etc.) for 150 credit hours. If a student earns 30 credits through the college credit plus program, the student would then only be eligible for financial aid for 120 credit hours (3 years) at the college level. This is going to be harmful for those students who may want to double major or who may end up changing their major. At that point, the student would run out of financial aid and the final year of school would have to be funded without financial aid.

Advantages to PSEO are:
Opportunity to take courses that are not offered here at Tuslaw Schools
Chance to experience college life prior to making a final decision your senior year
Earn credits at both the high school and the college level.
Explore classes you might be taking in your chosen career field to determine if that is the best fit for you

Disadvantages or risks to PSEO are:
Reduced time and opportunities here at Tuslaw
Increased travel time & winter driving issues
Increases responsibility for learning
Could prevent work involvement
No guarantee you will get courses in college you want or the courses at THS you want
Scheduling difficulty/conflicts. Sometimes it may be difficult or impossible to take the courses a student may want at both schools due to scheduling conflicts. Teachers at THS do not have to accommodate your PSEO/Dual Enrollment schedule. Any special circumstances MUST be set prior to the end of the school year. Teachers are not here in the summer to make arrangements with and cannot be expected to work around your PSEO schedule (ex: missing days of class, coming late, leaving early, etc. without PRIOR approval.) It is not recommended that students miss portions of their THS classes in order to take a PSEO/Dual Enrollment course (especially core classes: English, Math, Science, Social Studies).
Many students dislike the lack of connection to school. You will need to work to maintain that connection and be in the loop with school activities
Some post secondary schools (ex: Case Western Reserve, The College of Wooster, etc.) are picky about accepting PSEO credit (or will not accept it at all). You are highly encouraged to discuss PSEO with the college that you hope to attend in order to be fully aware of their policies.

*** Students are responsible for making sure all deadlines are met and all forms are completed/received by the college. These schools are often bogged down by paperwork and constant contact with the college is essential. Also, it is important to complete paperwork early in the spring in order to have all forms processed prior to the end of the school year. I am not in the office all summer and cannot resolve problems that arise during the middle of the summer.

PSEO Step by Step

Attend meeting in January or meet personally with Mrs. Derheimer (this is a state mandated PSEO/DE requirement).

Sign up for the ACT as soon as possible. The deadline to register for the April 12th test is March 7th. Go to to register. Students can also take the SAT. Go to for more information on testing dates and fees. **It is very important to have your scores sent directly from ACT to the schools you are applying to. This can be done at the time of registration or you can log on to prior to taking the test. This ensures that all scores are received by the college in a timely manner. There is a significant time lag in between when scores are reported by ACT and when THS receive the scores (to be put on your transcript). Not sending the scores from ACT may mean that college application deadlines are not met.

Return commitment forms (blue & green) to Mrs. Derheimer by March 30th.

January-March: Contact the college/university of your choice to receive application and schedule appointment if necessary. Many applications are available online. Be sure to read all directions (they are explained on each application) prior to completing applications. Every school wants it to be done a different way.

Attend the College PSEO/DE meeting. This is mandatory to know the policies and procedures of each university. These policies (scheduling, obtaining books, etc.) change often and Mrs. Derheimer is not updated on the policies. You must become aware of the policies on your own by attending the necessary meeting.

Stark State Meeting Dates: Feb. 18th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Room S204/S205)

Stark State Meeting Dates: March 6th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Room S204/S205)

Feb.-April: Turn in all documentation to college/university by required deadlines.

April: After you are formally accepted, meet with Mrs. Derheimer to discuss your credits and courses recommended for fall semester.

April: Make appointment (appointments are often hard to schedule – make an appointment as soon as your receive your acceptance letter) with a college advisor and career counseling center for scheduling at college/university. They will be able to assist you in the scheduling process. The earlier you schedule, the better. Many classes fill up quickly. Check with the college/university to determine which classes will transfer to other colleges/universities.

May: Meet with Mrs. Derheimer again this time with college schedule in hand to review credits, class standing and possibly schedule classes here at Tuslaw. Make sure to give Mrs. Derheimer a copy of your schedule for each semester. I am available two weeks after school is over. I will not be available at the end of June or during the month of July.

Double check athletic eligibility. General rule of thumb: 5 classes are needed to be eligible (Ex: 2 at Tuslaw, 3 PSEO). Prior to the start of each semester check with Mrs. Derheimer to verify eligibility. Taking at least one more than the minimum is HIGHLY recommended to ensure eligibility. College professors are not concerned about your athletic eligibility and are not as willing to work with you to bring grades up. I would hate for anyone to be ineligible because a student is not doing well in a college class.

Make sure you are taking the classes you need to fulfill graduation requirements. No high school graduation requirement may be waived for any student participating in the program.

Tuslaw High School will not pay for any Transitional/Remedial classes through the PSEO program. These courses do not count as high school credit.

Tell Mrs. Derheimer EVERYTIME you change your schedule. It is best to talk to her BEFORE you change your schedule!

Pathways – 15 hour pathway and 30 hour pathway

Helpful websites: and