Credit Earned All credit is awarded on a semester basis. Students may not sign up for only one semester of a full year course unless they are repeating due to failure.

Course Load Full-time students have a maximum course load of seven courses per semester and a minimum course load of six courses per semester. Students may take no more than two online courses per semester.

Course Availability Courses are offered based on economic and enrollment factors. The semester in which a course will be offered will be determined after the pre-enrollment process.

Early Dismissal/Late Arrival Seniors who have sufficient credits, and whose courses can be arranged during initial scheduling to fit these special requests, may elect to have early dismissal or late arrival. Written parental permission and counselor approval are required for these options.

Schedule Changes Staffing decisions are based on students’ course requests made during the course selection process. For that reason, students are urged to consider their selections carefully. No changes will be made to accommodate requests for specific teachers or periods.

Withdrawal from a Course All high schools encourage students to complete the courses they start; however, in the event a student wishes to withdraw from a course, the following guidelines will be used.

• Day 1–12 Students may withdraw from a course and replace it with an Option Period, Study Hall, or Access. No notation will appear on transcript.
• Day 13 – Week 8 Student may withdraw from course with parent permission. The transcript will reflect a W (withdraw, no grade). Student will receive an Option Period, Study Hall, or Access.
• Week 9 – End of Semester Student may withdraw from course with parent permission. The transcript will reflect a WF (withdraw, failing grade). Student will receive an Option Period, Study Hall, or Access.

Outside Coursework In addition to seven credits taken in District 204 each year, students may take outside coursework for graduation requirements and electives. Prior approval from the student’s high school guidance department is required for all coursework in the following categories: correspondence, online, or summer courses. A maximum of 2.0 credits of outside coursework will be accepted during four years in high school. Grades earned in pre-approved courses taken outside of the district will be noted on the student’s transcript and be included in the GPA. These courses will not be eligible for honors weighting, even if they are designated as honors or AP courses.

Please note:  district online, eLo (IPSD 204 Expanding Learning Opportunities Consortium), and College of DuPage High School Summer School coursework is not included in the 2.0 credit limit.

High school level courses taken between middle school and high school will not be counted for high school credit. These courses may be considered for course placement with prior conversation with the high school principal or designee. Students must report proposed summer school activities to the high school principal/designee prior to May 31st. Upon completion of the work, the school may conduct a local assessment (end-of-course assessment) of the student’s skill level which will guide course placement.

Repeating a Course A student may elect to repeat a course taken in District 204 with prior approval from the guidance department. The course must be retaken prior to taking the next course in the department’s sequence. Both courses will be listed on the transcript. Only courses taken through IPSD 204, eLo (IPSD 204 Online Learning Consortium), or College of DuPage (High School Summer School) will be considered for grade replacement. When a student retakes an approved class, the better grade will be calculated as part of the student’s GPA. The lesser grade will be given a No Grade (NG) designation.

Grade Transfer Policy We accept the previous school’s letter grades as the official grades; we will not convert the letter grades to our grading scale. If a student transfers in with numerical grades accompanied by scaled letter grades, we will use the previous school’s scale. If there are no scaled letter grades, then we will use our grading scale. For students entering from a foreign country or other non-accredited schools, all grades will be noted as Credit (CR) or No Credit (NC) and comparable credit given for each course. No GPA will appear on the transcript until the student completes a semester of coursework in a District 204 high school. Home school and private school credit will be evaluated using the criteria established in Board Policy.

Late Enrollment Students enrolling without current transfer grades from the 21st attendance day through the end of the semester will earn no credit.

Grading Scale All three high schools use the grading scale below based on percentages:

A   =   90–100%
B   =   80–89%
C   =   70–79%
D   =   60–69%
F   =   BELOW 60%