College Credit and Honors Program

Department members, in consultation with the Principal, establish criteria for student entrance into courses carrying honors or advanced weight. A student seeking departmental recommendation for these courses must meet all established criteria.

St. Joseph’s Academy offers the opportunity for students to take selected honors courses for honors credit, college credit and/or to prepare for the Advanced Placement exam. The terms ACC (Advanced College Credit), ACP (Advanced College Program), and AP (Advanced Placement) are used to designate these options. ACC and ACP courses at St. Joseph’s Academy are offered through the Saint Louis University 1818 ACC Program and through the University of Missouri - St. Louis ACP program. The AP courses and exams are sponsored by the College Board.

All Honors, ACC, ACP and AP classes are more challenging and carry an additional GPA weight of .5. A student’s course load is based on her talents and her ability to handle the challenges she faces. These courses are taught at a more rigorous level and require more from the student. The following are expected of all St. Joseph’s Academy students, but to be successful in college credit and honors courses, students must demonstrate:

• the ability to work independently
• a strong work ethic
• a greater time commitment to the course material
• higher-order thinking skills reflected in writing, speaking, and reading comprehension
• higher levels of class discussion

Colleges and universities like to see applicants who have challenged themselves while in high school, so taking a weighted class can be a good idea. Students at SJA may be recommended by their teachers to take Honors, ACC, ACP or AP courses. Criteria for recommendations are determined by the teachers in each department. Students who wish to take more than three Honors, ACC, ACP, or AP courses per semester must receive written permission via the “Maximum H/ACC/ACP/AP Override Request Form.” This form must be turned into the Registrar prior to registering for classes online.

Honors courses are more challenging high school courses with greater expectations; they carry extra GPA weight, but they do not carry any college credit or potential for college credit.

ACC/ACP courses are more challenging as they are taught at the university level. They carry extra GPA weight, and can provide college credit. An additional fee is required to be paid to the sponsoring university. The sponsoring universities require that a student must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 to enroll in an ACC or ACP course. Upon successful completion of the course, the student will receive a transcript from the university, as well as St. Joseph’s Academy, which will reflect the grade earned in the course. These classes may or may not be accepted by colleges or universities a student may attend. Therefore, a student should contact any potential college or university prior to registering for an ACC or ACP course to determine that school’s policy on ACC or ACP acceptance. These courses are considered dual enrollment – high school and college credits are issued.

AP (Advanced Placement) courses are more challenging than honors courses. They carry extra GPA weight and are accepted as course credit at most colleges and universities with successful completion of the AP Exam. The College Board charges a fee for the AP exam. AP test scores range from 1 to 5 with 3, 4, or 5 usually acceptable to many, but not all colleges. For AP credit policy information, students should refer to any potential college or university’s website. It is the student’s responsibility to authorize the College Board to issue her test scores to her college.

AP/ACC or AP/ACP classes carry both designations because the course has the opportunity for either AP or ACC/ACP credit. The student selects the designation for the course in consultation with the instructor and her counselor.

The following AP/ACC or AP/ACP course are offered at St. Joseph’s Academy:
CSE Computer Science Principles
MT Statistics
MT Calculus AB
MT Calculus BC
SC Physics
SC Chemistry
SC Biology
SS American History
SS World History
SS European History
SS American Government and Politics
WL French
WL Spanish Language and Culture IV