TRANSFER CREDITS

NorthStar Academy accepts credits from other institutions that are accredited by the State Department of Education, Department of Defense, a church diocese, and/or a regional accrediting association. An official transcript must be provided to NorthStar Academy for credits and grades to transfer to NorthStar Academy. To be considered official, NorthStar Academy must receive the transcript directly from the accredited school. Grades earned through accredited programs appear on a NorthStar Academy transcript with a numerical grade and are also calculated in a student’s cumulative GPA.

It is the supervisor’s responsibility to request that a transcript be sent to NorthStar Academy within 3 weeks of the student’s start date.

Credit can be transferred to NorthStar Academy from a non-accredited school.

• NorthStar will need to receive an official transcript directly from the school.
• Before credit can be issued for the courses, NorthStar Academy will need to verify the student’s learning in their courses. Students have two options to verify learning.
  • The student can take a Course Mastery Exam for each of their most recent core courses (English, math, science, social studies/history, and foreign language). Students must earn a 70% or higher on each exam to verify learning.
  • The student can complete higher level core courses (English, math, science, social studies/history, and foreign language) with NorthStar Academy. Successful completion of these courses will verify learning.
    • Ex. If the student completed Algebra 1 in 9th grade and Geometry (a 200 level course) as a 10th grader during the most recent school year, he or she would take Algebra 2 (a 300 level course) at NorthStar. Successful completion of Algebra 2 would verify learning in Geometry and Algebra 1.
• Instructional hours may need to be provided by the school to verify the amount of credits earned per course.
• Grades earned through non-accredited programs appear on a NorthStar Academy transcript as letter grades and are not calculated in a student’s cumulative GPA.

It is the supervisor’s responsibility to request that a transcript be sent to NorthStar Academy within 3 weeks of the student’s start date.

Credit can be transferred to NorthStar Academy from a foreign or international school.

• NorthStar will need to receive an official transcript directly from the school.
• If the transcript is not in English, the transcript will need to be translated to English before it is sent to NorthStar Academy.
• To establish the number of credits to assign each course, NorthStar will also need to receive the number of instructional hours for each course. Instructional hours are direct contact hours in the classroom. Homework time does not count toward instructional hours.
• If the school is not accredited, NorthStar Academy will also need to verify the student’s learning in their courses. Students have two options to verify learning.
  • The student can take a Course Mastery Exam for each of their most recent core courses (English, math, science, social studies/history, and foreign language). Students must earn a 70% or higher on each exam to verify learning.
  • The student can complete higher level core courses (English, math, science, social studies/history, and foreign language) with NorthStar Academy. Successful completion of these courses will verify learning.
    • Ex. If the student completed Algebra 1 in 9th grade and Geometry (a 200 level course) as a 10th grader during the most recent school year, he or she would take Algebra 2 (a 300 level course) at NorthStar. Successful completion of Algebra 2 would verify learning in Geometry and Algebra 1.
• Grades earned through accredited programs appear on a NorthStar Academy transcript and are also calculated in a student’s cumulative GPA.
• Grades earned through non-accredited programs appear on a NorthStar Academy transcript as letter grades and are not calculated in a student’s cumulative GPA.
• Appropriate grade conversions to the US grading system will be made when applicable.

It is the supervisor’s responsibility to request that a transcript be sent to NorthStar Academy within 3 weeks of the student’s start date.

Non-accredited coursework that is successfully transferred to NorthStar Academy will be listed as “Homeschool” credit on the NorthStar Academy transcript. There will be a $50 evaluation fee for any homeschool course transferred to NorthStar Academy. The number of course credits as well as the letter grade awarded will be listed next to the course name. Non-accredited coursework will not factor into the student’s overall GPA.

Students wishing to receive credit for any non-accredited high school course(s) will be required to complete four steps:

1. Submit a Course Credit Request form with the required information for each non-accredited, high school-level course the student has completed.
   • For current NorthStar students, the Course Credit Request form needs to be submitted prior to the start of each course.
   • For students new to NorthStar, the Course Credit Request forms will be submitted for all previously completed, high school level homeschool courses.
2. Pay the evaluation fee ($50) for each course.
   • Once the evaluation fee is paid, NorthStar’s Guidance Office will evaluate the course and either approve or deny the course request.
   • If approved, the Guidance Office will notify the supervisor of how the course will fit into NorthStar’s graduation requirements.
   • If approved, the course will be listed on the student’s NorthStar transcript with IP (In Progress) for the grade and 0.0 credit.
3. Submit the student's final grade via the Course Grade Submission form.
   • Submit all of the requested information on the form and allow at least 5 business days for processing.
   • Final letter grade will be added to the student’s NorthStar transcript.
4. Verify learning for all core courses (English, math, science, social studies/history, and foreign language), and/or verify instructional hours for extracurricular courses.
   • Credit will not be issued for non-accredited courses until the learning or instructional hours have been verified.
   • Complete a Course Mastery Exam, if needed.
   • Verification of extracurricular instructional hours should be emailed to guidance@nsa.school

Students have two options to verify learning in core courses:

• Students can take a Course Mastery Exam for each of their most recent core courses (English, math, science, social studies/history, and foreign language). Students must earn a 70% or higher on each exam to verify learning. If NorthStar does not have a Course Mastery Exam available for a particular foreign language, students may take an ACTFL exam to verify their learning.
• Students can complete higher level core courses (English, math, science, social studies/history, and foreign language) with NorthStar Academy. Successful completion of these courses will verify learning.
  • Ex. If the student completed Algebra 1 in 9th grade and Geometry (a 200 level course) as a 10th grader during the most recent school year, he or she would take Algebra 2 (a 300 level course) at NorthStar. Successful completion of Algebra 2 would verify learning in Geometry and Algebra 1.

Verifying instructional hours for extracurricular courses:

• For extracurricular courses, such as piano or ballet, total hours of instruction time must be submitted. Hours of Instruction only includes the amount of time the student worked with the instructor directly. Practice time or homework away from the instructor does not constitute direct instructional hours.
• Confirmation of these hours will need to be provided by the student’s instructor. The instructor can email the NSA Guidance Office directly (guidance@nsa.school) with confirmation of these hours, or
• The instructor can provide confirmation of instructional hours along with his or her signature on company letterhead to the supervisor. The student's supervisor can then forward this confirmation to the NSA Guidance Office. (guidance@nsa.school)
• No other method of confirmation will be accepted.

Please Note: Credit will not be issued for any homeschool/private instruction/extracurricular instruction courses until the student has completed at least one NorthStar Academy course. Students must be actively enrolled or have recently completed a NorthStar Academy course (within 60 days).

It is the supervisor’s responsibility to obtain all required documentation, and submit it to NorthStar Academy’s Guidance Office for review. School work completed at the elementary school level through grade 8 (or equivalent) is not eligible for review as transfer credit unless the course is considered of high school level by NorthStar Academy.

NorthStar Academy reserves the right to award or deny credit based on the information obtained through credit requests.

Please contact NorthStar Academy’s Guidance Office with other questions pertaining to the transfer of non-accredited coursework.