Post Secondary
& Concurrent Enrollment
Post Secondary & Concurrent Enrollment (Senior Year Plus) for Homeschooled Students
Your homeschooled high school student is eligible
to earn no-cost college credits
through Senior Year Plus Programs like
Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO),
concurrent enrollment, and career academies.
What Is Senior Year Plus?
Senior Year Plus [SYP] was created by the Iowa Legislature
to provide improved high school student access to
college and advanced placement courses,
with credits applied at both high school and college level.
- Concurrent Enrollment and Career Academies: Community college courses contracted by the public school for no-cost access by resident students
- Post Secondary Enrollment Option [PSEO]:
Post-high-school-level courses offered by eligible colleges and universities, with tuition reimbursed by the state through the local school district - Advanced Placement: Courses providing preparation for AP college credit exams
- and more!
All resident 9th-12th grade students, including those under IPI or CPI with No Reporting, are eligible for concurrent enrollment courses.
For all other SYP programs,
11th & 12th grade students are eligible, as well as 9th & 10th grade students who are identified as gifted & talented by their local district.
Homeschooled students must be dual-enrolled through CPI form filing for SYP programs other than concurrent enrollment courses.
Start Senior Year Plus Preparations Early
for a Successful Experience
- Begin your efforts during the school year before you want your student to access SYP program(s).
- Contact the school guidance counselor to provide notice of your intentions.
- Decide which option you'll use to demonstrate your student's eligibility for SYP programs other than concurrent enrollment courses. You can use this Homeschool Iowa form when submitting.
- Be aware that enrollment deadlines come early and arrangements often need to be made well before the public school year commences.
- If you are accessing SYP via dual enrollment and your student is age 16 or older,
you can file an abbreviated CPI Form with only these fields filled:
- Student information
- Parent information
- Dual enrollment selected
- Submit a list of desired courses to the school guidance counselor.
- Understand that you must provide any needed transportation.
- Take note that, if your student fails to complete PSEO course(s) or doesn't receive passing grades, you are responsible for the cost of the PSEO course(s) and textbooks.
Additional Guidance
The Iowa Department of Education released a clarifying document in 2016 providing guidance on student access to SYP programs through dual enrollment.
The Iowa DE does not offer guidance to parents of students under IPI or CPI with No Reporting who want access to concurrent enrollment courses.
We recommend the same procedures outlined above, without the filing of a CPI form dual enrollment request.
Also, note that legislation passed in 2016 says if the school district has contracted with a community college to deliver courses through dual enrollment, students in that district must access those courses through concurrent enrollment, not PSEO.
See our Homeschooling High School webpage for a helpful chart containing information on supplemental options for homeschooled high school students.
Helpful Links
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