College Credit Plus in Ohio: the law behind it

The statute

Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 3365

College Credit Plus program .

The chapter that created the program for the 2015-2016 school year and replaced everything before it. It fixes the outer shape: an Ohio resident in grades nine through twelve may enroll at a college, full time or part time, in nonsectarian and nonremedial courses for both high school and college credit, with seventh and eighth graders admitted on the same criteria. Home educated students and nonpublic school students are inside the program, and the chapter reaches approved out-of-state colleges as well.

Ohio Rev. Code § 3365.02

College Credit Plus program, creation .

The eligibility section proper. It states which students may participate and on what terms, and it is the reference a district cites when it explains that a course has to be nonremedial and nonsectarian to count. It names the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade years, as does section 3365.03, which is why a family reading only these two sections concludes that College Credit Plus starts at ninth grade. Read it alongside 3365.033 and the rules below.

Ohio Rev. Code § 3365.033

Seventh and eighth grade student participation .

The section that makes the program a grades 7 through 12 program. A student in the seventh or eighth grade at a public or nonpublic secondary school, and a home educated student at the equivalent level, may participate if they meet the eligibility criteria required of the secondary grade students, and they are held to the same requirements and receive high school credit the same way. It also leaves transportation with the parent or guardian. This is the provision to cite when a district says the program starts in ninth grade.

The administrative rule

OAC 3333-1-65

Ohio Administrative Code, College Credit Plus definitions .

The definitions chapter that the rest of the rules hang from, written by the Chancellor of Higher Education. It also carries the participation obligations that matter most to a family being told no: a public secondary school has to offer eligible students the chance to take part and tell them how, and a nonpublic secondary school may not deny an eligible student participation.

OAC 3333-1-65.14

Student eligibility requirements .

The three doors into the program, and the rule to open before an appeal. A student qualifies with a remediation-free score on the standard assessments, or with a cumulative unweighted high school grade point average of at least 3.00, or with a grade point average of at least 2.75 and below 3.00 plus an A or B in a relevant high school course. A college applying only the test score is applying one of three routes the rule allows.

OAC 3333-1-65.12

Course eligibility and level progression .

Which courses count and in what order. The rule sets course classification and progression, including the requirement that a student complete fifteen semester credit hours of level I courses before moving into level II courses, with narrow exceptions for a student who already finished a level I course in the same subject or who demonstrates academic preparedness. It is the reason a sophomore cannot start in an upper-division sequence.

Who pays, and under what authority

Ohio Rev. Code § 3365.07

College Credit Plus funding and payment .

The money section, and the reason cost varies by where the course is taught. The state pays the lesser of a default ceiling amount or the college’s standard rate for a course taken on campus or online; a course taught at the high school by college faculty is paid at half that ceiling, and one taught by a credentialed high school teacher is paid at a default floor amount. Secondary schools cover textbooks, colleges waive other fees, and students identified as economically disadvantaged cannot be charged.

Agency guidance

ODHE College Credit Plus

Ohio Department of Higher Education, College Credit Plus .

The higher education side of the program in one place: which colleges participate, how the annual information sessions work, and the credit caps as the Chancellor’s office states them. When the statute and the rules disagree with a college’s advising sheet, this is where the state’s current position is published.

DEW College Credit Plus

Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, College Credit Plus .

The K-12 side, written for districts and families. The letter of intent, the annual information session a school has to hold, and the cost rules for public school students are set out here. A family arguing about a deadline with a high school office is usually arguing about a date this page names.

How it got here

The program began with the 2015-2016 school year under Chapter 3365, consolidating the dual enrollment arrangements Ohio had been running separately. That start date is stated in the Revised Code itself, which is why Ohio material published before 2015 describes a different program with different names.

Who administers it

These are the offices that answer a question about Ohio law rather than about one school or one campus. A district and a college can both be wrong about a state rule, and these pages are where the state's own position is published.

• Ohio Department of Higher Education · The Chancellor writes the rules and approves participating colleges.
• Ohio Department of Education and Workforce · Administers the school district side and the letter of intent.
• ODHE annual information session for public schools · The slide deck districts present, carrying the credit caps and the April 1 date.

Frequently asked

Where is the 3.00 GPA alternative written down?

In the rules rather than the statute. OAC 3333-1-65.14 lists a remediation-free score, a cumulative unweighted GPA of at least 3.00, and a GPA of at least 2.75 with an A or B in a relevant course as three separate ways to qualify.

Can a private high school refuse to let a student participate?

The rules say a nonpublic secondary school may not deny an eligible student participation, and a public secondary school has to offer the opportunity and explain how to take it.

Why does the cost change depending on where the class meets?

Because ORC 3365.07 pays three different rates: the default ceiling or the college’s standard rate for a campus or online course, half the ceiling when college faculty teach at the high school, and a default floor when a credentialed high school teacher does.

Which agency should a family call first?

The Department of Education and Workforce for anything about the high school side, including the letter of intent, and the Department of Higher Education for anything about a college, a course level, or eligibility.