Students and Parents

Hiram College offers flexible plans for Ohio high school students who wish to earn college credit. Through College Credit Plus, college-bound students will have the flexibility to enroll in single courses, a 15-credit hour plan per year, or a 30-credit hour plan per year at Hiram College. Our curricular breadth allows us to meet the individual needs and interests of students. Check our CCP Curriculum Guide to learn more about our pathways and course examples.

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Why College Credit Plus?

  • Courses are at no cost to the student and can possibly be taken for credit at both the student’s high school and college.
  • Decreased cost of college degrees, given transferability of credit.
  • Does not require a high pressure Advanced Placement (AP) exam.

Please more information please view Hiram College’s College Credit Plus Frequently Asked Questions.

Why Hiram?

Hiram College has an innovative liberal arts curriculum prepares students for a changing world, offering opportunities to forge a new path with individualized majors, study abroad, intense research projects and internships. The life skills acquired – the ability to reason, communicate and write – are balanced with real world experiences that prepare students not just for their first job, but every job after that.

Students can expect one-on-one attention from our faculty. An advisor will work with each high school student to create a personalized schedule that fits his or her academic interests and goals.

We make our on-campus resources available to high school students, opening doors for collaboration and shared academic resources.

We understand the unique extracurricular needs of high school students, and we are committed to offering courses on our campus in subject areas and at times that will mesh with a high school student’s interests and schedule. 

Is College Credit Plus Right for Me?

College Credit Plus at Hiram College is a rewarding choice for high school students who feel ready to explore college-level work. The program allows college-bound students the opportunity to earn both high school credit and college credit. Students can get a head start on earning college credits at Hiram College.

Students are encouraged to meet with their high school guidance counselors, teachers and families to discuss the demands of college coursework. It is important to consider for example, the accelerated pace of learning, the need for greater independence in learning outside the class, travel to and from campus, group and lab assignments, extracurricular activities and obligations at the student’s high school.

“The subject matter of a course enrolled in under the college credit plus program may include mature subject matter or materials, including those of a graphic, explicit, violent, or sexual nature, that will not be modified based upon college credit plus enrollee participation regardless of where course instruction occurs.”

Are you interested in completing your college degree in three years or less?  Hiram also offers over 20+ majors that can be completed in an accelerated format.

Online Orientation

CCP students can complete the mandatory orientation program online. Admitted students will receive an email with their account creation information and how to access the online Orientation. For students taking classes on campus, we are offering a “Welcome CCP Info Session” on August 23rd. We recommend monitoring the email used on the application regularly for updates.

Next Steps for Students Coming to Hiram’s Campus for Courses

Each student accepted into College Credit Plus at Hiram College will receive an acceptance letter with further instructions.

Registration Process for students coming to Hiram’s campus:
  • Meet with high school counselor. Once accepted, if a student is coming to Hiram’s campus to take courses or will be taking courses online, they should meet with their high school guidance counselor first and talk through course options and fill out their CCP intent to participate form.
  • Meet with Hiram College advisor. Then they will meet with their Hiram College advisor to discuss course options and answer any questions. Fall advising begins in March and Spring advising begins in November. To schedule your advising appointment for CCP classes at Hiram, email morenosn@hiram.edu.
  • Complete Authorization Form. After the advising meeting, Hiram’s advisor will send the student and the guidance counselor the CCP Authorization Form with the courses discussed. The student, parent and high school guidance counselor will need to sign and return the form to Hiram’s advisor (electronic signature is fine).
  • Complete the Required Forms. All CCP students MUST complete the following CCP Required Forms and questionnaire at the moment of enrolling to the college. 
  • Registration of the course. After the advising meeting the advisor will meet with the Registrar’s Office to submit the student’s course selections (the first semester they are enrolling only) after the high school guidance counselor has approved the classes and submitted the signed Authorization form. After the first semester, the student will be able to register for classes online/electronically, but MUST meet with their Hiram advisor and guidance counselor and complete the College Credit Plus Guidance Counselor Authorization Form each term. After turning the Authorization Form into the Admission Office they will receive their ALT PIN required to register online.
  • Confirmation email. The student will receive a confirmation email once the registration has been approved by the Registrar office. The email will contain the classes approved and next steps.  
Accuplacer

We offer the Accuplacer Next-Generation Writing and Reading test for students who have not taken the ACT or SAT exam, free of charge (any subsequent tests through us will result in a $10 charge). To schedule and register for your Accuplacer test please email morenosn@hiram.edu. Plan for it to take you about 2 hours to complete.

Level 1 Courses

As designated by the state, Level 1 courses at Hiram College are any courses that do not have a prerequisite requirement attached to them and are transferable.  If a course has a prerequisite, it will say “PREQ” in the Attribute section of the course schedule information.  Courses not allowed under Ohio legislation are courses that are: one-on-one private instruction (such as music lessons, etc.), a course with high fees, a physical education course, courses that are Pass/Fail (P/F), remedial courses, courses in religious studies, or a study abroad or similar course.

You can find the list of Level 1 courses here.

The first 15 hours of CCP courses for a student must be one of the designated Level 1 courses.  Course placement will be determined based upon the need for courses that fulfill both high school and college credit, high school record, the recommendation of high school guidance counselors, ACT, SAT, or other test scores, and course availability. In some cases, placement testing may be required (e.g. Mathematics and/or Foreign Languages courses).

High school students may enroll at Hiram College in one, as a part-time student (0-11 credit hours per semester, i.e., 1-2 classes per semester), or as a full-time student (12-30 credit hours per year, i.e., 3-4 classes per semester). Courses can be taken at Hiram College, online (as available), or at participating high schools. Students must work with high school guidance departments regarding fulfillment of high school credit requirements necessary for high school graduation in the State of Ohio.

High School Guidance Counselors should ensure each student does not exceed full-time status. To calculate full-time status:

30 – (high school credits x 3)= maximum number of college credits that a CCP student may earn that academic year

  1. Determine student’s number of high school ONLY units,
  2. Multiply that number by 3, and
  3. Subtract the result from the number 30. 
  4. That number is the total number of college credits that CCP student may earn that academic year.

To see examples of course options for 15-hour per year or 30-hour per year pathways and some discipline-based course options, please refer to our College Credit Plus Curriculum Guide or 3-year pathway programs.

Grades

College Credit Plus students can access their midterm and final grades through their secure Web4Student account. Midterm and final grades are viewable as soon as they are posted by faculty.  However, official grades are not available until after end-of-the-term processing, usually within one week of finals for each term.

The Registrar’s Office will have College Credit Plus students complete a Request to Mail Grades form at the time of their registration to ensure that their home high school receives a copy of their final grades at the end of each term of enrollment. Hiram College is required to send end of term grades to a College Credit Plus student’s high school, in order for the student to receive dual-credit. Students may also elect to have their grades sent to their home. 

Transcript Requests

Students can request their transcripts from the Registrar’s Office website.  The cost of the transcript is $7 for each transcript requested.

Note:  Since Hiram College is a private liberal arts institution we do not participate in the State of Ohio’s Articulation and Transfer Policy. However, Hiram College is a member of TES: Transfer Evaluation System which allows institutions from all over the country to evaluate the courses offered at Hiram to determine equivalencies to their own institution. Each institution must evaluate whether or not a course from another institution will transfer and how it will be applied. We also are part of Transferology.com, which the State of Ohio purchased for each institution in the state, both public and private, as a national database of course transfer options. This site allows students to input the courses they have taken and the results provide a match percentage rate to other institutions who have previously evaluated the courses for transfer. Courses that have not yet been evaluated show as “maybes” until the receiving institution determines their equivalencies.

Level 1 courses have been verified through this process and should transfer to most, if not all, institutions within the state of Ohio.

FERPA and a Student’s Education Records

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records, including the right to control disclosures of their records.

When a student enrolls at a postsecondary institution, all rights to access academic records move to the student. Parents, guardians, spouses and significant others have no inherent right to access these records unless the student signs a disclosure form.

In order to receive high school credit for postsecondary courses, the student must sign a disclosure form to give his or her high school officials access to these academic records. Each student will have the opportunity to sign the Authorization to Disclose Academic Information form when they register for courses at Hiram College. Students may also elect to grant parents and/or guardians access at this time.

Please note: Under FERPA Hiram College cannot issue grades to anyone, including parents/guardians and school districts, without the student’s written consent.  As always, we encourage students to communicate their academic progress with their parents/guardians and school districts. For more information regarding FERPA and Hiram College, please refer to our webpage on Student Rights under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).