RPS Associate Program Guidelines
Requirements to Register for the Associate Program:
● Student going into junior year. Associate is a two year program. Students start the program in junior year with the goal of finishing by graduation
● Student must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA at time of application
● Student must have appropriate college-level placement scores
● Approval from high school counselor
● Register by the deadline for Associate Registration for that cohort
Associate’s Programs offered through RPS in partnership with NWACC: Students are able to choose from one of the following five degree plans These are the only 5 plans that are offered as part of this partnership
● Associate of Arts
● Associate of Science
● Associate of Arts in Teaching
● Associate of Science in Business Administration: UA Walton College of Business Transfer
● Associate of Business, General Transfer
Requirements Necessary to Remain in the ECE Program:
● Maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in high school
● Maintain at least a 2.5 GPA in your NWACC coursework
● Pass any pre-requisite courses with a C or better
Additional Expectations of the Associate Program:
● Pass all courses enrolled in with a semester GPA of 2.5 or higher in NWACC classes and remain a student in good standing.
● Students who receive one D, F, NP, or W in a semester will need to meet with their counselor with a parent to discuss continuing in the program and set up a plan for improvement for the following semester It will be up to the student to make a plan with their NWACC advisor to plan for the course to be made up. (Courses taken over the summer that are make up may be at the expense of the student if they have used all of their ACCESS funding for the year Students can only retake a course once with ACCESS funding)
● Students who receive more than one D, F, NP, or W in a semester or over the course of the program will have a meeting with their parent, counselor, and an administrator to have a meeting about dismissal from the program. These courses are part of their permanent college record and we want to make sure that the student will be starting off successfully at their postsecondary institution.
Attendance
● Attendance in class is required. (Students should also not leave for a substantial amount of time during the class time.)
● Students can be dropped for non-participation or lack of progress (this applies to absences, but also includes not turning in assignments)
● School business for programs and athletics is NOT excused at NWACC. Students need to communicate with professors when they are sick, if there is a family emergency, or if they will miss class. It will be up to the professor on how the absence is handled Professors will likely be more willing to work with a student who gives them advanced notice and has already demonstrated good attendance and work ethic in the class, but will still be up to the professor of the course
● State testing at the high school, i.e. ACT test date will be communicated and will be excused.
Academic Progress and Financial Aide
College courses affect financial aid eligibility after high school if the above conditions are not met. See the NWACC handbook for more information.
● Student must complete minimum of 70% of courses attempted per semester
● Student must maintain a 2.5 college GPA
Disability Resources
Students with an IEP or 504 plans must contact the NWACC Disability Resource Center before classes start. Students can reach them by email at disability@nwacc.edu or by phone at (479) 986-4076.
Tuition
Rogers Public Schools pays the tuition for the courses in the five Associate degree programs offered in our partnership with NWACC. If a student makes up a course over the summer, it may be up to the student to pay for a summer course depending on the amount of hours the student has taken that school year. This is due to the ACCESS funding.
Since both Business Associate programs and the Education program require more hours, up to two summer courses will be paid by the district if it is necessary to take courses in the summer for the student to stay on track with the advising plan to graduate in two years. These programs require more hours to complete; therefore a summer course is allowed.
Students who wish to take additional concurrent courses outside of the hours required for their Associate degree plan will be required to pay for those courses if it is more than 15 hours a semester. This is not encouraged because the load of college courses and high school courses the student will already be enrolled in is a full load.
Fees, Textbooks, and other supplies
Starting with the 25-26 school year, families will not be obligated to pay any cost associated with tuition, textbooks, materials or fees for concurrent enrollment up to 15 college credit hours a semester
Online courses
Students may have to take an online course if that is all that is offered that semester for their requirement, but as a general rule, Associate students are required to be in person on the NWACC campus for their courses.
Parent Expectations
➔ Weekly check-in with your student. Students should show their parents their current grades/attendance by logging into their NWACC account.
➔ Encourage student to use the tutoring resources offered on NWACC campus.
➔ Work with your student to figure out a plan for lunch.
➔ Talk to them about time management, ideas to handle stress, ways to ask for help.
Course selection and course changes
Students in the Associate program with RPS and NWACC must follow the program and sequencing provided by NWACC for that degree program. This is the agreement that RPS and NWACC hold. Students also cannot change their course selection after registration is completed with the NWACC advisor unless there has been a change in their degree plan or the class was dropped for lack of enrollment.
Dropping a class
There is a drop deadline each semester where a student can drop a course if they are in danger of failing the course and the student will receive a W(Withdrawal) instead of an F Every effort should be made by the student to work with the professor ahead of time before looking at this option. The student needs to reach out to the NWACC advisor if you need guidance on talking with your professor or are having difficulty finding help.
Students must see their high school counselor to discuss this option and fill out a drop form to be sent to NWACC if dropping a course is decided.
It is the student’s responsibility to talk with their high school counselor about any changes in their NWACC scheduling.
AP Placement Credit
AP courses taken at the high school can be used to satisfy degree requirements following the college policy. Students who receive a qualifying score on an AP exam that NWACC accepts, can apply that score to their Associate Degree program. Students must send their AP exam score to the NWACC advisor in order for the placement credit to be considered. Placement scores and course equivalents can be found in the NWACC course catalog.
Calendar
Students are required to attend their high school campus for their courses even when classes are not in session at NWACC and vice versa.
Students must follow the RPS calendar for high school classes and the NWACC calendar for college classes. Please make sure to review both calendars because holidays and days out are not the same on both.
Staying connected to High school
Students and parents should read weekly communication sent out by the high school on email, social media, and announcements to keep up with school events and testing.
Students should make sure you are on Parentsquare notifications or other communication platforms used by any clubs or organizations you participate in at the high school to stay updated.
Participation on NWACC Campus
Associate students are NWACC students. They can participate in organizations and events on campus. Students also have access to Counseling services and other resources on the NWACC campus.
NWACC Advisor
NWACC Advisor is available for students to ask questions throughout the year, assist students with resources, and advise/schedule students in course selection. The student is the NWACC advisor's focus and often isn’t allowed to discuss certain things with a parent.
Parents should contact their counselor at the high school with questions on the program or about their student. If the counselor does not have the answer, the counselor will present the question to the NWACC advisor and get back with the parent. Please respect this system we have in place with NWACC and do not reach out to the advisor directly. The NWACC advisor still must go through the school, so it makes it more efficient to follow this system, as well as allowing your student the opportunity to learn to advocate and communicate with their advisor as other college students are expected to do.
Placement Scores Required
Students must have the Reading and English qualifying scores to submit application for the program. Math can come after the first year unless the student is doing one of the business programs.
READING: ACT READING 19 or ACCUPLACER READING 252
ENGLISH: ACT READING 19 or ACCUPLACER WRITING 260
MATH: ACT MATH 21 OR ACCUPLACER MATH 254