"The Advanced Placement Program® is a cooperative educational endeavor between secondary schools and colleges and universities. Students not only gain college-level skills, but in many cases they also earn college credit while they are still in high school. AP teachers follow course guidelines developed and published by the College Board."

Students are expected to take the AP exam if they enroll in these courses. It is recommended that a student take no more than three honors/AP courses in any one semester.

The following Advanced Placement courses are offered at Saint Joseph's High School:

• AP English Language and Composition
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Calculus BC
• AP Computer Science A
• AP French Language
• AP French Literature
• AP Latin Literature
• AP Latin: Virgil
• AP Spanish Language
• AP Biology 2
• AP Chemistry 2
• AP Physics C
• AP Statistics
• AP US History
• AP US Government
• AP Macroeconomics
• AP Microeconomics

Advanced College Project (ACP)

"The Advance College Project is a partnership program between Indiana University and selected high schools within the states of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The Project offers college credit to qualified high school seniors [juniors when appropriate] who enroll in IU general education courses that are offered at their high schools during the regular school day and taught by specially trained high school teachers who hold adjunct lecturer status with the University."

In short, the program allows students to earn college and high school credit simultaneously. ACP provides a seamless transition for students from high school to higher education through program rigor and pedagogy. It has grown from six participating high schools during the 1982 pilot year to over 100 high schools [including SJHS in 2002]. Although it is not a gifted and talented program, it is designed for students with a solid academic foundation who are willing to make a serious commitment to completing a college-level course.

There are four basic criteria for admission to an ACP course:

• Upper half of the high school graduating class
• Strong GPA in college preparatory or academic classes [B- average or > 2.7/4.0, plus a B average in the desired subject area]
• State average on SAT scores, comparable PSAT scores, or composite ACT score of 20 or better
• Endorsement from ACP teacher and counselor

Students may choose to register for ACP courses for dual credit or to prepare for taking the Advanced Placement exam in that subject. Students wishing credit from Indiana University must first register for the course through the normal Saint Joseph's registration process and have their name placed on the list of students desiring college credit. They must then apply for the ACP program on an application form that is enclosed with an ACP packet sent in late April/early May. This form will be filled out with the high school's ACP coordinator, who will send them to the ACP office. Students who are then accepted into the program are expected to handle the required university fees [presently about $200 for a three-credit course] and are classified as part-time, special non-degree students at Indiana University.

Completion of an ACP course results in the creation of an IU transcript, a permanent record at Indiana University. Course grades of A, B, and C will appear on the official transcript and will transfer automatically to any IU campus. Grades of D or F will appear on the transcript, without giving the student credit, in which case a student continuing at Indiana University would have to repeat the course on campus. (Note: If the course is repeated, the original grade would remain on the official transcript.) Any grade received becomes part of a student's IU cumulative grade point average.

Students planning on attending other colleges and universities should be able to transfer the IU credit to many other institutions, as over 90% of former students have successfully transferred ACP credit (with grades of C or above) to more than 200 institutions of higher education over the past 18 years. A few colleges and universities have accepted the credit only after secondary conditions were met, such as submitting to a test or submitting a portfolio. Some colleges and universities do not accept dual credit coursework or do not accept transfer of freshman level courses. ACP urges students in the program to discuss transfer of credit with their high counselor, who has lists of colleges and universities that have granted credit in the past, or check with the Admissions Office of their destination institution. Neither Saint Joseph's High School nor the ACP can guarantee the transfer of credit to institutions outside of Indiana University. Any questions about this program may be directed to any counselor in the Guidance Department or to the SJHS ACP coordinator.

The following ACP course is offered at Saint Joseph's High School:

• Introduction to Politics (AP US Government)