PSU Challenge Program :: Program Procedures

This section explains the governance of the Challenge Program:  to clarify roles and responsibilities vital to the long-term success of this collaborative partnership, to articulate processes, and to improve communication between schools and the University.

We welcome suggestions and comments so that the Challenge Program will continue to evolve in a way that is most beneficial to students and faculty.  We value your support and will continue to work to maintain trust and a sense of common purpose.

For those high school teachers and administrators who are just being introduced to Challenge by virtue of this Web page, we encourage you to contact the Challenge office to set up a meeting to answer your specific questions and go over the details of the program.

For a complete overview of the program, check out The Challenge Program's Procedures Manual for Instructors & Administrators.

Frequently Asked Questions
Instructors & Administrators

Below is a comprehesive list of Frequently Asked Questions about the procedures of the Challenge Program. If you don't find an answer to your specific question, please contact us.

How does a high school add a Challenge course to its curriculum?

• An interested high school instructor or administrator calls or emails the Challenge Office for information or an opportunity to meet for initial inquiry.


• The instructor submits an application, vitae and copy of credentials to the Challenge Director for approval to teach an identified PSU course (download application from http://challenge-link.clas.pdx.edu/challenge/propro/forms.php). Each Academic Department sets eligibility standards for instructors [please see Instructor Requirements, p. 7].


• Courses must be regular catalog-listed, 100-200-level courses [please see Courses section, p. 13 for what is currently taught]. Some of our courses are taught in quarter sequences corresponding to PSU's fall, winter, and spring terms (all foreign languages and Western Civilization), most overlay the high school semester, and a few overlay the entire academic year, depending on what the high school and the PSU department require.


• During this inquiry process, the Director typically will set up a meeting with the instructor which may also include the school administrator and the faculty coordinator in the department, to meet and answer questions.


• At the start of each academic year, approved instructors receive a letter confirming their courtesy adjunct appointment, and, if they don't already have a PSU ID number, are assigned one. As an honorary adjunct, instructors are entitled to computer services, library and research access, and tuition remission for continued coursework in the instructor's content area. All instructors are paired with a faculty partner for continued support from the department.


• The new instructor will meet, prior to teaching the PSU course, with his/her faculty partner, for an orientation which covers syllabus, texts, and administrative procedures and may include a visit to the class taught on campus. For new instructors lacking the required two years experience for teaching the PSU course, some disciplines will require additional meetings, courses, or a mentoring program to provide additional support [please see Instructor Requirements and Training, p. 7].


• At the start of the course, the instructor receives a packet of materials and instructions from the Challenge Program, including registration forms and student/parent handbooks. The instructor manages the registration process. At least 60% of students in the class must enroll as PSU students as research has found that classrooms with less than this do not have the same level of motivation to perform well. Students are eligible for computer accounts and online library resources. Classes that are 100% enrolled may take full advantage of PSU electronic classroom management tools.


• The Challenge Director is available to visit the school to talk with students/parents and help explain the program. This is often most useful in the fall at parents' nights or back-to-school nights; in schools where more than one Challenge course is taught, potential differences in registration and payment timing (quarters vs. semesters) is addressed.


• Students fill in the registration forms which parents sign, and attach a check for the program fee. Fees are nonrefundable and due at the time of registration. The instructor verifies the students' GPAs, collects the completed registration forms and payment, and sends these back to the Challenge Program by the deadline. The Challenge Program works with the University's Registrar's Office to admit and register the students into their class(es).


• Faculty partners not only provide academic oversight to instructors but are also mentors and colleagues who visit the classroom over the course of the year, typically once per PSU quarter. The instructor and faculty partner discuss how best to utilize the visit; faculty partners have taught or co-taught a class, have worked with a group of students, have been asked to address a particular topic for a guest lecture, etc. [for more on this, please see Faculty Partners: Liaison Activities, p.27].


• The instructor attends two workshops on campus (fall and spring) organized by their PSU department for content-focused professional development. The Challenge Program reimburses the School District for Challenge instructor substitute teachers on those days.


• The participating school agrees to list the Challenge course by its PSU title in the Student Course Planning Guide (e.g., WR121 College Writing).


• We encourage instructors to bring their class to campus. We can assist in arranging a campus tour, a library visit (including an instructional workshop on how to use library online resources, research methods, etc.).


• The instructor will be prompted by the Challenge Program to submit grades at the end of each PSU quarter or at designated dates to correspond with high school semester [please see section on grades, p. 19, for more detail on this].


• Students may order official PSU transcripts once grades have been recorded. There is a detailed explanation on transcripts and transferring credit in their handbooks and on our website, http://challenge-link.clas.pdx.edu/.


• Students complete an online course evaluation (the same one used for the course taught on campus) at the end of the course.

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What are the instructor requirements and approval process for teaching a Challenge course?
Program Instructors must have a master's degree—or the equivalent—in the disciplines they teach, plus a minimum of two years' teaching experience in the subject area. In all cases, approval of Program Instructors is consistent with the selection process employed by University departments in appointing part-time faculty for on-campus classes. Occasionally, certification to teach a course will be made contingent upon completion of additional graduate coursework, field experience, or a program of structured independent study.

Interested high school teachers with the required credentials must submit vitae and transcripts of all college work to the PSU Program Director, who will forward them to the appropriate University Department. All Program Instructors must be approved by the Academic Department.

Upon approval, Program Instructors are given courtesy adjunct appointments by the appropriate University department on a fixed-term, non-remunerative basis. They are entitled to a PSU computer account, all library services and resources, the PSU web classroom management system.

In addition, PSU Challenge Instructors are entitled to reduced tuition for graduate coursework related to their content area.

Program Instructors teach the Challenge course as part of their regular teaching load. Because of the added rigor of and preparation for these courses, we highly recommend that Challenge Instructors are given some consideration when determining their overall workload.

Program Instructors partner with a Faculty Coordinator (see next FAQ for more information on the role of the faculty coordinator). Together they work on the course syllabus, texts, exams, etc. to ensure the course matches that taught on campus. Additionally, the program instructor participates in mandatory workshops and training sessions at PSU to enhance teaching, share experiences, and promote collaboration with university colleagues.

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What is the role of the faculty coordinator?
A cornerstone of the Challenge Program is the relationship between the high school instructor and a PSU faculty member.  The Challenge Program Faculty Coordinator from the appropriate department is appointed to work with each program instructor. The Coordinator is both mentor and partner. As mentor, the coordinator ensures the course is run effectively and meets departmental criteria. As a partner, the instructor and coordinator share information, pursue professional development opportunities (such as workshop participation), and work together to make the course as strong and engaging as possible. Specific responsibilities for the Challenge Program Faculty Coordinator include:

• To support the instructor in a positive and collegial manner.


• To provide the high school instructor with a detailed orientation prior to teaching in the Challenge Program to familiarize the instructor with the course syllabus, textbook scope and sequence and expectations for student learning in a college-level course.


• To make site visits once a quarter to each section of a course and write a short site visit report. Site visits may include co-teaching, observing, talking with students or going over student portfolios--depending on what the instructor and coordinator determine would be most useful. In some cases, particularly with new instructors, we may ask that they increase these visits.


• To work with the Challenge Program Director in establishing a file for each course, updated annually, which includes a copy of the course syllabus, a list of the text(s) and other books and course materials used for the course, copies of midterms and finals, copies of assignments, and other pertinent information.


• To evaluate the course annually.


• To plan and participate in the workshops and training programs.

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What students are eligible to participate?
In order to ensure success (Challenge grades become part of a student’s permanent college record) and to reward students with strong academic records, Challenge participation is limited to students recommended by their counselors and teachers and who have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above, after the completion of six high school semesters.

Students not meeting the 3.00 GPA requirement may petition for admission by submitting the following to the Program Director before the registration deadline: (1) a letter by the student supporting the exception as well as (2) a letter of recommendation from the student’s counselor or a teacher who has taught the student.

Course offerings are normally restricted to high school seniors. Exceptions to this policy require prior approval from the Challenge Director and Faculty Coordinator.

It is very important that members of the counseling department be thoroughly familiar with the requirements, objectives, and design of each course and that they work closely with teachers in advising prospective students to register for courses offered through the Challenge Program.

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How do college quarter classes align with high school semesters?
Because PSU is on the quarter system and many of our high schools are on the semester system, there are a variety of ways we have worked with high schools to determine how to cover course material—e.g., superimpose three quarters onto two semesters, match up a quarter with a semester, teach one quarter over the course of an entire academic year. The decision is based on the high school’s needs and interests.

For example, typically foreign language courses are matched to PSU’s fall, winter, and spring quarters. Western Civilization has been taught in three quarters but we have also had schools choose to teach just HST 102  or just HST 202 spread over the course of both semesters. Often calculus coursework includes just MTH 251 and MTH 252 spread over two semesters.

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What are the class requirements?
In programs like the Challenge Program, experience has shown that students who are not enrolled for college credit affect the motivation of the entire class. For this reason, the Challenge Program expects that in any one section of a course a minimum of 60 percent of those registered must be taking the course for Portland State University credit.

In some cases, a school has offered more than one section of a Challenge course, or has combined Challenge with AP or with IB courses. While course content may match up, this tends to lower the percentage of students taking the course for PSU credit and lessen the identification of the course as a PSU course. We ask that our administrators consider limiting those sections that offer more than one method of obtaining credit to fewer sections when forecasting to avoid this dilution of the program.

Total class size for Challenge Program classes should be lower than that for regular high school courses, due to the rigor and preparation demanded of the teacher. We strongly recommend that classes not exceed 30. For Writing 121, class size is strictly limited to a maximum of 25 students. This is the same requirement we have for our on-campus writing classes.

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How do students register and pay?

1. The high school instructor receives registration packets from the Challenge Office. The packet includes a custom registration form. Students must fill out these forms completely, have their parents sign the back, and return the form, with a check to cover the program fee, to the instructor.


2. The program fee is nonrefundable and must be collected with the registration form. Checks are made out to Portland State University.


3. The instructor verifies the student's GPA on the registration form and then returns the completed registration forms, along with the payment to the Challenge Office by the stated deadline.


4. The PSU Registrar's Office enters the appropriate data to enroll Challenge students as PSU part-time students and to register them into their classes.

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How does a student drop a Challenge course?

Because we ask that students be carefully screened before participating in Challenge, it is rare to encounter cases of poor performance. But on occasion, it is appropriate to drop a student. The deadline to drop is approximately two weeks after the registration due date and always before a mid-term exam. This deadline date will be included in the registration packet. To drop a student, we require an email from the instructor to that effect. There are no refunds for dropping a class.

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How does an instructor enter grades into the PSU system?

How does grading work?

Challenge students obtain dual high school and college credit. The Challenge Program grade for the course is determined in accordance with grading criteria established by Portland State University. The high school grade is determined in accordance with grading criteria established by the high school. PSU gives pluses and minuses.

Grading will occur at different times depending on whether the course follows the quarter system or the semester system.

When the course follows the PSU quarter system, such as foreign languages and Western Civilization, we will prompt our instructors to submit grades either by signed paper roster (which we attach to the email) or online during each quarter's grade window (begins the Monday of the eighth week of the term and closes the Tuesday following finals week at 5:00 pm). Signed paper rosters may be mailed or faxed to us. We provide detailed instructions to teachers who prefer to submit grades online.

When we superimpose quarters onto semesters: Students are registered in the fall and will automatically receive an "M" (missing grade) when the fall grade window closes in December. At the end of the high school first semester (end of January), the Challenge Office will prompt instructors to submit grades which they can do either on a paper roster we provide or online (instructions below). Students then register for winter quarter which extends to the end of the academic year. Again, instructors will be prompted at the end of the second semester to submit their grades.

To submit grades online outside the grade window requires making individual entries for each student, but the names and ID numbers pop up, making this easier, and the updated grade posts immediately to the student's transcript. We provide detailed instructions to teachers who prefer to submit grades online.

Once a grade (A-F) has been assigned using either of the above methods, it can only be changed by completing the paper Supplementary Grade Report (SGR) form that requires listing a short reason for the change as well as the signature of both the instructor and the department chair - in our case Sally Hudson. This applies even if the online grade was entered in error. Once it posts to the student's record, the only way to change it is by paper SGR. After the instructor and Director sign the SGR, it is given to the Transcripts Office and posted to the student's record by Transcripts. They are good about doing this very quickly - usually within a day of receiving the form.

• Grades appear on the PSU transcript without any reference to Challenge.


• Information on transcripts can be found in the Student/Parent FAQ about transcripts, or [link to www.pdx.edu/registration/transcripts/html].

The Challenge Program follows the Portland State University Student Code of Conduct. The following is the portion of the Code of Conduct pertaining to academic dishonesty:

1. Academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is the act of knowingly or intentionally seeking to claim credit for the work or effort of another person or participation in such acts. This includes, but is not limited to: (a) cheating, (b) fraud, (c) plagiarism, such as word for word copying, using borrowed words or phrases from original text into new patterns without attribution, or paraphrasing another writer's ideas; (d) The buying or selling of all or any portion of course assignments and research papers; (e) Performing academic assignments (including tests and examinations) for other persons; (f) Unauthorized disclosure or receipt of academic information; (g) Falsification of research data; and (h) Unauthorized collaboration.


2. Academic negligence. Academic negligence is unknowingly or unintentionally claiming credit for the work or effort of another person.

Procedures for Complaints of Academic Dishonesty

1. Course Instructors have the primary responsibility and purview to respond to academic dishonesty with students enrolled in their respective courses. Course Instructors may issue a zero or a failing grade for the assignment for which the dishonesty was found. Course Instructors may not issue a failing grade for the course unless a failing grade on the assignment in question results in a failing grade for the course, per the syllabus. Instructors may not disenroll a student from a course.


2. Departments, programs, colleges, or schools may also address academic dishonesty in accordance with their respective policies and procedures. These entities are limited to the following academic sanctions: (a) Issuing a zero or a failing grade for the assignment for which the dishonesty was found; or (b) Suspension or Expulsion from the department, program, college or school per the process proscribed by the respective entity.


3. Any person may submit a written complaint to DOS alleging that a student(s) has engaged in academic dishonesty. Any charge should be submitted as soon as possible after the activity takes place, preferably within fourteen days of such activity.


4. If the complaint is submitted by anyone other than the Course Instructor, the complaint is also referred to the Course Instructor in which the alleged academic dishonesty occurred.


5. Faculty submitting a complaint alleging academic dishonesty will be notified of the outcome of this complaint upon request.

Stat. Auth.: ORS 351
Stats. Implemented: ORS 351.070
Hist.: PSU 2-2002, f. & cert. ef. 10-22-02; PSU 4-2006, f. & cert. ef. 8-22-06

To read the PSU Code of Conduct in its entirety, please go to http://www.pdx.edu/dos/codeofconduct

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