“The Challenge Program is a way of rewarding students for having pursued a subject to its higher levels. Also, unlike AP or IB, where the credit given is based on a wide number of variables (e.g., the indivudial school policy, the score on the test, etc.), the Challenge Program credits through PSU are a guaranteed 12 university credits which can be transferred to most state and private institutions nationwide. No other single high school class can provide that kind of college credit.” 

- Jim Raney, Beaverton High School Challenge Instructor

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?

  1. Interested teacher or administrator calls the Challenge Office for information or an opportunity to meet for initial inquiry.
  1. Interested teacher or administrator establishes what course is of interest and whether or not teacher qualifications are met.
  1. Teacher submits vitae and credentials for approval.
  1. Upon approval, teacher receives welcome letter and honorary adjunct appointment.
  1. Teacher will attend the Summer Institute for training. There will be sessions by discipline to help align course work, discuss differences between high school and university classes, etc. [Note: PSU’s Summer Institute will be inaugurated in 2008 as part of our NACEP accreditation requirement]
  1. Teacher receives the registration materials and instructions from the Challenge office. Collects completed registration forms and sends back to Challenge office by deadline, with class roster and GPAs.
  1. Challenge Director is available to visit 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.
  1. Teacher is prompted by Challenge office to submit grades at the end of each PSU quarter (or at designated dates to correspond with high school semester)
  1. Faculty Coordinator makes site visits to the classroom over the course of the year, typically once per PSU quarter. Coordinator is available to teach the class, work with students, or whatever the instructor would find most useful.
  1. Teacher attends workshops (typically fall and spring) as well as annual summer training session.
  1. Class is encouraged to visit the campus; Challenge office available to help with planning a visit.
  1. Teacher submits End-of-Year Evaluation [need doc].

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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 in 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 provide the instructor on the high school campus with a description of the course as it is taught on the University campus.
  • To ensure that the instructor is teaching the content of the PSU course for which his/her students are receiving college credit.
  • To ensure that the instructor is using the college-level text and materials approved by the PSU department.
  • 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 this number of visits.
  • To support the instructor in a positive and collegial manner.
  • 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 any 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, which has resulted in low percentages in each section of those taking the course for PSU credit. This has significantly impacted the quality of the class. We ask that our administrators be cognizant of this when forecasting.

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. For each registration, instructors receive a package at the beginning of the term/semester of all necessary materials and instructions. These include instructions, the registration forms, handbooks, a letter to parents, and a class roster.
  1. Students fill out the registration forms completely and hand them into their instructor. The instructor returns the completed registration forms, along with the class roster indicating students’ GPAs to the Challenge Office by the stated deadline.
  1. All students pay a non-refundable program fee for each course, which covers program costs. Students will be billed by the PSU Cashier’s Office in alignment with the PSU quarter for which the student is registered.
Example: If this is a 3-quarter Spanish course, students will register for fall (late September), winter (late December), and spring (early April) and be billed for each.

If this is a 2-quarter Calculus course overlaying 2 high school semesters, we will register these students in the fall (late September) and spring (early April). They will then be billed in the fall and spring.

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How does a student drop a Challenge course?
If a student wishes to withdraw from a class during any term, he/she must follow the following process:

  1. Notify his/her Challenge Instructor who in turn will notify our office.
  1. The instructor should fill out another blue registration form, this time filling in the information at the bottom of the form for dropping a course. This form should be submitted to the Challenge Program Director no later than the Monday of the week before final examinations, though the earlier in the quarter we can do this, the better.

    If the student chooses to withdraw after the fourth week of classes a "Term-W" will appear on his/her transcript.
  1. If a student drops out of the Program during any term, he/she may only re-enroll by petitioning the PSU Challenge Program Director.  Readmission must be supported in writing by the Program Instructor of a Challenge Program course and appropriate high school personnel.

Note: Program fees are not refundable.

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How does an instructor enter grades into the PSU system?

  • When we superimposed quarters onto semesters:  We register students fall quarter. They automatically receive an “M” (missing grade) when the fall grade window closes. At the end of the high school semester, the Challenge Office will prompt instructors to hand mark grades for fall on a roster we supply. Instructors fill these out, sign, date, and mail them to us. We enter these into the online system, replacing the “M” grades. These are then posted to the students’ records.

    Even though high school second semester starts at the end of January, we register Challenge students coinciding with PSU’s spring quarter, which is in early April.
  • When the course follows the PSU quarter system, such as foreign languages, we will prompt our instructors to submit grades online during each of PSU’s quarter grade windows  (mid-December, mid-March, mid-June).
  • 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 plusses and minuses.
  • Grades appear on the PSU transcript without any reference to Challenge.

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