College & Career

CAREER PREPARATION OPPORTUNITIES

Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy provides students several opportunities to explore a variety of careers through coursework and specialized programs.
These programs assist students in making informed decisions about college and career options that best fit their interests and goals.

Students can use 1-2 elective class periods a day to perform community service or unpaid job shadowing in the community. Online options may be available in certain fields. Students have the opportunity to earn to 0.5 elective credit upon completion of the program.

Students who are interested in being part of an internship. should contact the OVCA High School College and Career Readiness Coordinator, Katie McAskill [email protected]. Internship combines classroom instruction and an on- site 16-week intern experience. Upon completion of the course students have a better understanding of employment soft skills and specific career options.

Students should expect internships to be unpaid. Paid internships are permitted if agreed upon by the student and employer.

See OVCA Board Policy 2070

OKLAHOMA PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP

Oklahoma’s Promise is a program set up by the Oklahoma Legislature for 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students that will help pay for their college and career technology education if their parents’ income from taxed and untaxed sources is $55,000 or less at the time the student applies to the program. Under current legislation, a student would not be eligible for the scholarship in any year that their family income exceeds $100,000, which is checked annually (annual checks replace a one-time check in beginning in 2018-19).

Scholarship benefits:
If the student meets the program’s requirements and takes the required courses, Oklahoma’s Promise will pay his/her tuition at an Oklahoma public two-year college or four-year university. It will also cover at least a portion of tuition at an Oklahoma accredited private college or university or for courses offered at public technology centers that qualify for credit from an Oklahoma public two-year college.

For more information regarding the program or to obtain an online application, visit: www.okpromise.org or by phone at 1-800-858-1840 (405.225.9239 in OKC area) or by email at [email protected].

You may also contact your counselor for further assistance.

COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMS

The ACT and SAT are college entrance tests designed to assess a student’s academic readiness for college. These entrance exams are the most important tests that a student can take for college admission and scholarship awards if he/she plans on attending a college and/or university. Students will take the exam during 11th grade as part of the required state testing. However, students planning to attend college are encouraged to take the exam multiple times to increase their scores. Increasing scores could help provide more opportunities for the students as they enroll in colleges and apply for scholarships.

The ACT measures skill levels in English, writing, reading, math, and science reasoning. The SAT, typically used for east and west coast school admission, tests reading, writing and math skills as well. The ACT and SAT tests are timed, and a fee is charged. If the cost of the test is a concern, you may be eligible for an ACT Fee Waiver. Information about the eligibility requirements and how to request a fee waiver is available from the high school counselor.

The following websites give information on test dates, location and costs and serve as an excellent test prep tool as they provide you with sample test questions.
www.actstudent.org

CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT / DUAL CREDIT

High school juniors and seniors are strongly encouraged to participate in an early entry program in which they attend college courses for college credit while they are finishing their requirements for high school graduation. State law now requires all concurrent enrollment courses be entered on a student’s high school transcript as either academic or elective credit. All concurrent courses will count in GPA and class rank. English Composition and college courses that are less than 3 credit hours will be transcribed as 0.5 high school credit. All other college courses will be transcribed as 1.0 high school credit.

Concurrent College Enrollment Courses comparable to state-mandated core curriculum courses taken by concurrent enrollment may be counted toward meeting the minimum graduation requirements. For example, if a student takes a government course from a university, he/she may also count it as a year of high school government.
Concurrent students may not enroll in remedial (zero-level) coursework offered by colleges and universities designed to remove high school deficiencies.
Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy will use the following guidelines to comply with 70 O.S. §628.13 for any student taking classes through concurrent enrollment from a college or university:

Students must complete the Concurrent Enrollment Agreement form before enrolling in a college or university. This form outlines OVCA’s requirements for concurrent enrollment including participation in a monthly online check-in meeting to ensure student is still enrolled and continuing to complete concurrent coursework. This form must be returned to the counselor.
Grades and credits received from the concurrent enrollment class will be posted to the high school transcript. Grades will be averaged into the GPA. Letter grades will be transcribed as follows: A=95, B=85, C=75, D=67, F=64. Clep grades will be posted as a 92% (passing assigned by College Board). Students must be aware that if they are taking a college course, the grade earned in the class will impact the student’s high school GPA and class rank. Furthermore, if a student does not pass a college course, he/she may not meet the high school requirements for graduation. Grades from Concurrent courses must be sent to the counselor immediately upon receiving the grades.
- Fall semester enrollment- grades must be sent to the student’s counselor no later than the first Friday of January.
- Spring semester enrollment- grades must be sent to the student’s
  counselor no later than the first Friday in June.
- Failure to meet deadlines will result in the student being enrolled in a full course load at the school for the next semester.
Travel hour is a time built in as a course to allow students to travel to the location and allow additional time to work on courses. Any student taking a concurrent course qualifies for a travel hour. Only one travel hour will occur per student. High school class schedules will be adjusted as follows to ensure the student is enroll full-time and OVCA and allow for travel time for the student to attend the concurrent class:
- 1 concurrent class – the student must take 4 classes at OVCA
- 2 concurrent classes – the student must take 3 classes at OVCA
- 3 concurrent classes – the student must take 2 classes at OVCA
Attendance and withdrawals of the concurrent enrollment class will be handled as follows:
- Students reported as a “No Show” for a concurrent class will need to immediately report to their high school counselor to get the appropriate classes scheduled into their high school schedule.
- Students that drop their concurrent enrollment class will need to immediately report to their high school counselor to get the appropriate classes scheduled into their high school schedule. If a student drops a class within the first 10 days of the semester, they will be enrolled in the appropriate number of courses at the high school for full credit. If the student drops the concurrent class after the first 10 days of the semester, they will be enrolled in the appropriate number of courses at OVCA for no credit. The principal has the discretion to consider exceptions to this rule.

OKLAHOMA COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT OPTION:

Students may take college-level courses through Oklahoma colleges and universities. Check with your local college or university to verify they offer concurrent enrollment for high school juniors and/or seniors. Students are responsible for additional costs, including but not limited to, books and fees, charged by colleges and universities for concurrent enrollment courses.

Check with your local college or university for more details. For a detailed description of requirements, please visit:
https://secure.okcollegestart.org/College_Planning/Prepare_for_College/concurrent_enrollment.aspx

Eligibility Requirements:

Student must be eligible for admissions to the college or university under regular admission criteria.
Student must meet the requirements listed here: https://secure.okcollegestart.org/College_Planning/Prepare_for_College/concur rent_enr ollment.aspx
Student must contact their counselor to review qualifications and ensure appropriate college forms are completed correctly.
Students must provide proof of their enrollment in a college program before the first 10 days of each semester. Proof should be a schedule indicating the courses to be taken each semester. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of The OVCA’s approval to participate and the student will be enrolled in a full course load (6) for the semester with OVCA. Additional verifications throughout the semester may also be required.

CAREER TECH PROGRAMS (VOCATIONAL EDUCATION)

Juniors and seniors who are on track for graduation are strongly encouraged to attend an area Career Tech Center program while still attending high school. Some Career Tech Centers also offer programs to sophomores. Students are responsible for contacting their local Center to determine program offerings, application deadlines, and admission requirements; these will vary from one Career Tech Center to another. To determine the Career Tech Center your student is eligible to attend, please contact your High School counselor or visit https://www.okcareertech.org/technology-centers for more information.

Tuition is not charged for eligible high school students, but additional supplies may be required.

Students must obtain and complete the appropriate forms from the technology center AND must meet with the counselor to be approved by OVCA to attend a Career Tech program.

Students must be on track for graduation to be approved to participate in a Career Tech program.
Students are limited to attending Career Tech half time and must be enrolled in at least 3 OVCA or the equivalent in concurrent enrollment courses per semester.
Students must pass all OVCA courses to maintain approval to continue in Career Tech the following semester.
Students must provide proof of their enrollment in a Career Tech program before the first 10 days of each semester. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of OVCA’s approval to participate and the student will be enrolled in a full course load (6) for the semester with OVCA.

Grades and credits received from the Career Tech will be posted to the high school transcript. Grades will be averaged into the GPA. Students must be aware that if they are taking a Career Tech program or course, the grade earned in the class will impact the student’s high school GPA and class rank. Grades from Career Tech must be sent to the counselor immediately upon receiving the grades.

Fall semester enrollment- grades must be sent to the student’s counselor no
later than the first Friday of January.
Spring semester enrollment- grades must be sent to the student’s
counselor no later than the first Friday in June.

Failure to meet deadlines will result in the student being enrolled in a full course load at OVCA for the next semester.

This information is from the Board-approved OVCA Handbook for SY 2023-2024, revised August 2023.