College Credit Plus

High schools are not able to limit participation for a student who is  qualified. 

• Step 1: Attend an information session hosted by the district, or by your high school (not all high schools host their own CCP information night). 
• Step 2: Turn in your letter of intent, which is linked on this page.
• Step 3: Determine if you are eligible by GPA or if you need to test. 
• Step 4: Discuss your course selection with your high school counselor and college academic advisor to find courses that meet high school graduation requirements and set you up for college success. 
• Step 5: Apply to the college of your choice's CCP program and follow all steps required in the application (often a counselor approval, transcript, and parent/guardian permission form are part of your process.)
• Step 6: Attend the college orientation of your chosen CCP program, as well as build both a high school and college schedule.

College Credit Plus Student Checklist

• In High School — Most CPS schools partner with college/universities to offer CCP classes within the high school building.
• On College Campus — Eligible students, who have applied and been accepted, can take classes at any participating college in the state of Ohio.
• Online — Eligible students, who have applied and been accepted, can take online classes from any participating college in the state of Ohio. Students can choose to take any combination of CCP coursework in Summer, Fall or Spring from multiple colleges/universities in the same semester. 
• CCP Course Offerings — The linked chart displays 2023-2024 CCP course offerings at Cincinnati Public Schools. This chart will be updated on a yearly basis each summer. For current CCP course options in your building and enrollment processes, please contact your school counselor.
• For more information on courses on our closest college partner campuses, click on the links below:
  • Miami University
  • University of Cincinnati
  • Cincinnati State Community and Technical College
  • Sinclair Community College

If your high school does not currently offer CCP coursework you'd like to take, please use this form to submit your request: CCP Course Request Form.

Bus Pass Request: The district will fund bus passes if you do not have reliable transportation between your high school campus and the college campus where you intend to take classes.

Laptop/WiFi request: The district will provide a take-home laptop and wifi hotspot if you do not have a reliable at-home computer and internet access for your college-level work.

SAT Prep: Many colleges use Accuplacer as a test for CCP eligibility. Accuplacer is built to reflect the SAT. Access Khan Academy's SAT tools to prepare to take Accuplacer. 

ACT Prep: All current partner colleges in the state of Ohio will accept qualifying ACT scores for CCP eligibility. We recommend taking the ACT several times to achieve your highest possible score. ACT scores are important beyond CCP eligibility as they often determine placement into first-year courses once a student attends college full-time.

• Textbooks for in-high school CCP options are provided to you, no additional steps are needed.
• If you are taking CCP courses in your high school, on a college campus, or online through the college — textbooks must be paid for by the Cincinnati Public Schools District. 
• The process for obtaining books is outlined below for each of our main partners and CPS is billed directly. If you choose to go to a school outside the list below, please email to establish how those books should be obtained. 
  • UC Uptown: 
    • You will be provided a Textbook Voucher to fill out at your UC CCP orientation 
    • You will fill out the Voucher and take it to the UC bookstore to obtain the books needed for your courses. 
    • Should your book be out of stock, or not carried at the bookstore, email for support 
  • Cincinnati State 

To determine the number of credit hours a student can take in a year, CPS must calculate the following credit limit:

• 30 – (high school only credits x 3) = Maximum number of College Credit Plus credit hours
  Students may only take a maximum of 120 credit hours in the program.

If students would like to take more than the maximum number of credit hours, Cincinnati Public Schools will decline charges for their tuition in the State reporting system. This means that the college will seek tuition for your classes at the per-credit hour rate determined by their administration. This rate varies per college.

Possible Benefits:

• Can save families and students thousands of dollars in tuition 
• Exposure and preparation for the full college course schedule upon graduation 
• Academic challenge beyond high school curriculum 
• Earlier graduation from college 

Possible Drawbacks:

• Failing or withdrawing from CCP classes can compromise future financial aid eligibility. 
• Low grades or failing grades in CCP classes are established on permanent college records. 
• Time management between college and high school commitments may present new challenges for students. 

Classes failed or withdrawn with an "F" (or equivalent failing grade) will receive an "F" on the high school and college transcripts and will be computed into the high school and college GPA. CPS does not currently charge students tuition for classes that result in an "F" or "W."

CCP Probation

Underperforming students will be placed on CCP probation. Underperforming students are students who meet at least one of these conditions: 

• Has a cumulative GPA of lower than a 2.0 in the college courses taken through the CCP program.
• Withdraws from, or receives no credit for, two or more courses in the same term. (Withdrawing from a course occurs when the student dis-enrolls from a course after the 14th calendar day of the course start date)

 A student on CCP Probation may enroll in no more than one college course and the student may not enroll in a college course in the same subject in which the student earned a grade of D or F or for which the student received no credit.
 
If the student does not abide by probation limitations, CPS will notify the student and the student’s parent/guardian that the student will be responsible for paying all tuition, fees, and textbook costs. That student is also then considered an ineligible student and is dismissed from the CCP program in the next term.

If the student on CCP Probation takes one course and the grade raises the student's cumulative GPA to a 2.0 or higher, the student is removed from CCP Probation and may participate in the program without restrictions.
 
Students on CCP probation who do not raise their cumulative college GPA above a 2.0 will be dismissed from the CCP program.

CCP Dismissal

CPS is responsible for dismissing an ineligible student from the CCP program. The school must promptly notify the student, the student’s parent/guardian, and each college or university in which the student is enrolled.

Any student on CCP Dismissal may not take any college courses through the program. If the student had already registered for college courses prior to being dismissed, the student will request each college to dis-enroll the student from the courses.
 
If the student fails to dis-enroll, CPS will promptly notify the student and the student's parent/guardian that the student will be responsible for paying all tuition, fees, and textbook costs. The student will continue to be on CCP Dismissal for an additional term.

Appeals Process

1. A student may appeal to the district the CCP Dismissal or prohibition from taking a course in the same subject in which the student earned a grade of “D” or “F” or for which the student received no credit.
2. The student must request an appeal within five business days after being notified of the CCP Dismissal or the CCP Probation that prohibits the student from taking a course in the same subject.

To appeal your CCP Probation or Dismissal, please fill out this Appeals form. CPS will issue a decision within 10 business days.