Student Guide
For more information on topics that were not covered, please visit the Student Guide, a handbook for high school students that are enrolled in USI's College Achievement Program (CAP).
Welcome to the University of Southern Indiana (USI) College Achievement Program (CAP), a dual credit opportunity for high school sophomore, junior, and senior students to enroll in USI courses taught at your high school! Through CAP, you are considered a USI student, and you will earn valuable college credits that will help you build a strong base for your future college career. Please explore the information below to start on your CAP journey.
Students and parents may be confused about how CAP differs from Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The FAQs below may answer some questions you might have.
| Questions You May Have... | Advanced Placement | CAP |
| Is the potential to earn college credit based on a single test score? | Yes | No |
| Is a university letter grade awarded and recorded for credit at the university? | No | Yes |
| Is the program managed by a post-secondary institution with national academic accreditation? | No | Yes |
| Is the instructor required to maintain collegial interaction with a post-secondary institution faculty liaison regarding course content? | No | Yes |
| Is the instructor required to at least have a master's degree? | No | Yes |
Students who are juniors or seniors enrolling in CAP should have a minimum, cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 (based on a 4.0 scale). Sophomores enrolling in CAP should have a minimum, cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 along with permission from a counselor or instructor.
Past CAP students must have obtained a USI grade of C or better to enroll in further coursework in the same subject area (i.e. English 101 and English 105).
Students who wish to enroll in Chemistry 142, Chemistry 143, Civil Engineering 321, English 101, English 105, Math 111, Math 112, Math 114, Math 230, Psychology 201, Social Work 224, or a world language (French, German, Spanish) must meet additional requirements. Visit our Course Prerequisites page to learn more.
CAP is free for all eligible high school students!
Current or prospective CAP students have access to USI's advising centers to learn how CAP courses will fit into a future USI degree.
CAP students have access to the online USI student portal called myUSI. The University ID, provided in the acceptance and enrollment verification letters, is required to activate myUSI. Detailed directions are available here. You will need to use myUSI for the following:
CAP students have the privilege of checking out materials from the Rice Library on USI's campus. The student can obtain a CAP library card at the library front desk by showing a state-issued photo UD (driver's license or ID card). The library card may be used to check out materials during the semester(s) in which the student is enrolled in the CAP course. CAP students can accrue library fines if books are overdue; library fines will prevent students from registration in further CAP or USI courses and will also prevent access to transcripts. CAP students may use Rice Library study rooms and can reserve them by visiting the Rice Library's website.
Visit the CAP LibGuide site for help finding databases to conduct research in your CAP courses.
USI's Academic Success Center provides by-appointment, in-person, and virtual tutoring for CAP students. Tutoring must be utilized for only the CAP course(s) in which you are enrolled, and not all courses have tutoring offered each semester. View the current schedule and details here.
Student Portal
CAP students have access to the online USI student portal called myUSI. The University ID, provided in the acceptance and enrollment verification letters, is required to activate myUSI. Detailed directions are available here. You will need to use myUSI for the following:
Grades
The grade earned for the USI coursework is often the same as the grade earned for the high school course. However, some USI courses require specific assessments, like a final exam that cannot be exempted. In courses where a student is required to complete specific assignments/assessments for the USI grade that are not required for the high school grade, students may have a different USI grade than their high school grade. These details will be clarified in the course syllabus.
Letter grades indicate the qualify of the coursework completed: A, excellent; B+ and B, good; C+ and C, average; D+ and D, poor. The letter grade assigned for unsatisfactory work, F, does not result in USI credit being granted toward graduation. A letter grade of F is included in the official USI transcript and GPA computations. USI does not assign minuses.
The grade you earn in your CAP course will be recorded on a USI transcript, regardless of what it is, unless timely action is taken to withdraw from the course.
Student Conduct
While students are enrolled in USI’s College Achievement Program, they are expected to abide by the academic rules of behavior befitting a university student. CAP students should read the policies regarding student behavior and academic dishonesty, available in the online resource, Code of Student Behavior: Student Rights and Responsibilities. Of particular note are the definitions of cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and interference with another student's work and the penalties related to these activities.
Before enrolling in the College Achievement Program, it is the student's responsibility to contact the institution to which they are seeking admission to determine transferability of CAP credits. The decision to recognize credits is the decision of the receiving institution.
A student who wants to transfer credit to a specific college or university should check directly with that institution (registrar's office, office of admissions, or academic program of intended major) to determine if a course will be accepted and counted toward graduation.
Credits earned through the College Achievement Program are USI courses and will be waiting for students when they arrive at USI's campus. Even so, before enrolling, students should still consult the University web site for particular requirements of their potential major and USI's general education Core 39 requirements. If you know your intended major, also check out the major program requirements, as some majors specify which courses should be taken to meet Core 39 requirements.
Transfer Credits to Indiana Public Institutions
Public schools within the state of Indiana have established a Core Transfer Library (CTL). Each course included in the list will transfer to any public college or university in Indiana if an equivalent course exists and if the student has earned an adequate grade in the course. Click here for more information about the CTL and how CAP courses transfer around the state.
CAP courses not included in the CTL may still transfer to public institutions in Indiana. Check with your college of choice prior to enrolling.
Transfer Credits to Out-of-State and Private Institutions
Public schools out of state generally accept dual credit transfers, as do some private schools. The registrar's office, admission office, or prospective academic school will be able to verify how credits from a CAP course will be accepted and counted toward graduation requirements.
When contacting an institution to determine how CAP credits will transfer, be sure to have the following information ready:
Be prepared to ask the following:
Students are advised to take a portfolio of their work (including a course syllabus, graded papers, tests, and other beneficial information) to new student orientation in order to demonstrate the college work in the course and to gain transfer credit. If transferability is in question, students should go to the subject area department (mathematics, English, etc.) and show the portfolio to the freshman advisor. Persistence on the part of the students often meets with a successful transfer of credit. Students should not carry in a USI transcript, as most institutions require it to be sent directly from USI.
For more information on the transferability of credits, visit the CAP Student Guide.
Once enrolled in a USI course, CAP students must abide by the Withdrawal Calendar, which is an adjusted version of the USI Academic Calendar. Enrolling in a college course is a significant academic commitment. Students and parent should seriously consider student obligations prior to enrollment.
If a student drops the high school CAP course, they are not automatically removed from the USI CAP section. It is the student's responsibility to contact the CAP instructor and the CAP office so a withdrawal may be processed based on the Withdrawal Calendar. If a student fails to contact the CAP Office after leaving a CAP course, they risk earning a failing grade, as they will still have a USI grade recorded since they failed to contact CAP to complete withdrawal paperwork.
Starting with the first day of the high school's final exam week - December for fall courses and May for spring or year-long courses (exact dates vary by district and school) - students may no longer complete paperwork to withdraw from a USI course. Students will be held responsible for all academic obligations.
Do you wish to drop a CAP course? Visit our Withdrawal page and submit the CAP Course Drop Request form.
A transcript is a complete record of a student's academic work at the University of Southern Indiana. There is an official and unofficial transcript.
An official transcript is required to transfer your USI credits earned through CAP to other institutions. Official transcripts must be sent directly from USI to your institution. Colleges will not accept a printout from a student as an official transcript. There is a charge for official transcripts.
An unofficial transcript is how you can view your grade(s) earned in your CAP course(s). An unofficial transcript is also useful for college orientation and class registration if a credit transfer is not yet complete when you meet with your advisor.
IMPORTANT: Your USI credits earned through CAP are undergraduate credits. Whenever you are requesting your official transcript, make sure to select Undergraduate as the type of official transcript you want.
Visit the CAP Transcript page for detailed instructions on how to request and access your transcripts.
Current or prospective CAP students have access to USI's advising centers to learn how CAP courses will fit into a future USI degree. High school students should investigate whether a course will fit into their college coursework degree map before signing up for dual credit.
Prospective USI students can meet with USI advisors to learn how dual credit courses can fit into an intended major or USI's Core 39 Core Curriculum. Click here for more information. If you're interested in attending USI after high school, you can schedule a visit!
Non-USI bound students will need to investigate how their USI credit earned through CAP will transfer to their university of choice. Visit the Transferability of Credits tab and click here for more information.
To schedule a time to meet with a CAP advisor, or if you want more specific advising information, visit the CAP Advising Information page.
The Indiana College Core (ICC) Certificate consists of 30 semester hours of general education credit taken from six competency areas. The ICC certificate must be awarded by a public college or university.
Though not available at every high school, the Indiana College Core is an opportunity that may be available to you at your school. Click here for more information on the Indiana College Core and CAP.
Do you need assistance with your myUSI account? Contact the IT Help Desk at 812-465-1080.