Post Secondary Enrollment Option Program (PSEO)

The College of St Scholastica is an active participant in Minnesota's Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program (PSEO). The program provides a unique opportunity for qualified high school senior students to enrich the curriculum available to them and to experience college life.

Qualifications

1. The student must be a senior in a Minnesota public or private high school, or have senior-level equivalency in a homeschool program, for the year he/she is applying. Please note: The state of Minnesota opens the PSEO program to junior- and senior-level students. The College of St. Scholastica accepts only senior-level students.
2. The student must be in the top 20 percent of his or her high school class. Homeschooled students will be evaluated individually to determine eligibility for the program. Standardized test results will be very useful to help assess the eligibility of homeschooled students. Achievement test results or college entrance exam results are acceptable.
3. The program is limited to 40 participants per year. Participants will be selected from the pool of qualified applicants. The College reserves the right to accept fewer than 40 students in any given year.

Course/program restrictions

Professors will be notified (before the beginning of classes) if a Post-secondary Enrollment Options student has registered for one of their classes. The Post-secondary Enrollment Options Coordinator asks for information about academic progress midway through each semester.

• Under the Post-secondary Enrollment Options Act, students participating in the program may only enroll for non-sectarian courses and programs. This means students are not permitted to take class with TRS (Religious Studies) prefix.
• Courses taken for only postponed credit are not eligible for tuition reimbursement under the act. (See Costs)
• PSEO students are not eligible to participate in College student-abroad programs and may not run for student office. Students are strongly encouraged to join clubs and organizations on campus.
• PSEO students are eligible for private voice or music lessons. However, costs for these programs are not covered by state funds. PSEO students may participate in band, choir or group ensembles at no cost.
• PSEO students are discouraged from taking the CHM 1110/1120 (Inorganic Chemistry) sequence, the MTH 2221/2222 (Calculus) sequence, and the PSC 2001/2002 (Physics) sequence. In rare situations, with sufficient placement test results, adequate high school preparation, and the academic need for the courses, students will be allowed to register for these courses.
• PSEO students are not eligible for student employment on campus.

Academic/disciplinary regulations

PSEO students must maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 to continue to qualify for the program. Students who do not maintain the minimum GPA are subject to academic dismissal.

All PSEO students have the same responsibilities as first-year students; they are required to abide by the same rules and regulations as other college students, and are subject to the same disciplinary action. However, because PSEO students are not officially admitted to the College, disciplinary decisions and dismissals are final. The student does not have the right to appeal the decisions.

In accordance with Minnesota law, which prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages by persons under the legal age for drinking and the use of controlled substances, PSEO students may not use alcoholic beverages or controlled substances at any time. (Physician and dental prescriptions are the only exceptions).

Violations of academic or disciplinary regulations can result in immediate expulsion from the PSEO program.

Participation

Students accepting a place in the Post-secondary program at The College of St. Scholastica, agree to participate in orientation sessions, semester meeting, semester advisement and other activities as arranged by the Post-secondary Enrollment Options Coordinator.

Cost

The state of Minnesota, according to the PSEO program payment guidelines, pays for tuition for courses taken for secondary credit by students at Minnesota public high schools. The maximum allowable reimbursement by the state covers about 20-25 percent of the total cost. The remainder of the cost (about 75-80 percent) is paid by The College of St. Scholastica.

Courses that are not taken for high school credit, but for post-secondary credit only are not paid for by the state. Students who elect to enroll for a course for post-secondary credit only are responsible for the full tuition cost for that course.

Lab fees are paid for by the state.

PSEO students are not eligible to receive state or College financial aid. This means PSEO students are not eligible for student employment positions on campus.

The state will not pay for the expense of room and board for students electing to live on campus.