Apply to Attend College While in High School

At Sierra College, we offer two tracks for earning college credit while still in high school, at a participating school, or at Sierra College:

• Academic Enrichment is for any California high school student to earn college credits online or at their local Sierra College campus.
• Dual Enrollment is for students from specific, participating high schools to earn college credits from the same class on their high school campus.

Both options are tuition-free, and the credits you earn may count for both high school and college requirements. Taking college classes in high school is not only a smart financial decision, but an investment in your future.

Plus, if you decide to attend a two-year California Community College once you graduate from high school, earning college credit now will not affect your eligibility for Two Years Free.

Academic Enrichment

Eligibility

Open to students who:

• Have completed the equivalent of 8th grade and are in good academic standing, and
• Attend one of the following:
  1. A public school (including charter schools) or private school in California that has an Annual Compliance Form on file with Sierra College OR
  2. A home school program in California that has a Private School Affidavit and an Annual Compliance Form on file with Sierra College. To request the Compliance Form, email outreach@sierracollege.edu.

Steps to Enroll

1. Meet with your high school counselor. Verify your eligibility and discuss your class options.
2. Apply to Sierra College. Apply online through OpenCCC and indicate that you are a high school student. We recommend using a personal email address and not a school email or Yahoo email address. Watch a tutorial video about applying to the Academic Enrichment program.
3. Set up your mySierra account. Refer to your Welcome email and use the password reset tool to create your account. If you have not received the Welcome email within 24 hours of applying, please contact outreach@sierracollege.edu.
4. Complete the 2024-25 Academic Enrichment Permission Form. This form must be submitted each semester and be signed by the student parent/guardian, and an authorized high school staff member.
   • Students: Use your mySierra log in to complete the form. If your school is not listed on the e-form, fill out the PDF Permission Form: All Semesters. Send the completed form to outreach@sierracollege.edu. 
   • Parents/Guardians: You will receive an email with a link to your students’ form to review and e-sign.
   • Upon parent/guardian signature, the form is routed to the authorized signer at your high school, then sent to Sierra College for processing.
   • Please allow up to two (2) business days for processing. A confirmation email will be sent to your Sierra College email.
5. Accept College Terms and Conditions. Log in to mySierra and click on the Terms and Conditions link to accept.
6. Register yourself for classes in mySierra. Visit Register for Classes for instructions or watch a how-to register for classes video.
   • Note: Make sure the class you want is not restricted by reviewing the Academic Enrichment Restricted Course List.

Policies and Guidelines

 Eligibility 

• To be eligible, students must attend a CA high school, have completed the 8^th grade, and be in good academic standing.
• You must meet all course prerequisites to enroll in a course which may require providing transcripts.
• Every year, high schools (including homeschools) must submit an updated Academic Enrichment Compliance Form with the names and signatures of all authorized personnel for the Permission Form. If the individual is not listed on the form, we cannot process the form.
• You must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA at Sierra College to be allowed to continue in classes as an Academic Enrichment student.

Course Policies 

• There is a maximum enrollment of 11 units each semester or summer session.
• Academic Enrichment students are not permitted to audit courses.
• It is the student’s responsibility to register for the appropriate classes. The Restricted Course List is available on our website and the college reserves the right to exclude certain classes.
• The course credit and grades earned will become part of the student’s permanent college record. There is no way to remove Ws or substandard grades (D, F) from a college transcript. Classes in which a student receives a passing grade cannot be retaken later for a higher grade.
• College courses will be reviewed when determining your college financial aid eligibility. See Financial Aid SAP Policy.
• Students are responsible for being aware of and adhering to policies, procedures and deadlines (including Add/Drop deadlines) as they pertain to Sierra College students. For example, if you are not present for the first class meeting, you may be dropped from the class.

Other Student Information 

• Students seeking accommodations for disabilities must meet with a Student Accessibility Services (SAS) counselor and submit disability verification from a qualified professional. Sierra College cannot participate in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process but will consider high school IEPs as part of the accommodation request. By statute, the accommodations available for students and the support offered are different at the high school and college levels, so the accommodations granted at the college may differ from those approved through the IEP process.
• Upon graduation from high school, you can re-apply to Sierra College as a first-time college student.
• Dual enrollment students are not eligible for state or federal financial aid.

Parent Information 

Students may interact socially with adult college students and may be exposed to discussions, readings, and visual materials of a mature nature. Students will be expected to conform to the same performance standards as any other college students as set forth in course outlines and syllabi. Sierra College is not responsible for the social interactions of students and is released from the responsibility of monitoring concurrently enrolled minor students should a class meeting or course be canceled. 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. 

The parent / guardian assumes financial responsibility for all fees incurred by their Academic Enrichment student. 

Questions?

If you have questions about specific courses at Sierra College and how they relate to a particular career or major you’re considering, please schedule an appointment with a Sierra College counselor. A counselor can help you understand how your Academic Enrichment or Dual Enrollment course fits into a pathway you are considering. Meeting with a Sierra College counselor should not replace meeting with your high school counselor. Please contact the Counseling office to book an appointment with:

• Rocklin Campus Counseling
• Nevada County Campus Counseling
• Tahoe-Truckee Campus Counseling