Getting Permission at UM

Choosing the section and getting permission

Steps to take a CR at UM

1. Talk to your counselor or forum leader to determine if a UM class is right for you. These classes can be extremely challenging and you need to be sure you are ready for the experience. UM CRs do factor into your high school GPA. Pass/fail is not an option for any UM CRs. You must have at least a 3.5 to take a class at UM but most students have a 3.8 or better.

2. Find a course that looks interesting and that you are academically prepared to take through the University of Michigan's website. Here is a link to the LSA course guide where you can get course descriptions. Click on the semester you are interested in and then the subject area. The Schedule of Classes with days and times is now password protected at UM.  You will need to find a class with times for both the lecture and any discussion section that will work in your schedule. To get that information you can come to the CR office and work with a CR monitor or use a login for an acquaintance that you have.

3. Contact the UM professor by email to see if they will grant you permission to attend their class and receive high school CR credit for it. In your brief email, state who you are, explain why you are interested in their class and how you are qualified / prepared to take it. Many instructors at UM are familiar with the CR program but giving them a bit of background and our website is a good idea as well.  Here is some text about the CR program that you could use: 

Through the Community Resource (CR) Program in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, AAPS students can receive high school credit for attending a UM course if the instructor grants the student permission to attend and participate in the course. CR students are expected to act and be held to the same standards as all the other students in the class. My grades and progress would be communicated by you, the instructor, by email to the AAPS teacher who would be monitoring my progress in your course.

4. Once an instructor gives their permission, the student completes the CR Application form on this site. 

5. The student and parent will be notified who the CR monitor in AAPS will be and it's the CR monitor who will  oversee the experience throughout the semester. 

Important notes: 

• Parents of high school CR students must communicate with the CR monitor with questions and NOT the UM instructor about the student's progress. AAPS adheres to UM policies for grading and sharing student records.

• UM CR course titles cannot contain the course number that UM uses. The CR monitor will assign a course name to the CR with an appropriate course title that is similar to but may not be exactly how the course is listed at UM.

General Information

• If you are interested in taking a world language at UM, see this link for placement test information.

• High school students are allowed to sit in and "take" a class at UM for high school credit through the Community Resource Department in AAPS, if the class is not full and if permission is granted by the UM instructor.  You can call the department of the class that you are interested in and ask if they have advice about which section might be the best option.  The UM CR class is taken for high school credit only and the grade and credit are granted through the Ann Arbor Public Schools. The student does not register at UM but will be given access to Canvas for coursework.

• If you don't know the instructor in advance, you go to the chosen class on the first day of UM classes and ask for permission. Many instructors will not grant permission until drop/add at UM is over so that they know how many UM students are going to be in the class, but you must be there that first day to state your intention.  Please know that Spanish courses (especially the first semester) usually fill up and there is often no room for CR students.  Sometimes a very few of those who wait until the last day of drop/add do get in but it is very difficult and not at all guaranteed.  

• Many departments at UM have a policy that if a class is full of UM students who pay for the course, it is unfair to allow the high school students, who do not pay anything, to overfill the class. That is the most frequent reason a student is denied.  If the student can fit a different section that meets at a different time into his or her schedule, that can be explored.  You should understand that this is a completely voluntary program that some UM instructors participate in and others do not.  We cannot compel them in any way to accept a student if they choose not to.  You should have a backup plan for a course that you will take if the UM CR does not work out.