Student Eligibility & Prerequisites

Students who enroll in a U of M course through CIS should be challenged by the experience of college course work, but capable of succeeding. 

CIS student eligibility criteria and prerequisites vary by University course and multiple measures are provided. They are carefully considered and ultimately set by the faculty coordinator on behalf of the department owning the course.  

Eligibility criteria and prerequisites are intended to facilitate selection of appropriate students by instructors, counselors, or administrators—or self-selection by students. However, if there is any question about whether or not a student is prepared for the vigor of the University course, the decision rests with the CIS instructor in consultation with the U of M faculty coordinator. 

CIS strongly recommends that students who have earned a grade of D or lower in a previous U of M course not be allowed to register in additional future U of M courses offered through CIS. Students do not always understand that the grades earned in courses offered through CIS are U of M grades and will affect students’ U of M GPAs.

Student Eligibility and Prerequisites by Course

Course-specific student eligibility criteria and prerequisites are noted in each course page on the CIS website.

Granting Exceptions

Instructors have the authority to make exceptions to the CIS student eligibility criteria and prerequisites on a case-by-case basis.

Students may be admitted into U of M courses offered through CIS when the CIS instructor believes that the student’s past academic achievement and motivation indicate that they will be successful in the University course. Class size limits must be respected whether students are admitted based on the eligibility criteria or based on an instructor-approved exception to the criteria. 

Foreign Exchange and International Students 

Updated 06/10/2025

Students attending a Minnesota school on a foreign exchange program (J-1 visa) and international students on other visas (such as F-1, F-2, J-2, B-1 or B-2), are eligible to enroll for U of M credit, but are not eligible to generate concurrent enrollment aid from the State of Minnesota. The high school administration is responsible for approving a foreign exchange or international student’s participation, acknowledging they will not receive state aid (currently approximately $50 for each course enrollment) for that student.

Other considerations:

• It is a violation of federal law to request a student’s immigration/visa status, see Plyler v. Doe 457 U.S. 202 (1982). Therefore, a student’s status will only be known if the family volunteers the information, or from paperwork that precedes the student’s enrollment at the high school. 

• Undocumented students are entitled to enroll in school and generate state aid per federal law. These students are considered residents of the district in which they live and are eligible to participate in concurrent enrollment courses.

• Students can be in the U.S. under visas other than J, F, and B. Generally if a student is in the U.S. with their parent(s)/legal guardian under other visas and can generate general education revenue for the public school, the student would be eligible to participate in concurrent enrollment. 

To learn more about state aid eligibility for foreign exchange and international students, supporting documents can be found in the MARSS Manual on the Minnesota Department of Education website. For information about eligibility for specific visas to generate state aid and for questions about concurrent enrollment aid, contact Jeannie Krile (jeanne.krile@state.mn.us); and for program-related questions about concurrent enrollment (credit earning) contact Beth Barsness (beth.barsness@state.mn.us).

Homeschool Students

Homeschool students may participate in CIS if they enroll in their resident district as a shared-time student. It’s up to the local district to determine any limitations. See the Minnesota Department of Education website.

Ninth and Tenth Grade Student Participation

In some U of M courses offered through CIS (primarily mathematics and world languages), the CIS instructor may approve the participation of one or two individual ninth and tenth grade students if the students are well-prepared and if the U of M department approves. See the course page on the CIS website to check whether this is allowed for a specific course. 

High schools may also offer a U of M course through CIS to a class comprised entirely or primarily of ninth or tenth graders. Prior to offering a course to young students, an agreement between the high school, the university department that owns the course, and CIS must be signed. The agreement addresses issues important to the success of these younger students, such as steps the school will take to ensure that the students are well-prepared for the rigor, pedagogy, and content of the course; the criteria that will be used to approve students for enrollment; and the schedule for offering the course. Please contact Emily Hanson, Program Director, to discuss the possibility. 

Student Credit Load Per Term

Students at the University of Minnesota are considered full-time undergraduates when enrolled in 12 or more credits per semester. CIS students, like full-time U of M undergraduates, may not register for more than 20 credits per semester. The credits for year-long courses are counted in credit loads for both fall and spring semesters. Students who wish to take more than 20 credits per term require CCAPS Scholastic Committee approval. For information and assistance, contact CIS Enrollment Services. 

Minnesota Law and Eligibility

124D.09. The Minnesota Post-secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) Act allows qualified high school juniors and seniors to enroll in University courses for dual college and high school credit, either on the University campus (as space allows) or through College in the Schools. 

The 2014 legislature amended 124D.09 to allow 9th and 10th graders to participate in courses offered through programs such as College in the Schools if (1) the school district and the concurrent enrollment program agree to the student's enrollment or (2) the course is a world language course currently available to 11th and 12th grade students, and consistent with section 120B.022 of the statute which governs world language standards, certificates, and seals. This legislation does not change the post-secondary institutions’ ability to determine eligibility requirements. 

Class Size Limits

University academic departments specify class size limits for each course, offered both on- and off-campus, to ensure that the pedagogy and interactivity appropriate for the subject at hand can be employed. CIS gains permission from a university department to offer its course(s) by guaranteeing that the course’s essential characteristics – class size being one such characteristic – will be preserved when taught in the high school. Observing the university’s class size limits is also required to meet NACEP’s curriculum standards, which require that a concurrent enrollment course be the same as the course offered on the college campus and that it reflects the pedagogical orientation of the course on the college campus. 

If a U of M course offered through CIS is over-enrolled after the first two weeks of the high school term, the school should contact the CIS Director to discuss providing the instructor with additional support that term—for example, release days for the instructor to manage the additional work. 

Schools with a pattern of over-enrollment over a period of two years will be asked to meet with the CIS director and a faculty member from the University department that owns the course to consider whether the course can be offered again for U of M credit. 

Class size limits apply to the whole class—students enrolled for U of M credit as well as those who are not.

Course-Specific Class Size Limits

For specific class size limits for each course, refer to the course page on the CIS website. Contact the CIS office with concerns about meeting the U of M class size limits. 

Combined Courses or Independent or Directed Study

A U of M course offered through CIS may not be combined with another high school course or offered as an independent study or directed study. This ensures that the course delivers the same quality, rigor, and student experience as the on-campus sections.

Because former CIS students often present a course syllabus to gain credit recognition at colleges and universities, it’s imperative that courses be clearly identified as a University of Minnesota course. As long as the content of the U of M course is fully and completely covered, instructors may include additional course material. On the syllabus, however, a course should be identified only as a U of M course. University courses offered through CIS are not CIS courses, nor U of M/Advanced Placement courses, nor U of M/CIS courses. Learn more about how to develop your syllabus.

Courses Taught Over Two Trimesters or Quarters

Courses taught over two trimesters or two quarters must be taught in consecutive terms. 

Enrollment Limit for High School Credit Only

College in the Schools requires that at least 75% of the students in a U of M course offered through CIS be registered for U of M credit. This requirement is critical to ensuring that the course functions at the University level. All students, including those taking it for U of M credit as well as those taking it for high school credit only, must meet the eligibility criteria for the course and/or be approved by the CIS instructor. Instructors may elect to grade their high school credit-only students differently, but the course name and course requirements remain the same as for those who register for U of M credit.

Student Teachers

Student teachers are not allowed to teach U of M courses through CIS. CIS instructors should consult with their faculty coordinator to determine potential contributions or roles, such as guest speaker, that a student teacher might take on. 

Entry Point Project (EPP)

College in the Schools is committed to reaching and preparing students underrepresented in higher education. 

Our goals are:

1. To make it possible for all qualified students to participate and ensure that eligibility criteria are fair.

2. To strengthen the academic supports needed for students to succeed in these rigorous courses. 

Faculty coordinators have worked with instructors to identify and articulate student eligibility criteria that, in most cases, include alternatives to a high GPA or class rank. Traditional academic indicators may keep students out who could do well in a particular course. 

U of M courses included in EPP employ Universal Instructional Design, a supportive pedagogy that

2. • integrates development of skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem-solving, written and oral communication) with the acquisition of content knowledge, 

   • communicates clear expectations and provides constructive feedback, 

   • promotes interaction among and between teachers and students, 

   • incorporates teaching methods that consider diverse learning styles, abilities, ways of knowing, previous experience, and background knowledge, and 

   • articulates a commitment to diversity and integrates multicultural perspectives into all aspects of the learning process. 

Target Audiences for Entry Point Project (EPP) Courses

Schools offering Entry Point Project courses are encouraged to promote these courses to students from populations that are traditionally underrepresented in higher education, including those who are:

• • • first-generation college bound

    • English language learners

    • from families of low-to-moderate income, and/or

    • in the academic middle (between the top 50% and the top 20%)

The course page on the CIS website indicates which courses are Entry Point Project courses.