For Counselors - North Idaho College

At North Idaho College we offer High School Counselors information on how to help guide high school students to become Dual Credit Students.

Academics

The Dual Credit Office at North Idaho College has two programs exclusively centered around high school students:

The Dual Credit program offers college credit for high school requirements such as English, math, science, foreign language, history, PE and others. (www.nic.edu/dualcredit)
Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs prepare students for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, high-demand careers by earning college credit through CTE Dual Credit. (www.nic.edu/cte)

North Idaho College’s Dual Credit and Technical Dual Credit programs provide the opportunity for high school students to earn college credits at a reduced rate while still satisfying high school graduation requirements. NIC offers many challenging classes, all of which are available to dual credit students as long as they satisfy the prerequisites for the class.

NIC classes typically cover as much material in one semester as most high school classes cover in one year.

Steps to become a NIC Student

The high school counselor can determine eligibility and help develop a plan. To qualify a student must be at least 16 years of age and/or have completed one-half of your high school graduation requirements. A 3.0 GPA is recommended. There are some exceptions, noted on the Dual Credit Authorization Form (#3 on the Admissions Steps). Please follow Application Steps (remember to choose Dual Credit student when filling out the application) to help your student be successful. The more they do themselves, the better their college experience will be.

Dual Credit students pay a reduced tuition rate which can be viewed on the tuition rate page.

Placement at North Idaho College

All first-time students must provide placement information to be able to register for English, Communications (Speech), Math or Chemistry. Placement is based on:

ACT, or SAT scores within the last four years
and/or the NIC English and NIC Math Placement

If you have taken the ACT or SAT within the last four years and the scores are not in our system, send your scores to North Idaho College Cardinal Central.

Mail or drop off to:

NIC Cardinal Central
1000 W. Garden Ave, Lee-Kildow Hall Room 116
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
Phone: (208) 769-3311
Fax: (208) 769-3399
Email: cardinalcentral@nic.edu

Students trying to place into a college-level math class may want to take an NIC math placement if they believe their ACT or SAT scores do not accurately reflect their math fluency. An NIC placement would be encouraged for students with an ACT below 20, an SAT below 510 or if they have seen math success since their ACT and/or SAT was taken.

The NIC Easy Math Placement (NICE MP) is a part of NIC’s placement system, in conjunction with ALEKS. NICE MP is intended to place students in the right math courses for a successful college experience. Student’s intentional effort to honestly convey mathematical understanding will enable us to find the best math class for every new student. This is a free, un-proctored placement. It is not timed and can be taken at your convenience. Plan to spend approximately 45 minutes on this placement; a calculator, paper, and pencil will likely be helpful to have at hand.

Notes:

All incoming students are encouraged to take NICE MP first, however, this is not a placement for challenging or skipping math classes. If a student wants to challenge a placement or skip a class after taking a class at the college, ALEKS may be used for such purposes. If you already have an ALEKS score, the NICE MP will not help you to improve your placement.

ALEKS is our follow-up placement program, which is available for students who did not score as high as they had hoped on the NICE MP but believe that some dedicated practice can substantially improve their placement. ALEKS system assessment is located inside the student’s MyNIC account. Students who want to challenge the NICE MP placement should choose between the following:

schedule an ALEKS placement in the Testing Center or
set up remote video proctoring to take the assessment at home

For additional information regarding NICE MP or ALEKS placements email mathedcenter@nic.edu or call the Math Education Center Coordinator at (208) 676-7139.

To create a login for the North Idaho Math Placement Assessment (MPA) you will need your NIC student ID number. This is located on your student ID card or at the bottom of the acceptance letter you received from the Admissions office.
Go to the Math Placement Assessment portal for North Idaho College at this URL: https://nic-mlpui.openclass.com/

Click the “Forgot Your Password” link.
On the Request Password Reset screen, enter your 7-digit student ID number as your username, then click “Continue”.
Go to your NIC email account. An email from support@pearson.com titled “Reset your password” will be there. If the email has not arrived after a few minutes, check your spam folder.
Click on the “Reset Password” link in your email.

Create a new password that you will easily remember, then click “Continue”. This password is for math placement only. This procedure will not change your MyNIC login password.

Click on “Sign into your account”. Use your NIC 7-digit ID number as your username and your new password to access the North Idaho College Math Placement Assessment portal.

What you need to know:
English Placement Assessment is free, un-proctored placement that can be taken anywhere, at any time on the Internet. Expect to spend between 15 and 30 minutes on this placement assessment.
If you already have internet access go to: Go to: https://nic.thewriteclass.org
If you do not have internet access? We can help - call the NIC Testing Center (208) 676-7203.
You will receive a NIC English course placement immediately after completion.
Still have questions? Email: Englishplacement@nic.edu

Registering for Classes

Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree changed their framework in 2015 for general education that has drawn from and embeds the nine abilities. NIC has adopted the principles and requirements outlined in Idaho’s Statewide General Education (Policy III N). NIC’s faculty met with colleagues from across the disciplines at each of the two-and four-year higher education institutions in Idaho to write competencies in six areas of general education. These are Written Communication, Oral Communication, Mathematical Ways of Knowing, Scientific Ways of Knowing, Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing, and Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing. The courses listed in the GEM requirements represent the thoughtfully considered review by faculty of the content and learning outcomes for the general education core at NIC.

Idaho State Department of Education - Office of Advanced Opportunities beginning July 1, 2016
The Advanced Opportunities program provides every student attending an Idaho public school an allocation of $4,125.00 to use towards Advanced Opportunities in grades 7-12. The program was expanded by the Legislature in 2016 through the passing of House Bill 458. The fund can be used for: Dual Credits, Advanced Opportunities, Exams and Overload Courses.

The Advanced Opportunities program can pay the cost of $75.00/credit. However, students are responsible for the cost of lab and other fees, books, supplies, non-course related fees, and transportation to and from college. These fees can be paid through your student’s MyNIC account (Student Menu > Student Accounts > View Account and Make Payments). Traditional federal financial aid is not available for dual credit students.

NIC also requires parking permits for parking on campus. Parking permits for the academic year are available for purchase online only. Please review Parking Rules and Regulations at www.nic.edu/parking before parking on campus.

All parking passes are available online only.
There is a $1.00 convenience fee for permit purchases.
Permits are mailed in 1-3 business days to the mailing address you provide, meaning it could take several days to get to you. Please plan accordingly.
For more information visit www.nic.edu/parking

Dual Credit courses can be taken face-to-face, online (internet), by virtual conferencing, or in some high schools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Students can utilize Advanced Opportunities funds to pay for a variety of college-credit bearing or professional technical exams. These include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or Career Technical Education (CTE) exams.

An overload course is a high school level course that is taken in excess of the student’s regular school day. These courses are offered online, during the summertime, and after school. In the event that student incurs a cost for such courses, the Advanced Opportunities program can pay up to $225.00 for the cost of the course. Overload courses must be above and beyond the full course load offered by the student’s local school.

Parents can save hundreds of dollars in tuition by their students moving ahead with completing high school requirements early and when your student is 16 years old, by starting college early through dual credit!

An Advanced Opportunities Participation Form allows students to participate in the Advanced Opportunities program through the Idaho State Department of Education as authorized by Idaho Code 33, Chapter 46: Advanced Opportunities. By signing this form, the student and parent/guardian agree to the conditions and provisions of the program. The participation form needs to be signed and sent to their participating high school counselor and will be retained by the student’s school district.

The Idaho State Department of Education Advanced Opportunities website link:
http://www.sde.idaho.gov/student-engagement/advanced-ops/index.html
Portal registration instructions are as follows:
Registration is a two-part process:
Step 1: The student must create an account with the State Department of Education.

Go to www.sde.idaho.gov/sectr/adv-opp/
Choose “Apply for Advanced Opportunities” (blue button in the middle of the page)
Select “Create an Account” in the top right corner
Fill in all the information (if you don’t know your EDUID, leave it blank)
Choose “Enroll New Student” to submit
Verify the account, using the confirmation email sent to the student. (Sometimes these go to student spam folders. If they aren’t received instantly, there is a problem.)

From here, your school will verify your account. Once this is done, you may sign up for funding.

Step 2: Sign up for course or exam funding, once you know the account is active.

Go to https://advancedops.sde.idaho.gov and login
Choose “Student Landing” in the top left corner
Apply for funding

Choose Exam or Course
Register the information for that course/exam

Most courses or exams are available in a drop down menu. If you don’t see your course or exam, contact your counselor. He or she may need to enter the course for you.
Choose Fast Forward

Submit your registration

Dual Credit Authorization Form (DCAF) was not submitted or received.
If a student applies to take classes but does not attend a semester, the student’s account goes dormant or inactive. The account must be re-activated before registration can occur. To reactivate their account, the student must re-apply as a Dual Credit High School Student - www.NIC.edu/Apply. It takes about 10 minutes. Within a few days, a registration time will be generated.
Placement Assessment scores may not satisfy requirements for class.
Outstanding tuition or fees on Student Account from previous semester.
Academic Probation or Suspension - Call our office 625-2329!!
High School prerequisite class may overlap NIC class between semesters.
If you have taken college classes other than NIC, NIC needs an official transcript from that college (not the high school) to verify the course and grade. You may need to do this if a prerequisite course is needed prior to registering for an NIC class.