eLearning Enrollment

SMCPS eLearning Opportunities

Credits for Graduation:

Students are encouraged to present more than the minimum units of credit for graduation. Most students will graduate with more than 26 units of credit. Units of credit are earned at the end of the year with a passing score. A unit of credit is based on all four marking periods for a year-long course. All credits required for graduation must be taken at an SMCPS high school to fulfill graduation requirements unless otherwise noted in the Program of Studies.

St. Mary's County Public Schools (SMCPS) understands that digital learning is a way to individualize student learning opportunities. Online learning opportunities are available for original credit, credit recovery, quarterly recovery, and unit recovery in blended learning environments. Online learning or eLearning provides an opportunity for students to take a course when enrollment is too low to assign a teacher to a traditional classroom. Blended learning environments incorporate both face-to-face and online learning. Technology and digital resources are employed to improve student productivity and learning as well as extend the "learning day."

Only students enrolled in St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) may participate in SMCPS digital learning courses provided through Edgenuity. The exception to this requirement is students enrolled in the Pathway to Graduation program. Prior to enrollment in any digital learning original credit course, students must submit a completed SMCPS Student Participation Agreement. School Counselors are responsible for securing the completed agreement.

SMCPS offers online learning opportunities as alternatives for gaining original credit or recovery credit for classes in which students did not receive credit. All online learning is aligned to the MD Common Core Standards. Courses for original must be offered through an approved vendor who meets the requirements established by MSDE.

St. Mary’s County Public Schools utilizes Edgenuity as the platform for digital courses. Edgenuity’s academic curriculum provides standards-based courses in math, science, English, social studies, world languages, electives, and Advanced Placement.

Original Credit Courses

Enrollment in an original credit course is limited to those courses that have been approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The list of MSDE approved courses is updated periodically. An original credit course is one where eighty percent or more of instruction is conducted online where the teacher and student are separated by distance and time or both and in which two-way communication between the teacher and student is required.
The grade from the original credit course will be reflected on the student’s report card and transcript.
Students wanting to take an MSDE approved Original Credit Course over the summer must take that course through one of the approved vendors. MSDE approved vendor list is periodically updated throughout the year. Before enrolling in a course through an approved vendor, students must submit the SMCPS Student Participation Agreement and receive approval from SMCPS. This ensures that the course is still approved prior to paying the vendor for the cost of the course.
Please refer to the MSDE Vendor Approved Courses for a complete listing of all MSDE approved Original Credit courses.
Please see this document for the detailed steps of the MVLO approval process. MVLO Original Credit Steps

Pathway to Graduation

Pathway to Graduation is a program that enables current St. Mary's County Public Schools seniors and former SMCPS high school students needing three credits or fewer to meet the academic requirements for a Maryland high school diploma.
Students must have passed all MSDE required assessments for graduation in order to participate in Pathways to Graduation.
All coursework must be completed within one year of enrollment.

Blended Learning Original Credit

Blended learning original credit courses are those in which a student learns at least in part through delivery of content from a content-certified teacher and instruction via digital and online media.
All Edgenuity courses are eligible for enrollment in a blended learning original credit course. In order to enroll in a blended learning original credit course, a content certified must be assigned as the teacher of record.
The grade from the original credit course will be reflected on the student’s report card and transcript.

Credit Recovery

Credit recovery provides students the opportunity to recover a course in which he/she previously was not academically successful in earning credit towards graduation.
Courses are offered as part of the student’s regularly scheduled classes during the school day.
The grade from the credit recovery course will be recorded on the student’s transcript as a transfer grade and the student will receive credit for the course. This grade does not replace the original grade received in the course nor is it factored into the student’s cumulative grade point average.

Quarter Recovery

Quarter recovery provides students in grades nine through twelve the opportunity to recover a failing marking period grade during the school year. The program is offered as part of the student’s regularly scheduled classes during the school day.
Students must complete the course with at least 70% content mastery in order to receive credit for the course in order to replace the marking period grade with a 59.5%.

Summer School Credit Recovery

Summer school credit recovery provides students the opportunity to retake a course in which he/she previously was not academically successful in earning credit towards graduation.
Students will be required to complete all assigned work for the marking periods in which they failed during the school year.
The grade from the summer school credit recovery course will be recorded on the student’s transcript as a transfer grade and the student will receive credit for the course. This grade does not replace the original grade received in the course nor is it factored into the student’s cumulative grade point average.

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