Credit Programs

General Information for Parents and Guardians

Our programs are a great way for students to test the waters of college while gaining useful academic credit. However, they also represent a significant step toward independence for most students. Below are some things you may want to know about programs at the University of Mississippi.

College vs. High School

College classes require a greater degree of self-directed persistence and time management than high school courses. Even academically gifted students may not be prepared for the self-regulation and attention to detail required by college courses. Have conversations about this with your student before registration and encourage them to be the one responsible for completing the registration process.

Counting Credits

Check with your high school before assuming a college credit will be counted toward graduation. Not all high schools accept all college credits. Even if a credit is listed by the state as approved to be used toward high school graduation requirements, school districts ultimately determine what is acceptable, not the university.

Scholarships

Students are awarded scholarships by the university as part of our commitment to enabling young people’s access to high-quality education. Most of our credit programs award some form of scholarship automatically upon a student’s acceptance to the program.

Some additional scholarships for our summer programs are also available based upon merit and financial need. Our full list of summer scholarship opportunities can be found on our Summer Financial Aid page. However, any awarded scholarships may be rescinded if students do not honor their end of the bargain — attending class regularly to the best of their ability, attending co-curricular events both academic and recreational as required, following program rules, and completing work as assigned.

Student Responsibility

Students taking classes for college credit are regarded as college students. As such, they carry more responsibility in many ways than they do in high school.

The following tips will help you support your student effectively:

• Federal FERPA law prevents university staff and faculty from discussing your student’s records with you unless the student provides consent. Faculty and staff will contact the student directly with grades or any issues related to their bursar bills.
• Remind your student to check University of Mississippi email at least once a day, stay active in their course web platforms as required by their instructors, check and accept their financial aid awards, and monitor their bursar bill. Most problems stem from students’ lack of attention to these details, but learning to do so in college will help them become more responsible adults.
• You can ask your student to enable your access to their Ole Miss account, including financial aid, bursar payments, grades, schedules, and absences. They can do so following the steps described on the IT Helpdesk page.

In addition, we have created a series of videos and helpful tips that we encourage you to watch and share with your student. These videos can be found on our Information for Prospective Students page.

Please always feel free to reach out to our office with any questions you have: dualcred@olemiss.edu.