Admissions Policies
This article outlines Kolbe Academy’s admissions policies as they pertain to all students.
Student Age Requirements
Kolbe Academy students enrolled with us in our Full-Time Standard or Full-Time Flex programs should review their state guidance for minimum age requirements.
For Kolbe Academy students enrolled in the online program the child must be the age of four by September 1st of their preschool year (five by September 1st of their kindergarten year and so on) unless approved by the Dean of Students.
We do not admit new 12th grade students after they have reached the age of 19. The maximum age at which a student may earn a high school diploma with us is 19, and those students graduating at the age of 19 must be returning students (not 12th grade transfer students). Special education high school students may be able to graduate later than age 19 on a case-by-case evaluation of an individual student’s educational history with us. Kolbe Academy does not provide adult education classes. Kolbe’s online school has a maximum age course policy of being no more than two years above grade level.
Course Registration Prerequisites
Course Prerequisites
Some of the math, science, and language courses have pre-requisites or co-requisites for enrollment. Please see course descriptions located in the course catalog for details.
Placement Testing Requirement
Students new to live online courses must complete a placement test after enrolling. Please see the Help Center for more information on Placement Testing.
Course Change Policies
K-12 Auditing Courses
Kolbe Academy allows parents to move their child to audit status in an online or asynchronous course in order to have more oversight of the student’s workload and time in a way that best serves the student. Should a student wish to audit, the parent should first contact their family advisor. The following policies apply:
The homeschool course plan for the audited course will be added to your student’s Kolbe Portal account. The homeschool course plan can be used at the parent’s discretion. Please note that the homeschool course plan may not align with the online or asynchronous course in all coursework and pacing.
Students in audit status may continue to attend live class and/or office hours provided by their teacher.
Assignment and assessments submitted will still be graded as long as they are turned in within the scope of the course’s due date policy. (Within one week for live online courses and before proceeding to subsequent material in asynchronous course.)
All graded sample work must be submitted by the parent to Kolbe as a homeschool course.
The online (O) or asynchronous (A) course designation will no longer show up on the student’s transcript.
Tuition refunds are not given for a student who audits a course.
Please note that students who audit core subject area courses may be required to complete placement testing in order to register for the next level course the following year.
K-5 Opt-out
Kolbe Academy allows parents to move their child to opt-out status in an online elementary course in order to have more oversight of the student’s workload and time in a way that best serves the student. Should a student wish to opt out of a course, the parent should first contact their family advisor. The following policies apply:
The student does not attend live class for the opt-out course.
The student will still see the assignments for the opt-out course but should not turn in any assignments and no assignments will be graded.
The teacher will excuse all assignments related to the opt-out course.
No grades will be given by the teacher for the opt-out course.
There is no tuition refund for a student who opts out of certain subjects in the K-5 program.
Technology Expectations and Requirements
As an at-home education institution certain technical expectations exist to ensure a positive and successful experience. Before beginning your courses at Kolbe Academy, please see our help article on Technology expectations in the Help Center.
Withdrawal and Tuition Refund Policies
Kolbe Academy respects the fact that life is unpredictable and that it may become necessary for you to withdraw. However, we have secured teachers and staff based on enrollment.
Terms and Conditions can be found on our website. To withdraw from any of Kolbe’s programs, please contact your family advisor.
Tuition Delinquency Policy
Non-payment of tuition may result in a temporary removal of course access or the termination of enrollment for your child/ren.
Transfer Students
Kolbe Academy welcomes transfer students at all grade levels. We will provide you with a “Request for Release of Records and Transcript of Credits” form after you enroll with us. Please use this form when requesting your student’s records from previous schools.
Grades 1-8 Transfer Students
There are no special requirements that must be met by students transferring into Kolbe Academy in grades 1-8 or entering grade 9. You are not required to send previous grade records to us.
Grades 9-11 Transfer Students
Students transferring into Kolbe Academy in grades 10 and 11, or entering midway through grade 9, must have a transcript evaluation completed by Kolbe if seeking a diploma or if needed to verify pre-requisites for online courses. Please visit our website for transcript evaluation fee information. Please note that all students must earn at least 25% of their required credits with Kolbe being the school of record for these courses.
Grade 12 Transfer Students
Students transferring into Kolbe Academy in 12th grade must have their transcripts evaluated by Kolbe. They must earn a total of five (5) credits with Kolbe, including at least four full-year academic courses (4 credits) in subjects like English, literature, theology, history, math, science, or foreign language, all using Kolbe curriculum. An additional full-year course or two semester courses (1 credit) is required to meet the policy that students must earn at least 25% of their required credits with Kolbe being the school of record for these courses. For transcript evaluation fees, visit our website.
Late and Second Semester Enrollment Policy for the Online Program
Students entering after a term has begun often need additional support to ensure success in Kolbe’s online program. The family’s advisor will work with the family to determine whether late enrollment in a term is feasible for individual students. After the second week of live classes have commenced, late enrollments are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Students enrolling in a course with the intention of beginning classes at the beginning of a term (i.e. beginning of second semester or quarter) are considered mid-year enrollees. The family’s advisor will work with the family to determine if mid-year enrollment is feasible for individual students. Students may be required to complete placement testing before their enrollment is approved.
Please see the Late and Mid-Year Enrollment help center article for more information.