Admissions Policies
This article outlines Kolbe Academy’s admissions policies as they pertain to all students.
Student Age Requirements
Kolbe Academy students enrolled in our Full-Time Standard or Full-Time Flex programs should review their state’s regulations regarding minimum school-age requirements. Kolbe Academy does not offer adult education programs.
For students enrolling in Kolbe Academy online courses, a child must be four years old by September 1 of the preschool year and five years old by September 1 of the kindergarten year, and so on for subsequent grade levels, unless an exception is approved by Student Services.
We do not admit new 12th-grade students who are already 19 years old. The maximum age at which a student may earn a Kolbe Academy high school diploma is 19. Students receiving Special Education Services may be permitted to graduate after age 19 based on an individual review of their educational history with Kolbe Academy.
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 and/or asynchronous 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.
Assignments 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 an 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 live 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. Students transferring to Kolbe Academy must complete 25% of their required credits using Kolbe courses. Beginning with the high school Class of 2031, 25% of the academic credits in graduation requirements must carry the T, A, or O designation.
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. All high school students must complete at least 25% of their required credits using Kolbe courses, and beginning with the Class of 2031, all academic credits must carry the T, A, or O designation.
Grade 12 Transfer Students
Students transferring into Kolbe Academy in 12th grade must have their transcripts evaluated by Kolbe. For transcript evaluation fees, visit our website. Students 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 courses carrying the T, A, or O designation. The fifth credit can be an academic or non-academic credit using Kolbe or custom courses.
Beginning with the Class of 2031, transfer seniors must earn a total of six (6) credits, including five (5) academic credits with Kolbe in the subjects areas of English, literature, theology, history, math, science, or foreign language, using Kolbe courses carrying the T, A, or O designation. The sixth credit can be an academic or non-academic credit using Kolbe courses or other custom courses.
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.