A student enrolled in OpenEd has the option to earn a state-certified diploma through their School of Enrollment.
Before creating your student’s schedule, you must first declare if your child in grades 9-12 is diploma-seeking or non-diploma-seeking.
Why it matters: Diploma-seeking students must select courses from a specific list of providers approved by their School of Enrollment and complete additional requirements to earn a state-certified diploma.
Watch this twelve-minute video: Information about the Diploma-seeking Path.
Request a consultation with the OpenEd Diploma-seeking Specialist here.
Incoming 9th Graders and Current Diploma-seeking Students
All students wanting to earn a state-certified high school diploma through their School of Enrollment must declare diploma-seeking status upon entering 9th grade to be able to earn the 24 credits required to graduate.
Print out the Diploma-seeking Road Map for a timeline to guide you through the next four years, including helping tools for planning your schedules and other resources.
Creating your schedule:
The state requires 24 credits during four years of high school enrollment to earn a high school diploma.
See details here:
*In order to earn 24 credits while participating in the OpenEd program, a student will need to have a class in optional Period 7 for a total of six credits each school year for all four years of high school.
*An OpenEd Direct class in optional Period 7 uses $300 of the Technology Allowance. The remaining $200 can be put toward a computer or other educational resources.
Diploma-seeking students can earn credit through any combination of the following:
Accelerated Spark Online courses
BYU Independent Study online courses
Note: some BYU IS courses are specialty courses and will take funding from your Technology Allowance. Click the link to view the Course Catalog for more information
On-site Split Enrollment courses at your local district high school for up to two classes each semester.
Note: Split Enrollment with a charter school is not an option.
Visit our Course Catalog and filter by Diploma-seeking to learn more about diploma-seeking curriculum options.
Required Civics Test:
Diploma-seeking students must score 70% or better on a Civics Test administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Division. Review the information found here.
Helpful resources:
Unofficial Checklist to track student progress
Form to request a consultation with a Diploma-seeking Specialist
Note: A diploma-seeking student may request a change to non-diploma-seeking at any time. If your student wants to change to non-diploma-seeking, please contact the Diploma-seeking Specialist.
School of Enrollment Counselor:
Every Diploma-seeking student is assigned a high school counselor through their School of Enrollment. This counselor makes decisions regarding official credit records, holds all official transcripts, and is in charge of issuing the diploma.
Diploma-seeking students in grades 11 and 12 are encouraged to meet with a high school counselor every semester to ensure their credits are properly documented on their transcripts.
Diploma-seeking students can get their counselor information from the Diploma-seeking Specialist.
Note: Most counselors are unavailable to meet during the summer, but students can request a consultation with the OpenEd Diploma-seeking Specialist here.
10-12th grade Students
A student entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade who wishes to transition from non-diploma-seeking to diploma-seeking must receive approval from both the OpenEd Diploma-seeking Specialist and the counselor at their School of Enrollment. The student must demonstrate that they are on track to graduate or receive credit recovery approval from their School of Enrollment counselor.
The transition from non-diploma-seeking to diploma-seeking can not occur mid-school-year, only between school years.
OpenEd is not a credit recovery program. OpenEd only issues new credit, which will not automatically replace a failed or incomplete grade. Credit recovery plans must be approved by the School of Enrollment counselor before a student can transition to Diploma-seeking status.
To be on track for graduation, students need to have completed 6 credits per year of high school:
A student entering 10th grade will need to provide evidence of 6 completed credits.
A student entering 11th grade will need to provide evidence of 12 completed credits.
A student entering 12th grade will need to provide evidence of 18 completed credits.
If interested in pursuing this transition, students should follow these steps:
Step 1: Gather transcripts of completed accredited high school courses that indicate they are on track to graduate
Step 2: Complete the form to request a consultation with a Diploma-seeking Specialist
Note: A diploma-seeking student may request a change to non-diploma-seeking at any time. If your student wants to change to non-diploma-seeking, please contact the Diploma-seeking Specialist.
Questions? Please see Article 4.5 Grades 9-12 FAQs (Utah) or request a consultation with the OpenEd Diploma-seeking Specialist here.