College in the High School
College in the High School
West Valley High School has agreements with the University of Washington, Central Washington University, and Eastern Washington University to offer WV students classes that meet the universities’ standards for college-level credit. These courses are taught by WV teachers who are also professors at the university level. The instructional materials and assessments are approved by the universities. In some cases, students must pass a university placement test to be eligible to earn college credit. Once credits are earned, they are part of the student's official transcript from the university and may be transferred to other institutions like any other college credit.
West Valley High School also partners with Yakima Valley College (YVC) to provide dual credit classes in Career and Technical education. These courses earn students YVC credit that can be used to advance their progress in those programs as YVC or possibly be transferred to other community colleges or universities.
Watch this webinar to learn more about CHS and the Ram to Wildcat program: https://youtu.be/_RAENe64ezw
CHS Benefits
Save Money
- Earn college credit for free! Recent legislation provides funding for all tuition costs!
As a comparison, an on-campus CWU student typically pays $1,374 for a 5-credit class and $9,344 for one year of tuition. For students learning and living on campus, it costs a total of $23,131 for tuition and room and board. (Details from CWU's Cost of Attendance page.)
Earn College Credit
- Successful CHS completion earns college credits on a college transcript.
- Many college credits are transferrable to other colleges. It is always recommended to check with the college/university you are interested in.
Save Time
- One course earns credit for WVHS and the issuing college/university at the same time, so students can start college having already completed their general education courses.
Experience College with Support
- CHS students experience true college-level classes and they are an official "college student" while remaining in a familiar setting at our high school with the support of our high school staff. Students earn college credit while enjoying their full high school experience on the high school campus.
CHS Registration Process
- Students register for College in the High School courses in the spring for the next school year in the same way they register for all their high school classes.
- At the beginning of the course, teachers will review the course requirements, college credits available, the grading process, and answer any questions students and their families may have.
- Parents must complete and sign a college registration form from the teacher, and students must give the completed form to their teacher. Note: Some registration may be online. In those cases, the parent will receive an email with a link to a digital registration form.
- Teachers must submit their class lists and a copy of each student's registration form to the District's Finance Department.
- Students complete the course.
- Students and families then work with teachers to monitor progress, grades, withdrawal dates, and other deadlines.
- After successful completion of the course, grades and credits will be added to the student's high school and college transcripts.
Notes:
- Students have the option to take CHS courses without registering for college credit. A student may choose this option, for example, if they do not meet eligibility requirements or do not want to risk receiving a low grade on a college transcript.
- Students should always check with the college or university they plan to attend to understand how courses transfer between institutions.
Find more information on these programs at:
Available CHS Courses
| WVHS Course Name | Credit | College | College Course ID and Name |
| CHS ENGL 170 LT S2 | 5 | EWU | ENGL 170 Introduction to Literature |
| CHS ENGL 131 C | 5 | UW | ENGL 131 Composition: Exposition (ENG 101 Academic Writing I) |
| CHS ENGL 111 LC (offered 2nd sem AP Eng) | 5 | UW
EWU |
ENGL 111 Composition: Literature ENGL 201 College Composition* |
| CHS CMST 201 (Speech) S2 | 5 | EWU | CMST 201 Public Speaking |
| CHS ENST 201/202 (Environmental Sci) S1/S2 | 5 5 |
CWU | ENST 201 Earth as an Ecosystem ENST 202 Environment and Society |
| CHS CHEM 110 S1/S2 | 5 | UW | CHEM 110 Prep for General Chem |
| CHS PHYS 111/112 (Physics) S1/S2 | 10 | CWU | PHYS 111 Intro to Physics I PHYS 112 Intro to Physics II |
| CHS BIO 101 (Offered 2nd Semester AP Bio) | 5 | CWU | BIO 101 Fundamentals of Biology |
| CHS MATH 153/154 PRCALC | 10 | CWU | MATH 153 Pre-Calculus I MATH 154 Pre-Calculus II |
| CHS MATH 172/173 CALC S1/S2 | 10 | CWU | MATH 172 Calculus I MATH 173 Calculus II |
| CHS FIN 174 S2 | 5 | CWU | FIN 174 Personal Finance |
| CHS ECON 101 S1 | 5 | CWU | ECON 101 Economic Issues |
| CHS ECON 102 S2 | 5 | CWU | ECON 102 World Economic Issues |
| CHS HIST 144 S1/S2 (US History) | 5 | CWU | HIST 144 US History Since 1865 |
| CHS SPAN 151/152 (Spanish 4) | 10 | CWU | SPAN 151 First-year Spanish SPAN 152 First-year Spanish |
| CHS SPAN 153 S1/S2 (Spanish 5) | 5 | CWU | SPAN 153 First-year Spanish |
| CHS GERM 151/152 | 10 | CWU | GERM 151 First-year German GERM 152 First-year German |
| CHS GERM 153 S1/S2 | 5 | CWU | GERM 153 First-year German |
| CHS MUS 102 | 3 | CWU | MUS 102 Introduction to Music |
| CHS MUS 103 | 3 | CWU | MUS 103 History of Rock and Roll |
| CHS HIST 314 ML (US Military History) | 5 | CWU | HIST 314 Military History of the US |
| CHS POLI 100 (Civics) | 5 | EWU | POLI 100 Intro to US Politics |
| CHS PSYC 100 | 5 | EWU | PSYC 100 General Psychology |
| CHS SOC 101 | 5 | CWU | SOC 101 Social Problems |
| Horticulture Science 101/102 | 5 |
Walla Walla |
AGSC 113 Cultivated Plants |
| Marketing 102 | 5 | YVC | BA 156 Marketing |
| Students Store Mgmt. 102 | 5 | YVC | BA 157 Retail Management |
| AFNR 101/102 | 3 | YVC | AG 101 Intro to Agriculture |
| Sports Therapy 101 | 5 | YVC | AH 119 Medical Terminology |
| Sports Therapy 102 | 7 | YVC | AH 110 Human Body in Health & Disease AH 155 First Aid/CPR/BBP Training |
| Careers in Education 101/102 | 20 | YVC | ECED&100 Child Care Basics
ECED&105 Intro to Early Childhood ECED&107 Health, Safety, and Nutrition ECED&115 Child Development ECED&120 Practicum: Focus on Relationships & Communication |
| Careers in Education 201/202 | 5 | YVC | EDUC&136 School-Age Care |
Our Ram to Wildcat Program Page
The Ram to Wildcat Program is a series of courses offered at West Valley High School that earns students high school and college credits and follows the Central Washington University general education requirements. This is a dual credit program (since students are earning high school and college credits at the same time) and the courses are typically referred to as College in the High School or CHS.
CHS classes are taught by high school teachers who approved to teach the these classes as they would be taught at the college level. Successfully completing CHS courses earns students up to 50 of the 54 credits needed to fulfill CWU’s general education requirement.
See the Ram to Wildcat Page Here