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 1033CWUMUS 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

*Courses marked with an asterisk are in the process of approval and not eligible for credit at this time.

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

Ram to Wildcat