How Do Students Qualify?

Running Start students are limited to "college-level" courses at the community college, and the COMPASS results are used to determine readiness for college-level work. To qualify for Running Start a student must earn a qualifying score in writing and reading or a qualifying score in math. If a student only qualifies in math, he or she can only enroll in a college-level math class.

Students enrolling in Running Start must have junior standing or higher by the start of school in the fall. Home-school students not seeking a high school diploma and private school students must reconnect with the public high school district in which they live and obtain the signature of a school district official. Home-school students seeking a high school diploma from their local high school must enroll at the high school and be assigned a high school counselor.

Students who choose not to earn their high school diploma may earn a Washington State diploma by completing a transfer degree. Both the diploma and degree are then awarded simultaneously.