The St. Joseph Public Library is offering patrons a way to complete their high school credits to obtain their diploma at no cost through Excel Adult High School offered by Gale and the Missouri State Library.
Transfer over eligible high school, GED, and HiSET credits, then take online courses, along with assignments and tests in order to graduate. The online learning environment can give people who cannot attend traditional classes a chance to earn their diploma in just a few months depending on the number of transfer credits. Students have up to 24 months to complete the program. Excel Adult High School offers quality teaching staff and tutors.
The library is also offering laptops and wifi hotspots to students that lack the technology to attend online school. This technology is made available from a grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Who is eligible? Any St. Joseph, MO resident, 19 years old or older with a library card in good standing and email account.
Steps to enroll:
1: Go to https://excelhighschool.org/library/sjpl and click on “Get Started.”
2: Once you have created your Excel Adult High School account, the program coordinator will verify your eligibility based on the above criteria. You will then move on to the two-week pre-requisite Life Skills course. After you apply, please check the email you provided regularly to ensure that you get the login instructions for the pre-requisite course.
3. Once approved, the student has two weeks to complete the Life Skills course with a 70% or higher score.
4. If the student passes the Life Skills course, they will be placed on the waiting list for a scholarship. If the student does not pass the life skills course or fails to complete it within the two-week period, the application will be denied.
5. Once a scholarship becomes available, the Excel Coordinator will reach out to those on the waitlist via email and/or phone to set up an interview. If there is no response in a reasonable time, the waitlist will be updated to deny the application. Denied applicants may contact the Excel Coordinator with questions.
6. The Excel Coordinator will then interview people on the waitlist to determine who will get the available scholarship. During the interview, potential students will be asked about technology needs, time commitments and previous high school experience.
7. Once the student has been fully accepted into the Excel Adult High School program, they can work with Excel staff to transfer credits into the program and begin taking courses to obtain their high school diploma. There will be a 30 day trial period to ensure the online learning environment is a good fit.
8. The library’s Excel Coordinator and Excel staff will keep track of the student’s progress. Students can be removed from the program for lack of participation and incomplete assignments.
For more information on how to get started go to https://excelhighschool.org/library/sjpl or contact Elizabeth Murray at 816-236-2136 or email excel@sjpl.lib.mo.us.
