FCPS and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) signed an agreement in 2013 for students to use a combination of high school and college courses to earn a General Education Certificate. At least 25 percent of the requirements (or 8 credits) must be earned through dual enrollment courses or courses taken through the college and the student must meet NOVA dual enrollment admissions requirements. The certificate provides a solid foundation for the first year of an associate of science degree and allows students to save on college costs. Students who complete the certificate will earn a minimum of 33 college credits.

The transferability of these credits is based on agreements NOVA has with partner universities or an individual university policy. NOVA articulation and guaranteed admissions agreements are available at:  http://www.nvcc.edu/current-students/transfer/agreements/ .

With the exception of SDV 100, all concurrent courses listed below can be used towards high school graduation requirements as long as a student receives permission from their high school prior to enrolling in the course and takes two semesters (or the equivalent) of college courses to transfer back a full year’s worth of high school credit. NOVA offers additional courses that can be used to earn the General Education Certificate; however, those courses are not eligible for high school credit. Students who wish to pursue the General Education Certificate should consult with their high school counselor.

Certificate Requirement	Minimum College Credits Required	College/ Concurrent Enrollment Option	FCPS Dual Enrollment Option	AP Options*	IB Options**
College Success Skills	1	SDV 100 #
College Composition I & II	6	ENG 111  and one of the following: ENG 112  or  ENG 125	English 12 DE	AP English Language and Composition AP English Literature and Composition	IB English A Literature HL
Math for Liberal Arts (or higher level math)	3	MTH 163  and  MTH 164 MTH 166 MTH 241  and  MTH 242	Precalculus with Trigonometry DE	AP Calculus BC AP Statistics	IB Math HL
Physical or Life Science Elective with Lab	8	BIO 101  and  BIO 102 BIO 141  and  BIO 142 GOL 111  and  GOL 112 PHY 101  and  PHY 102	Human Anatomy DE Geosystems DE	AP Biology AP Chemistry AP Physics B AP Environmental	IB Biology HL IB Chemistry HL IB Physics HL
Humanities or Fine Arts	6	ENG 243 ENG 279 ASL 201  and  ASL 202 ASL 208  and  ASL 210 ASL 261 and ASL 262 FRE 201  and  FRE 202 GER 201  and  GER 202 HIS 111  and one of the following:  HIS 101  or  HIS 243 HIS 102  and  HIS 112 SPA 201  and  SPA 202		AP French Language and Culture AP German Language and Culture AP Latin AP Spanish Language and Culture AP Art History AP Music Theory AP World History	IB French B HL IB German B HL IB Spanish B HL
Social/ Behavioral Sciences	9	ECO 110  and  ECO 120 HIS 111  and one of the following:  HIS 101 ,  HIS 203 , HIS 231 , HIS 243 ,  HIS 251 , HIS 253 HIS 112  and one of the following:  HIS 102 ,  HIS 135 , HIS 232 , HIS 252 ,  HIS 254 HIS 121  and  HIS 122 PLS 211  and  PLS 212 PSY 201  and  PSY 202	US Government DE Economics and Personal Finance DE	AP US History AP US Government AP Macro Econ AP Micro Econ AP Human Geography AP Psychology AP Comparative Government AP World History	IB Psychology IB History of the Americas IB Economics

# Course cannot be used for a high school credit.

* See AP Credit Transfer Policy for  Northern Virginia Community College  for exam score requirements. If a student is planning to transfer to a four-year college or university, a higher score may be required by the four-year institution to receive credit.

** IB courses listed are taught over a two year period. See IB Credit Transfer Policy for  Northern Virginia Community College  for exam score requirements. If a student is planning to transfer to a four-year college or university, a higher score may be required by the four year institution to receive credit.