PACE Program - Pathway To Access College Early

In 1992, Chaminade became a trailblazer among St. Louis area private and public high schools by allowing students to enroll in courses that counted for both high school and college credit through Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In 2013, Father Ralph Siefert, SM, Dr. Stephanie Kralemann, Mrs. Teresa Wheeler, Mr. Jim Chrismer, and Mr. Tim Sartori formed a committee to explore, research, and implement a more formalized Advanced College Credit Program for Chaminade students, premised on Blessed William Joseph Chaminade’s vision “New Times, New Methods”.

The implementation of the Pathway to Access College Early (PACE) Program began in 2016, aligned to the Five Characteristics of Marianist Education. Today over 100 Advanced College Credits are offered through the PACE Program, allowing many students to earn 60+ college credits to transfer to their chosen university upon graduation. The PACE Program has uniquely differentiated Chaminade as a leader in Advanced College Credit Programs among high schools locally, nationally, and internationally.

The PACE Program was developed in the tradition of the Catholic Marianist education.
The mission is to offer Chaminade students:
• A premier option to earn college credit through enrollment in Advanced College Credit high school courses from nationally accredited university programs,
• An opportunity to experience an introduction to college-level expectations while in high school taught by authorized Chaminade Adjunct University Instructors for our partner universities, and
• An opportunity to engage in a robust and rigorous university course experience through challenging college-level curriculum while in high school.

While there are many benefits for students to participate in the PACE Program, official data from Chaminade alumni surveys from the Classes of 2017-2023, confirms the following:

• Allowing students access to enroll in college credit courses while in high school significantly reduces the tuition cost,
• Offering up to two years of college coursework on the Chaminade’s campus allows for the transfer of these credits to a student’s final college choice upon graduation,
• Earning college credit while in high school allows an early entry into an Undergraduate Degree Program and completion before the traditional four years,
• Earning college credit while in high school provides the opportunity for students to earn a Master’s Degree within the traditional four years,
• Earning college credit while in high school provides the opportunity for students to Double Major within the traditional four years, and
• Earning college credit while in high school provides the opportunity for students to pursue a Gap Year and graduate within the traditional four years.

Click the logo to visit the University website.

 

Equivalency Credit: Applying the courses toward the student’s planned program of study/major as “equivalent” to the courses offered on receiving college campus.

Elective Credit: Reducing the number of courses the student must complete on campus in order to graduate by transferring the ACC courses as “elective” credit because the receiving university does not have a course that matches the course the ACC student is transferring. In that case, the student can count the hours toward graduation but may still need to take a course that is similar to, but not the same as, the advanced college credit course.

Exempt Credit: Allowing the student to be exempt from taking certain courses required for freshmen and sophomores, including introductory courses in core subjects.

Prerequisite Credit: Allowing the ACC transfer credit to count for prerequisites for their major or minor fields of study.

Participating PACE university partners view and treat Chaminade students as on-campus college students. Therefore, the three universities have a high expectation for student academic performance. Students are granted similar rights and privileges as on-campus students, including additional resources.

45 ACC Courses Offered to Students in Grade 12

Classical and Modern Languages

CHI370    ACC Honors Chinese 3 w. SLU
CHI470    ACC Honors Chinese 4 w. SLU
CHI570    AP/ACC Chinese Language & Culture w. SLU
FRE370   ACC Honors French 3 w. SLU or UMSL
FRE470   ACC Honors French 4 w. SLU or UMSL
LAT370   ACC Latin w. SLU
LAT470   ACC Honors Latin 4 w. SLU
LAT570   AP/ACC Latin w. SLU
SPA370   ACC Honors Spanish 3 w. SLU or UMSL
SPA470   ACC Honors Spanish 4 w. SLU or UMSL
SPA570   AP/ACC Spanish Language & Culture w. SLU or UMSL

English

ENG470  ACC World Literature and Composition w. UMSL
ENG471  AP/ACC English Literature and Composition w. SLU

Fine Arts

WDE470   ACC Wind Ensemble w. UMSL
JZE470     ACC Jazz Ensemble w. UMSL
MUS470   AP/ACC Music Theory w. UMSL
DRA470    ACC Advanced Drama II w. UMSL
PSP470    ACC Public Speaking w. UMSL
ART270    ACC Drawing I w. UMSL
ART370    ACC Advanced Drawing II and Printmaking w. UMSL
ART371    ACC Painting I w. UMSL
ART471    ACC Painting II w. UMSL
ART372    ACC Digital Imaging I w. UMSL
ART472    ACC Digital Imaging II w. UMSL
CER470    ACC Ceramics I w. UMSL
CER475    ACC Ceramics II w. UMSL

Mathematics

CAL470    ACC Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry w. UMSL
ALG470    ACC College Algebra w. UMSL
CAL471    AP/ACC Calculus AB w. UMSL
CAL472    AP/ACC Calculus BC w. UMSL
STA470    AP/ACC Statistics w. UMSL

Practical Arts

ACC470    ACC Financial Accounting w. UMSL
ECO471    AP/ACC Macroeconomics w. MBU
ECO472    ACC Principles of Microeconomics w. MBU
LAW470    ACC Business Law w. UMSL

Science

CHE470    AP/ACC Chemistry w. UMSL

ENV470    AP/ACC Environmental Science w. SLU  

PHY470    AP/ACC Honors Physics 1 w. SLU or UMSL
PHY471    AP/ACC Honors Physics 2 w. SLU

Social Studies

SST470    ACC Contemporary Global Issues w. UMSL
SST471    AP/ACC U.S. Government/Comparative Government w. UMSL
PSY470    AP/ACC Psychology w. UMSL
SST473    ACC Pluralism in American History w. UMSL

Theology

THE470    ACC God-Talk: Ultimate Questions in Theology w. SLU
THE472    ACC An Exploration of Faith and Reason w. SLU

13 ACC Courses Offered to Students in Grade 10

2 ACC Courses Offered to Students in Grade 9

Window for Registration

• 1st Semester/FALL August-September
• 2nd Semester/SPRING January-February
  
  

Registration Documentation

Sending Transcripts

Each year Chaminade graduates request the university where they registered for their ACC to send their ACC university transcripts to the university they plan to attend upon graduation. Contact the registrar at each university or visit their online webpage. 

Acceptance of Transfer Credits  

Based on official survey results, the majority of Chaminade students successfully transfer 1-2 years of college credits to their final university choice. Be aware that the receiving colleges and universities have the final authority as to how to accept the ACC credit.

The transferability of ACC Credit varies at the universities Chaminade students attend.  Many times advanced college credit earned by a student transfers not only the credit, but also the grade earned may transfer. If the receiving college accepts transfer college credit courses, the college will have a policy to include or not include the course grades in the student’s college GPA.

 

The academic departments that offer AP courses are Classical and Modern Languages, English, Fine Arts, Mathematics, Practical Arts, Science and Social Studies.

Chaminade faculty who teach AP courses are highly trained, participate in College Board professional development and accountable to maintain College Board standards.

• In an AP course, the student must pass the AP end-of-course exam to be eligible to apply for college credit once the student graduates from high school.
• Generally, the student must score a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP exam.
• Students then send their AP scores to each college/university where they plan to attend, and the college/university has the final determination of how much credit they will award for the course.
• There is no standard amount of credit awarded by each college/university for an AP course because specific standards for accepting AP courses as college credit may vary greatly.
• If a college or university awards advanced placement based on your AP Exam scores, that means the student might be able to skip introductory classes and go straight into higher-level classes. It might also mean that the student can skip courses that the college requires students to take to fulfill general education requirements.

Colleges may offer both credit and placement, just credit, or just placement for successful AP scores. The student is encouraged to visit each colleges’ website or talk to an admission officer to find out which kind of recognition is offered.

AP course descriptions are available in the curriculum guide

Please note that the AP exam is required, unless otherwise stated as an optional exam.

AP Biology
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry
AP Chinese Language & Culture
AP Comparative Government and Politics (Optional AP Exam)
AP Computer Science Principles
AP Computer Science A
AP English Language and Composition
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Environmental Science (Optional Exam)
AP European History
AP French Language & Culture (Optional AP Exam)
AP Latin (Optional AP Exam)
AP Macroeconomics (Optional AP Exam)
AP Microeconomics (Optional Exam)
AP Music Theory (Optional AP Exam)
AP Honors Physics 1(Optional AP Exam)
AP Honors Physics 2 (Optional AP Exam)
AP Physics C: Mechanics (Optional AP Exam)
AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism (Optional AP Exam)
AP Psychology (Optional AP Exam)
AP Spanish Language & Culture (Optional AP Exam)
AP Statistics
AP Studio Art
AP United States Government and Politics
AP United States History
AP World History

• PLTW 13 STEM: Introduction to Engineering Design 
• PLTW 23 STEM: Introduction to Engineering Design
• PLTW 33 STEM: Principles of Engineering
• PLTW 43 STEM: Environmental Sustainability
• PLTW 44 STEM: Digital Electronics
• PLTW 45 STEM: Aerospace Engineering