Student Information

Established in 1994, Cascadia is the most recent addition to the state's community college landscape. Our doors opened for the first time in the year 2000 and today our campus is home to more than 3,000 students! Cascadia is located in Bothell, Washington, and shares a 127-acre campus with the University of Washington – Bothell. The campus itself sits above 58 acres of restored wetlands, one of the largest reclamation projects on the West Coast. Cascadia is primarily a transfer institution with more than 2/3 of our students indicating their plan to transfer for a baccalaureate degree. Cascadia students transfer to institutions across the country but we are one of the primary feeders to both the UW Bothell and UW Seattle.

CiHS is a program in which an eligible, college-approved high school teacher offers a college course on a high school campus and eligible high school students are allowed to earn college credit awarded by Cascadia. CiHS courses may include both academic and career and technical education (CTE). Cascadia’s program focus is academic/transfer with a few CTE courses tied to specific IT pathways.

Student Eligibility for CiHS

Benefits of Cascadia in the High School

How is CiHS Different from Running Start?

Credit earned through CiHS is now free thanks to the Washington State Legislature. That means you have the opportunity to save a considerable amount by earning credit now while you are still in high school. The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) has comparative information available about the cost of tuition and fees at public institutions.

The first 90 credits of most bachelor's degrees require students to earn credits in a breadth of courses to satisfy general requirements before being able to declare a major. CiHS courses are selected because they satisfy general distribution area requirements in our most popular transfer degree, the Associate of Integrated Studies degree. CiHS credits can be applied toward a degree at Cascadia or transferred to another college or university.

Depending upon the institution and degree pathway that you choose, credits earned may transfer as direct equivalents to existing courses in the receiving institution, and general electives or may satisfy a pre-requisite for a required course. The transfer of transcribed college credit is always determined by the receiving institution.

All public, four-year colleges and universities in Washington accept CiHS transfer credits. National studies have consistently indicated that students can successfully transfer their CiHS credits. We cannot, however, guarantee whether your CiHS credits will meet an individual college or university’s graduation requirements or be accepted by a specific academic department within a college or university. If you are transferring out of state or planning to enroll at a private institution, we recommend that you check with that institution’s dual credit policy prior to enrolling.

Grades and credits earned through CiHS courses are transcribed to both the high school transcript and their college transcript if you elect to register for credit. The final grade earned through completion of a CiHS course is determined by the college-approved instructor and follows the grading Cascadia’s grading practices and policies. The college grading policy, including the grading scale and grade options, is solely up to the college and cannot be modified by the school district's grading policy. It is possible that the grade on your college transcript differs slightly from the grade on your high school transcript but any difference in grading practices should be noted on the course syllabi. For the basic relationship between grades on a 4.0 scale and the letter grades used at Cascadia go to the Cascadia Grade Scale.

Admission and Registration for CiHS Classes

CiHS students are generally not eligible for state or federal financial aid while they are still in high school. Credits earned in dual-credit programs like CiHS are used to evaluate satisfactory academic progress, which is used to determine eligibility for financial aid. Earning less than a 2.0 could negatively impact a student’s academic progress.

A student’s high school GPA includes grades received in dual-credit courses. College admissions staff evaluate high school transcripts to determine if students have met credit completion standards. A student’s Cascadia transcript includes the GPA for only courses taken with Cascadia whether those courses were from College in the High School, Tech Prep, or Running Start. College admissions will also consider the Cascadia GPA for admission. Credits earned through CiHS, like any coursework regardless of source for tuition payment, count toward the maximum credit allowed for financial aid eligibility.

CiHS students are considered official Cascadia students and are able to access numerous campus resources. Some will require your Cascadia Student ID number which you will receive after you submit your application and register for classes.

Students are welcome to schedule an appointment to meet with an advisor to consult about classes and degrees. They should visit Academic Advising for information on scheduling an appointment with an academic advisor or email advising@cascadia.edu with questions. Requires your Cascadia Student ID number.

To support student success, the Bock Learning Center, located in CC2-080, provides a range of academic support services related to technology and tutoring. Services are provided remotely as well as in person. Tutors work with students focusing on math concepts and writing assignments. Detailed information including hours and contact information can be found at Bock Learning Center. Requires your Cascadia Student ID number.

Cascadia provides online access to live tutors in a variety of subjects, provided by the Western e-Tutoring Consortium. Tutoring is offered through live, interactive sessions and through an Essay Center. Many subjects have convenient tutoring hours late into the evening and seven days a week, depending on tutor availability; schedules are available online. To get started, students should visit eTutoring. Requires your Cascadia Student ID number.

Cascadia College is collocated with the University of Washington – Bothell. As part of the shared campus, Cascadia utilizes the University of Washington Library Services. Any member of the public may access most physical resources on-site AND access most electronic resources via the Guest Research Stations in the Information Commons on the Library 1st Floor. There is free weekend parking on-campus in the South Surface Lot near the library.

Borrowing materials or accessing electronic resources off-campus requires a UW Net ID so if your faculty liaison has determined that specific library resources are needed for your course, please contact the CiHS program administrator as soon as possible so this can be arranged.

Credits earned through this dual credit program are transferable to all WA public institutions and most private colleges. It is up to the receiving institution to determine how they will apply the credit. A student planning to attend a private or out-of-state college should contact that institution directly about their dual credit acceptance policy.

We strongly recommend students check with their intended transfer institution to ensure, for example, the links below will take you to the transfer course equivalences for the largest universities in Washington:

• Central Washington University
• University of Washington
• Washington State University
• Western Washington University
• Eastern Washington University
• Seattle University
• Pacific Lutheran University
• Gonzaga University

One of the most frequent questions asked by CiHS students is “How can I access my Cascadia transcript?” A common misconception by students is that Cascadia will automatically send transcripts to their college. Since we have no way of knowing where students are planning to go, it is up to them to contact the college and request them. That process is online, please direct them to the college website. Transcripts are typically available 48 hours after grades have been submitted. Information about how to request official and unofficial copies of transcripts can be found on the Cascadia website. You will need your Cascadia Student ID (SID).

Cascadia is a student-centered college that operates to provide individual knowledge and skills for the achievement of academic, professional, and personal goals. Inherent in the college’s mission are certain rights and freedoms needed for learning and personal development. Admission to Cascadia provides these rights to students and also assumes that students accept the responsibility to conduct themselves in ways that do not interfere with the purposes of the College in providing education for all of its learners. The Cascadia College Student Rights and Responsibilities are detailed on Board Policies.

The Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act (FERPA) refers to a Federal law that protects the privacy of students’ educational records.

Students may elect to complete a Release of Information Form available online. (Note: This form must be submitted in person with photo identification at Kodiak Corner in Building CC1.)

If a student is attending a postsecondary institution - at any age - the rights under FERPA have transferred to the student. However, in a situation where a student is enrolled in both a high school and a postsecondary institution, the two schools may exchange information on that student. If the student is under 18, the parents still retain the rights under FERPA at the high school and may inspect and review any records sent by the postsecondary institution to the high school.

NCAA Bylaw 14.2.3.3 Joint College/High School Program states: “A student-athlete’s eligibility under the five-year rule does not begin while a student is enrolled in a collegiate institution in a joint high school/college academic program for high school students in which the courses count as both high school graduation credit and college credit, provided the student has not officially graduated from high school and does not participate in intercollegiate athletics while enrolled in the joint program.” (Revised: 11/01/2001 effective 8/01/2002)

College courses may be used to satisfy NCAA core curriculum requirements if the courses are accepted and awarded credit by the high school for any student and meet all other requirements for core courses. College courses must be placed on the student’s high school transcript.

CiHS Program Administrator

Non-Discrimination Policy