Information for USI CAP Applicants

Students and parents may be confused about how CAP differs from Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The FAQs below may answer some questions you might have.

CAP courses are only available at participating Indiana high schools, and not every CAP course is offered at every high school. Find your high school on the Participating CAP High Schools page. This will provide you with important information, such as how many credit hours a CAP course is, how the course fits in USI's Core 39 General Education Curriculum, and the Indiana Core Transfer Library (CTL) course title.

Students who are juniors or seniors enrolling in CAP should have a minimum, cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 (based on a 4.0 scale). Sophomores enrolling in CAP should have a minimum, cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 along with permission from a counselor or instructor.

Past CAP students must have obtained a USI grade of C or better to enroll in further coursework in the same subject area (i.e. English 101 and English 105).

• A junior or senior student with a GPA below 2.5, a sophomore student with a GPA below 3.0, or any student who fails to meet additional required criteria for particular courses will not be permitted to enroll and will receive a letter with notification of denial.
• The CAP Office will contact the instructor and counselor so the student can be informed in person that participation in the requested CAP course has been denied.

Students who wish to enroll in Chemistry 142, Chemistry 143, Civil Engineering 321, English 101, English 105, Math 111, Math 112, Math 114, Math 230, Psychology 201, Social Work 224, or a world language (French, German, Spanish) must meet additional requirements. Visit our Course Prerequisites page to learn more.

Before enrolling in the College Achievement Program, it is the student's responsibility to contact the institution to which they are seeking admission to determine transferability of CAP credits. The decision to recognize credits is the decision of the receiving institution.

A student who wants to transfer credit to a specific college or university should check directly with that institution (registrar's office, office of admissions, or academic program of intended major) to determine if a course will be accepted and counted toward graduation.

Credits earned through the College Achievement Program are USI courses and will be waiting for students when they arrive at USI's campus. Even so, before enrolling, students should still consult the University web site for particular requirements of their potential major and USI's general education Core 39 requirements. If you know your intended major, also check out the major program requirements, as some majors specify which courses should be taken to meet Core 39 requirements.

Transfer Credits to Indiana Public Institutions

Public schools within the state of Indiana have established a Core Transfer Library (CTL). Each course included in the list will transfer to any public college or university in Indiana if an equivalent course exists and if the student has earned an adequate grade in the course. Click here for more information about the CTL and how CAP courses transfer around the state.

CAP courses not included in the CTL may still transfer to public institutions in Indiana. Check with your college of choice prior to enrolling.

Transfer Credits to Out-of-State and Private Institutions

Public schools out of state generally accept dual credit transfers, as do some private schools. The registrar's office, admission office, or prospective academic school will be able to verify how credits from a CAP course will be accepted and counted toward graduation requirements.

When contacting an institution to determine how CAP credits will transfer, be sure to have the following information ready:

• The name and number of the CAP course (e.g. ENG 101 Rhetoric and Composition)
• The course description (available here)
• The number of credit hours

Be prepared to ask the following:

• Will the course fulfill a graduation requirement or be accepted for elective credit?
• Is a minimum grade required for the course to transfer?
• Will you send a written confirmation of what was agreed to in this conversation?

Students are advised to take a portfolio of their work (including a course syllabus, graded papers, tests, and other beneficial information) to new student orientation in order to demonstrate the college work in the course and to gain transfer credit. If transferability is in question, students should go to the subject area department (mathematics, English, etc.) and show the portfolio to the freshman advisor. Persistence on the part of the students often meets with a successful transfer of credit. Students should not carry in a USI transcript, as most institutions require it to be sent directly from USI.

For more information on the transferability of credits, visit the CAP Student Guide.

Current or prospective CAP students have access to USI's advising centers to learn how CAP courses will fit into a future USI degree. High school students should investigate whether a course will fit into their college coursework degree map before signing up for dual credit. 

Prospective USI students can meet with USI advisors to learn how dual credit courses can fit into an intended major or USI's Core 39 Core Curriculum. Click here for more information. If you're interested in attending USI after high school, you can schedule a visit!

Non-USI bound students will need to investigate how their USI credit earned through CAP will transfer to their university of choice. Visit the Transferability of Credits tab and click here for more information.

To schedule a time to meet with a CAP advisor, or if you want more specific advising information, visit the CAP Advising Information page.

CAP courses are free for all students, but the credits you would earn through CAP might later impact your access to federal financial aid. Every dual credit course you complete, or even attempt, as well as college credit hours acquired through successful AP exams, count toward your aid limit (1.5 times the number of hours in the degree program).

For more information, visit USI Student Financial Assistance.

USI students must complete both Core 39 and major/program requirements; some USI majors require specific Core 39 courses. Many CAP courses fulfill a portion of Core 39, but those that don't may count as overall hours needed for graduation. Core 39 can be fulfilled by many USI courses, not just those offered through CAP.

See which courses count towards USI's University Core Curriculum, Core 39. 

1. Visit https://portal.usi.edu or find the myUSI link by clicking the magnifying glass at the top right of any USI web page.
2. Click "Activate Account" on the login screen.
3. Follow the directions on new screen. Your University ID is provided on the enrollment verification letter you received after being enrolled in a CAP course. In a pinch, your CAP instructor can help you locate your University ID.
4. A temporary verification code will be sent to the personal email address you provided when you applied to CAP. Retrieve and enter the code that was sent to your personal email address.
   1. If you do not enter the code within five minutes, it will expire. You will need to go through the steps above again to have a new code sent. 
   2. If the email provided during the CAP application process was incorrect or inaccessible to you for any reason, you will not be able to complete the myUSI activation process on your own. You must contact the CAP Office for help.
5. Create your myUSI password by following the password requirements. Be sure to save your username and password in a secure location (such as a contact in your phone).
6. After you have created your password, a confirmation screen will appear. Your username will be displayed on the screen. Save your username in a secure location, as you will need it each time you log into myUSI.
7. Log into myUSI by entering your username and newly created password.
8. Upon your first successful login to myUSI, you will be prompted to set up Multifactor Authentication, or MFA. MFA provides an additional layer of security to your USI student data through a secondary verification of your identity. 
   1. The most secure option is to download the Okta Verify app to your smart phone. Another option is to set up MFA through Google Authenticator. For more details on how to set up MFA, visit USI's IT website: https://www.usi.edu/it/security/multifactor-authentication