Academic Requirements

SECTION 59-59-140 of South Carolina Education and Economic Development Act of 2006 states that an Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) is a student specific educational plan detailing the courses necessary for the student to prepare for graduation and to successfully transition into the workforce or post-secondary education.

An individual graduation plan must:

• Align career goals and a student's course of study;
• Be based on the student's selected cluster of study and an academic focus within that cluster;
• Include core academic subjects, which must include, but are not limited to, English, math, science, and social studies to ensure that requirements for graduation will be met;
• Include experience-based, career-oriented learning experiences including, but not limited to, internships, apprenticeships, mentoring, co-op education, and service learning;
• Be flexible to allow change in the course of study but be sufficiently structured to meet graduation requirements and admission to post-secondary education;
• Incorporate provisions of a student's individual education plan, when appropriate; and,  
• Be approved by a certified school guidance counselor and the student's parents, guardians, or individuals appointed by the parents or guardians to serve as their designee. 

Starting in the eighth-grade, students begin to develop their individual graduation plans that build on the career development and career assessment accomplished in their sixth- and seventh-grade years and that include a post-secondary option. The parents or legal guardians (or authorized representatives of the parents or guardians) as well as the students themselves must be directly involved in developing the IGP.

Beaufort County School District uses the online state-developed form for the IGP that’s located in power school. Download a sample IGP worksheet.

BCSD requires that every IGP:

•  Align career goals and the student’s course of study;
•  Be based on the student’s selected cluster of study and academic focus within that cluster;
•  Incorporate core academic subjects for high school graduation including but not limited to English, mathematics, science, and social studies;
• Incorporate experience-based career-oriented extended learning opportunities that include but are not limited to internships, apprenticeships, mentoring, cooperative education, and service learning;
• Be sufficiently structured to meet graduation requirements and admission to post-secondary education and sufficiently flexible to allow change in the course of study;
• Incorporate the provisions of a student’s IEP when appropriate;
• Be approved by a certified school counselor and the student’s parent or legal guardian (or an authorized representative of the parent or guardian); and,
• Be reviewed by the student, the parent or legal guardian (or an authorized representative of the parent or guardian), and the certified school counselor at least once a year.

It is required that each student’s IGP be signed by a certified school counselor. Input into the planning of the IGP can be provided by a variety of educators.  School districts must require that each student’s IGP be on file and be available to the certified school counselor and the student’s parent or legal guardian (or an authorized representative of the parent or guardian) each year as the student chooses courses for the upcoming year of study. 

The following Beaufort County School District programs encourage and recognize students who have gone beyond the minimum requirements for graduation.

Senior Scholars

Beaufort County School District annually recognizes graduating seniors who have exceptional academic talents and have achieved excellence while in high school. The screening process includes verification by the student's school counselors and administrators and a final verification by the district to ensure all requirements have been met.

Requirements to qualify for Senior Scholars are:

• Students must be enrolled in a high school within Beaufort County School District for a minimum of three consecutive semesters by the second semester of senior year;
• Be in top 10% of the graduating class;
• Have a minimum grade point average of a "B" at the end of each quarter for every course enrolled while in high school. This also includes high school courses enrolled while in middle school; and,
• Final grade point average of 3.5 or above; the table below lists course levels and grade point average required to qualify.

Course Level	Minimum GPA Each Quarter
College Prep	85 or 3.5
Honors	80 or 3.5
AP/IB/Dual Credit	75 or 3.5

 

Students, who meet the requirements for Senior Scholars will be recognized in a local awards ceremony, receive an Award of Merit certificate from the school district. The ceremony will be attended by Board Members, the superintendent, school administrators, school counselors and parents/guardians.

Distinguished Diploma Requirements

To earn a Distinguished Diploma, students must meet all of the criteria listed below: 

1. 20 points are earned by successfully completing approved courses with a final grade of 85 or higher:

   • All Honors classes are awarded 1 point. 

   • All AP classes are awarded 2 points. 

   • All IB-HL classes are awarded 2 points. 

   • All district approved Dual Enrollment courses are awarded 2 points. 

2. Three credits or more of the same foreign language OR designation as a CATE Completer. 

3. A minimum of 100 hours of community service while in high school. 

4. Only Carnegie unit courses with one or more credits are eligible. 

 

Valedictorian; Salutatorian; Top 10

• Must be enrolled in a high school for four years and enrolled in the high school within the Beaufort County School District awarding the diploma for a minimum of three consecutive semesters prior to graduation.

• Students electing accelerated graduation, graduating in less than four years, are not eligible to be Valedictorian, Salutatorian or Top Ten.

• Selection of Valedictorian, Salutatorian or Top Ten will be based on GPA as determined by SC Uniform Grading Policy

• Valedictorian and Salutatorian are customarily invited to speak at commencement. 

 

AP Scholar

The College Board offers several awards to select students who take Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The AP Program recognizes high school students who have demonstrated outstanding college-level achievement. Although there is no monetary award, each award-winning student can view and print their certificate online and the award is acknowledged on any AP score report.

Each year, the AP program recognizes students who have performed exceptionally well on AP examinations. Exams are taken in May and awards are usually granted in September.

The following designations can be earned:

• AP Scholar-Scores of 3 or better on three or more AP exams.
• AP Scholar with Honor-Scores of 3 or better on four or more AP exams and an average of 3.25 on all* AP exams taken.
• AP Scholar with Distinction-Scores of 3 or better on five or more AP exams and an average of 3.5 on all* AP exams taken. National AP Scholar: Scores of 4 or better on eight or more AP exams and an average of 4 on all* AP exams.
• AP State Scholar-Top male and female student in each U.S. state ranked first by the greatest number of exams with a score of 3 or higher and then by highest average on all* AP exams taken.

*Note: "All AP exams taken" refers to all AP exams taken in any year. It is not restricted to the year in which the award is issued.

Stem Scholars Diploma Requirements

The point system is used to help students monitor their progress through the STEM Scholars Diploma Program. Points are earned by successfully completing approved courses with a final grade of 85 or higher. Students must accumulate 12 points in order t o qualify for the STEM Scholars Diploma with a minimum of 3 points must be earned in each category —Science, Math and CATE courses in Technology and Engineering. Transcripts of Stem Diploma recipients will document Stem Diploma completion.

Math	Science	CATE
CP and Honors classes are awarded 1 point. All AP classes are awarded 2 points. All IB-HL classes are awarded 2 points. All IB-SL classes are awarded 1 point. All Dual Enrollment courses are awarded 2 points.	CP and Honors classes are awarded 1 point. All AP classes are awarded 2 points. All IB-HL classes are awarded 2 points. All IB-SL classes are awarded 1 point. All Dual Enrollment courses are awarded 2 points.	All CP Information Technology courses are awarded 1 point. All CP Aviation courses are awarded 1 point. All CP Agriscience courses are awarded 1 point. All CP Health Sciences courses are awarded 1 point. All PLTW courses are awarded 2 points. All IB-HL classes are awarded 2 points. All IB-SL classes are awarded 1 point. All IB-CP courses are awarded 1 point. All STEM related Dual Enrollment courses are awarded 2 points.

The top 10 students, including valedictorian and salutatorian, will be recognized at the school level at graduation. Recognitions and Honor Cord distinctions are outlined below.

BCSD Biliteracy Honor Cord - Silver and Turquoise

The Biliteracy Graduation Cord recognizes students who have attained the South Carolina Seal of Biliteracy and/or students who are served in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program and demonstrated proficiency on the ACCESS 2.0 English Proficiency Test.

BCSD Distinguished Diploma - Black and Gold

Students must meet all the criteria:

• 20 points are earned by successfully completing approved courses with a final grade of 85 or higher:
  • All Honors classes are awarded 1 point.
  • All AP classes are awarded 2 points.
  • All IB-HL classes are awarded 2 points. All IB-SL classes are awarded 1 point.
  • All district approved Dual Enrollment courses are awarded 2 points.
• Three credits or more of the same foreign language OR designation as a CATE Completer.
• A minimum of 100 hours of community service while in high school.

Only Carnegie unit courses with one or more credit are eligible.

BCSD STEM Diploma - Black

The point system is used to help students monitor their progress through the STEM Scholars Diploma Program. Points are earned by successfully completing approved courses with a final grade of 85 or higher. Students must accumulate 12 points to qualify for the STEM Scholars Diploma with a minimum of 3 points must be earned in each category—Science, Math and CATE courses in Technology and Engineering. Transcripts of Stem Diploma recipients will document Stem Diploma completion.

BCSD Senior Scholar - Royal Blue and White

The requirements to be a BCSD Senior Scholars are:

• Must be enrolled in a high school within Beaufort County School District a minimum of three consecutive semesters by the second semester of senior year;

• Be in top 10% of the graduating class;

• Have a minimum grade point average of a "B" at the end of each quarter for every course enrolled while in high school. This also includes high school courses enrolled while in middle school; and,

• Final grade point average of 3.5 or above; the table below lists course levels and grade point average required to qualify.

Course Level	Minimum GPA Each Quarter
College Prep	85 or 3.5
Honors	80 or 3.5
AP/IB/Dual Credit	75 or 3.5

SC College & Career Ready Measures - Burgundy

• Scores a composite score of 20 or higher on the ACT composite
• Scores a composite score of 1200 or higher on the SAT composite
• Scores a 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam in English, mathematics, science or social studies or an AP Capstone, Specific courses will be determined using the Activity Coding System.
• Scores a 4 or higher on an International Baccalaureate (IB) assessment in English, mathematics, science, or social studies. Only higher learning (HL) exams in English, mathematics, science and social studies may count. Specific courses will be determined using the Activity Coding System
• Completes at least (6) credit hours in dual enrollment courses in an English or mathematics course or STEM course with a grade of C or higher. STEM is defined as a natural/lab science or computer science course.
• Is a CATE completer and where applicable, earns national industry credential as determined by the business community.
• Earns a Silver, Gold or Platinum National Career Readiness Certificate on the Workkeys Exam
• Earns a scale score of 31 or higher on the ASVAB
• Complete a registered apprenticeship through ApprenticeshipSC