Counselor FAQ

Our NEW High School Scholarship program, based on student financial need and academic achievement, provides students the opportunity to enroll in an online course at no charge. To fill out an application for a student, go to byu.is/scholarships.

Online High School Student Progress Report

If you are a high school or middle school counselor or educator, you can view your students' progress and grades at any time by creating a secure log-in account and password.

Once you are logged in you will be able to:

• View the real-time status of each active course.
• View the final grade for completed courses.
• Print a student's course completion notice.
• Remove a student's records from your report if he or she has left your school.
• Export your report to an Excel spreadsheet or print your report.
• Review your status as a proctor (if applicable).
• View the shipping status of any exams that have been requested with you as the designated proctor.
• Request free copies of our marketing materials.
• Sign up for our monthly newsletter.
• Request that a printed copy of your progress report be mailed to you monthly.

Your students must include your school name and/or ACT code in their registration information before they will appear on your school's progress report.

The tutorials below will give you step-by-step instructions on how to create a BYU Net ID and how to use your student progress report.

How to Create a BYU Net ID
How to Use Your Student Progress Report

If you have any questions about your account creation or anything please call the counselor support hotline at 800-259-0172 or 801-422-3510 or email us at edsupport@byu.edu.

Notice of Course Completion

All students are mailed a notice of course completion. This includes the date the course was completed, the final exam grade, and the final course grade. If you are a high school counselor or educator and your students provided your school's name and/or ACT code when registering, your school will also receive a notice of course completion for those students.

Official Transcript

Your student can request an official transcript from us that can be mailed directly to you. High school and middle school courses will appear on a BYU Independent Study transcript. University courses will appear on a Brigham Young University transcript.

First: When counselors are looking at the list of enrolled students, they can choose in the status course check box whether they want to view students who are in courses that are expired, active, withdrawn from, completed, or all students. Make sure the correct status for the student's course is selected.

Second: If this does not work, counselors can double-check with the student to make sure he/she has the school's ACT code in his/her account. If the code is not in the account, the counselor will have access to the student's account as soon as it is added.

Third: If neither of these work, call the Educator and Counselor Support line at 1-800-259-0172.

All high school and middle school exams are proctored by individuals who have been approved by BYU Independent Study to supervise the examination process. Proctors have a responsibility to facilitate fairness and integrity during testing situations. Eligible persons wanting to become an approved proctor (or institutions wanting to become a proctoring facility) may apply by filling out the appropriate proctor application form. Once the form is filled out, the applicant will be contacted directly to move forward with the process. We encourage high school and middle school students to find proctors in their own schools. University course exams must be administered in a certified college testing center.

Proctor Eligibility

You are eligible to proctor for high school or middle school exams if you are:

• A full-time high school or middle school academic or guidance counselor.
• A full-time high school or middle school teacher.
• A school district superintendent or associate superintendent.
• A high school or middle school principal or vice principal.
• A counseling or curriculum administrator.
• A CES (LDS Church Educational System) full-time paid teacher or director.
• A full-time high school, middle school, or public librarian.
• An embassy education officer (for students living outside the United States).
• A military base/station education officer (for students living on a military base).
• A local testing center administrator.

Note: Middle school educators are only eligible to proctor for middle school students.

You are not eligible to proctor high school or middle school exams if you are:

• A student's tutor.
• An athletic coach, assistant coach, athletic administrator, athletic academic counselor, or anyone with a relationship to the student that may appear as a conflict of interest in proctoring an exam (i.e., sports, theatre, choir, etc.).
• A relative or friend of the student.
• The student's employer.
• Any university faculty, staff, or administrator who does not work in the testing center.
• An elementary school educator or counselor.
• An ecclesiastical leader who is not also a full-time educator in one of the eligible categories listed above.

Visit our proctor certification page

Proctor Procedures

1. The exam must be administered at the educational facility where the proctor is employed.
2. Proctors must verify the identity of each student (with a government-issued photo ID) and read all the exam instructions to students before they begin the exam.
3. The exam must be taken in one sitting.
4. The students must remain under the supervision of the proctor for the entire duration of the exam. If a student is uncomfortable with the proctoring situation (i.e., the setting is one-on-one with the proctor), a parent, friend, or chaperone may be present, so long as the student does not interact with that person during the exam. Receiving assistance from any person during an exam is considered academic dishonesty and may be grounds for a failing grade for the course.
5. The exam must remain sealed until the student is ready to take it.
6. The exam should never be in the student’s possession except when he or she is taking it.
7. Students cannot take the exam with unauthorized books, notes, or reference aids of any kind unless specified on the exam instructions in the proctor letter. Students cannot take notes on the exam nor have any part of it to study after taking it. Do not duplicate the exam in any way.
8. Proctors must collect all papers and questions at the conclusion of the exam. All materials, including exam questions, signed cover sheet, and any scratch paper, must be sealed and mailed back by the proctor in the envelope provided.
9. The exam must be mailed back to our office within one month of when the proctor receives it, whether the student has taken the exam or not. If the requested proctor is unable to proctor the exam, the requested proctor should please call the BYU Independent Study Office to certify another proctor. The proctor should not hand the exam over to another person or the student. If a student is suspected of academic misconduct, the proctor should call BYU Independent Study as soon as possible.

DISCLAIMER: BYU Independent Study reserves the right to deny enrollment to anyone; it also reserves the right to deny any proctor approval to supervise exams.

1. Double-check with the student that when he/she puts the counselor's name in the search database that the name and facility are spelled correctly and that all information included in the search is accurate.
2. Proctors can choose or restrict students, to whom they administer exams. To see available proctors at their school, high school students may need to have their school's ACT code added to their account.
3. If the student spoke with the proctor and was given permission to send an exam to that particular proctor, then the student may need to call our customer support line 1-800-914-8931 to request the exam be sent.

1. Make sure the student has created a Net ID and password and is using them correctly to log into our website (elearn.byu.edu).
2. If the student has not created a Net ID, have the student check his/her e-mail for a confirmation number. This number will be needed to create a Net ID.
3. Call the Educator and Counselor Support line at 1-800-259-0172 if the student does not remember or have access to his/her confirmation number or Net ID and the student can verify personal information to access log-in information.

Counselor and Educator Support

We have a dedicated phone number (1-800-259-0172) and e-mail address (edsupport@byu.edu) just for counselors and educators. Please refer your students to our Student Support phone number (1-800-914-8931) to ensure that our Counselor and Educator Support phone lines are always available to you.

Online Course Preview

We can provide counselors and educators online access to any of our courses. A course preview request form is available.

Monthly Online Newsletter

We would like to keep you updated throughout the year regarding our program. Our monthly online newsletter will notify you of new or updated courses, conferences and other events we will be attending, awards, policy changes and other announcements. Sign up

Counselor and Educator Guide

Our Counselor and Educator Guide is a hardback, spiral-bound version of our course catalog. It is designed to be durable enough to last all year as a resource. You may order copies anytime, at no cost. However, the most up-to-date course and policy information is always available online.

High School and Middle School Course Brochure

The High School and Middle School Course brochure is an abbreviated version of our catalog, designed for you to give high school and middle school students. It will make it easier for you to communicate with your students' parents about the course(s) you are recommending. You may order copies anytime, at no cost.

Open Courseware

We offer selected university and high school course content free for your use as a community service under the Creative Commons license. You may download, modify and share this content as long as you do not sell the products you derive from it. Course assessments are not included.

Free Noncredit Courses

In addition to courses for credit, we also offer a variety of free online noncredit courses. These courses cover subjects like study skills, basic arithmetic, student finance and spelling. We even have basic English courses for Spanish- and Chinese-speaking students.

Online High School Student Progress Report

If you are a high school or middle school counselor or educator, you can view your students' progress and grades at any time by creating a secure log-in account and password.

If your school or institution would like to purchase our courses for your students, you may apply for our Purchase Order Program. Once an account is established, you may use a purchase order to pay your students' tuition and retake, extension, and withdrawal fees.

You may contact our Purchase Order department directly:

ispo.byu.edu (website)
1-866-741-9144 (toll free)
801-812-8208 (fax)
ispo@byu.edu (e-mail)

Monday–Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. mountain time

State approvals

Some state departments of education have created an online provider approval process that preauthorizes their school districts' use of state or district funds to purchase our online courses. If your state has such a process in place, please check with your state to verify that we are an approved provider.

In our Provo, Utah office we have a team of full-time marketing representatives who travel throughout the country to personally meet with counselors and educators.

Click here for their contact information

All students

Our courses can help all students who:

• Lack the credits they need to graduate on time.
• Have schedule conflicts.
• Want summer school or other opportunities away from campus.
• Want courses that are not offered by their school.
• Need to repeat a course.

High school and Middle School Students

Our courses can help high school and middle school students who:

• Seek concurrent or dual enrollment by taking university courses.
• Want homeschooling options.

Student Accommodations

We are committed to providing a learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates persons with disabilities who are otherwise qualified. Students with a disability who are enrolled in a course are invited to contact our office to discuss both program requirements and available assistance.

Visit our Accessibility & Accommodations pages for more information

All Students

• Recommend our courses to students who will be comfortable with online learning.
• Encourage them to read the student information section of our catalog, plus our website and their course syllabus, to be sure they understand our policies and procedures.
• Alert them to any deadlines your school will require.
• Encourage them to contact our free tutors if they are struggling with their coursework.
• Help them determine what type of course they should take.

University Students

• Instruct them on your school’s procedure for accepting online transfer credit. (Brigham Young University students’ grades will automatically be posted to their BYU transcript.)
• Make sure that students whose course grades must appear within a particular semester or term (to meet a financial aid or graduation deadline) are aware that we must have received all their completed coursework and exams by the following deadlines:

High School and Middle School Students

• Provide your high school students with our High School and Middle School Courses brochure to give to their parents, identifying the specific course you are recommending; and your school’s ACT code (if one is available) for their use when registering.
• Monitor your students’ progress to make sure they will meet your school’s deadlines.
• Help them arrange for a proctor to administer their exams.

Our friendly and experienced tutors are available to help your students with their core courses at no additional cost. Our tutors have access to grade and course information, so they can see the areas where the student may need the most help. Students may e-mail the tutors, or speak with them through live chat Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. mountain time. If you would like to schedule a phone tutoring session or a meeting in person, please contact us.

Students who are no longer able to attend their school have options available to help them complete their high school studies. The BYU Independent Study High School Programs Department offers students a choice of three four-year programs (the Standard Program, Advanced Program, and Adult High School Diploma Program). Each program requires the student to complete 24.0 credits; most of the required high school courses are 0.5 credit.

Standard and Advanced High School Programs

The Standard and Advanced programs are geared toward high-school-age students preparing for college or the job market. Upon completion of the program, students are issued an official transcript rather than a diploma. This official transcript can be used to apply to colleges and universities or may be used as proof of high school completion for potential employers. It is recommended that students be at least 14 years old when applying to either program; you may contact the High School Programs Academic Administrator, Joseph Roberson, at joseph.roberson@byu.edu to discuss a possible exception. Any previously earned high school credits from other accredited institutions will be evaluated to determine if they can be used to help fulfill program requirements.

Adult High School Diploma Program

The Adult High School Diploma Program is designed for students who are 19 years of age or older and who are United States citizens or United States permanent residents. The program also helps students to prepare for college or the job market. Students who successfully complete the program requirements will receive a high school diploma from the Provo (Utah) School District.

For more information, visit our High School Programs page.

You should feel confident in accepting our courses for credit. Most universities, high schools, and middle schools approve and transfer our course credit based on our accreditation.

Accreditation Facts

• Our accreditation sources are reciprocal with all other area accreditation agencies across the country, making them generally transferable to almost all educational institutions.
• Brigham Young University has been accredited as an educational institution since 1923 by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).
• BYU Independent Study high school courses have been accredited since 1966 by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), a division of AdvancEd, and since 2008 by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).