Various seals on high school diplomas

[Anonymous]

I've been reading about the various seals that can be earned for diplomas in Virginia.

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-students/graduation/graduation-requirement-resources/graduation-diploma-seals


Is there a tangible benefit to the student who receives these? By graduation they've already been accepted to a college. Or is it like honors cords, but it's bling for the diploma instead of for the graduate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I've been reading about the various seals that can be earned for diplomas in Virginia.

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/parents-students/for-students/graduation/graduation-requirement-resources/graduation-diploma-seals


Is there a tangible benefit to the student who receives these? By graduation they've already been accepted to a college. Or is it like honors cords, but it's bling for the diploma instead of for the graduate?

No. The seals look nice and they are an ego booster. And then you forget about them. Those of us parents who graduated here in Va (likely 80s through the 00s) have our diplomas with all the seals safely stowed away in the original leather cases with other ephemera.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I'll stop bugging my kid about it.

[Anonymous]

Question about the Governor's Seal:

It says:Governor's Seal
The Governor's Seal is awarded to students who complete the requirements for an Advanced Studies Diploma with an average grade of "B" or better, and successfully complete college-level coursework that will earn the student at least nine transferable college credits in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge, or dual enrollment courses.


My question is about the "nine transferable college credits"---Does that mean the student would have need to take 9 AP classes (or IB, cambridge, DE?)
Or that the student passed high enough on the AP exam that they will get that many credits (because if a student gets a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam, it will usually count towards a college class that is anywhere from 3-5 credits)

Basically, my kid took 3 APs last year and 5 this year, so 8 total....does that mean he does not get the governor's seal?
Because he scored high enough on the exams last year that he will have more than 9 "credits" going into college....however I realize that also varies by college.

[Anonymous]

It is just an extra sticker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is just an extra sticker.

Seriously. Not important. move along

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question about the Governor's Seal:

It says:Governor's Seal
The Governor's Seal is awarded to students who complete the requirements for an Advanced Studies Diploma with an average grade of "B" or better, and successfully complete college-level coursework that will earn the student at least nine transferable college credits in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge, or dual enrollment courses.


My question is about the "nine transferable college credits"---Does that mean the student would have need to take 9 AP classes (or IB, cambridge, DE?)
Or that the student passed high enough on the AP exam that they will get that many credits (because if a student gets a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam, it will usually count towards a college class that is anywhere from 3-5 credits)

Basically, my kid took 3 APs last year and 5 this year, so 8 total....does that mean he does not get the governor's seal?
Because he scored high enough on the exams last year that he will have more than 9 "credits" going into college....however I realize that also varies by college.

That's a good question. Those are indeed different units. In a typical HS course catalog/program of study, it may say:

"High School Credits: 1"
"College Credits: 3"

when listing a course.

Given that it says "9 transferable college credits" I think we're talking about 3 AP/DE classes, which is a low hurdle. Just what you'd expect from a generic seal like this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question about the Governor's Seal:

It says:Governor's Seal
The Governor's Seal is awarded to students who complete the requirements for an Advanced Studies Diploma with an average grade of "B" or better, and successfully complete college-level coursework that will earn the student at least nine transferable college credits in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge, or dual enrollment courses.


My question is about the "nine transferable college credits"---Does that mean the student would have need to take 9 AP classes (or IB, cambridge, DE?)
Or that the student passed high enough on the AP exam that they will get that many credits (because if a student gets a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam, it will usually count towards a college class that is anywhere from 3-5 credits)

Basically, my kid took 3 APs last year and 5 this year, so 8 total....does that mean he does not get the governor's seal?
Because he scored high enough on the exams last year that he will have more than 9 "credits" going into college....however I realize that also varies by college.

That's a good question. Those are indeed different units. In a typical HS course catalog/program of study, it may say:

"High School Credits: 1"
"College Credits: 3"

when listing a course.

Given that it says "9 transferable college credits" I think we're talking about 3 AP/DE classes, which is a low hurdle. Just what you'd expect from a generic seal like this one.

I’ve never heard of these stickers, and don’t care if my kid gets them , but now I’m curious. Do the kids have to score 4 or 5 on the AP exams to qualify? Or is it that they just take the class for which they would be eligible to get credits if they scored highly enough?

[Anonymous]

It's cool that you can't get the STEM seal just by doing advanced coursework in stem, nope, you need an academy course because nothing screams STEM like a hospitality and tourism class

[Anonymous]

OP -- of course none of those matter. My senior has taken 11 AP courses and I have no friggin clue which stickers (if any) he will get on his diploma. Heck, I didn't even know that was a thing.

[Anonymous]

It wouldn't be a problem if they just gave different diplomas. One for people that actually do work and another for the below GED equivalent experience. It's sad when so many people on the forum (rightly) seem to be complaining about how bad school is in one facet or another and yet almost every underperforming kid graduates on time.