Students beginning online courses at Kolbe Academy after a term has begun or at the mid-year mark often need additional support to ensure success in Kolbe’s online program.  Please read through this information to help gauge if a late or a mid-year enrollment might work for your family and student. 

Note: Enrollments for traditional homeschool, digital homeschool, and asynchronous online courses are open year-round.

Late Enrollments

Students who are enrolled on or after the Thursday before online classes begin each semester are considered late enrolling students. Admissions and the assigned family advisor will work with the family to determine whether a late enrollment in a term is feasible for individual students. Students will be required to take placement exams before registering and being approved for online courses. The Dean of Students will schedule a series of meetings with late enrollees and their families in order to facilitate a smooth transition into online courses. After the second week of live classes have commenced, late enrollments are considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Mid-Year Enrollments

Students enrolling with the intention of beginning online classes at the beginning of a new term (i.e. beginning of second semester or quarter three) are considered mid-year enrollees. Admissions and the assigned family advisor will work with the family to determine whether a mid-year enrollment is feasible for individual students. Students will be required to take placement exams before registering and being approved for online courses. Mid-year enrollments open the first Monday of November. 

Discern a Late or Mid-Year Enrollment

Take time to discern if a late or mid-year enrollment is a good fit for your family and your student: 

1. Learn about our unique online programs PK-12 Online Program Webinar and read through the Back-to-School article.
2. Review our Enrollment Options, Tuition, and Parent-Student Handbook.
3. Prayerfully consider the following:
   • Am I desiring an authentically Catholic, classical education for my child?
   • Am I able to partner with Kolbe Academy in my child's education, assisting my student with online classes and their learning every day?
   • Is my student ready for online learning?
   • Do I already meet the technology requirements necessary for online learning?
   • Is my student able to complete courses in a non-online format (Traditional/Digital Homeschool or Asynchronous Online)? 
     • While some sections of core courses are open, many sections are completely full by mid-July. We cannot guarantee a spot that is open at the time of your appointment with Admissions or your advisor will still be available at the time you complete your student's course registration form. Spots are available on a first-come first-served basis and are secured at the time the student's course registration form is submitted by the parent.

Late or Second Semester Admissions Overview

If you have decided a late or mid-year enrollment might be feasible for your family and successful for your student, please review the following admissions process. Please note, this process can take up to 2-3 weeks to complete from start to finish. This means students may not be able to attend live classes until up to three weeks after the enrollment application form is initially submitted.

1. Make an appointment with Admissions to discuss the late or mid-year enrollment process for your family.

2. Enroll: Submit the enrollment application and pay the deposit in the Kolbe Portal.

   • Set up your BlackBaud tuition account if making tuition payments. If the enrollment for the student is not approved, the deposit paid will be refunded. 

   • Allow two business days for processing.

   • A student needing to start online classes at the beginning of second semester should have the enrollment application submitted no later than December 15th for the best opportunity for success and acceptance, as our office is closed for Christmas break.

3. Admissions Hold: Schedule a call with your family advisor via their appointment booking link in your Kolbe Portal account. You and your advisor will discuss your desired courses and the educational needs for the student. If a late or mid-year enrollment is appropriate for your family, your student will be moved to the next step.

4. Placement Testing: schedule the placement test for your student.

   • A link to schedule a live assessment (K-8) or to download placement tests (9-12) will be sent to you once the enrollment application has been processed and the appointment with the family advisor is complete. Parents should schedule the live placement test (K-8), download and administer placement tests (9-12), and upload the placement tests back into the placement test form as soon as possible to avoid additional delays.

   • Once placement test results are available, usually within 1-3 business days after the placement test is uploaded, your advisor will contact you with the results and communicate the best course placement for the student.

   • The placement test is required for students not currently in online classes. The placement test fee is $85 and is non-refundable.

5. Special Education Review: Students who are enrolled in the special education program will schedule and complete a consult call with their advisor to set up their student's learning plan.

6. Course Registration: Complete the student's course registration form linked in the Kolbe Portal. This is available once the placement test is submitted.

7. Active: Once the course registration is approved by the advisor and finalized by Admissions, our bookstore will email your bookstore draft order and credit for Full-Time Online and Full-Time Standard enrolled students. Allow up to 5 business days for books to ship after your order is placed.

   • Parents are responsible for purchasing books directly from the bookstore for students enrolled as Part-Time or Full-Time Flex. Use the book links listed in your course registration confirmation email.

For second semester mid-year enrollments, the above steps must be completed no later than January 1st to ensure a smooth start to second semester. 

Getting Started in Online Courses

• Late enrolling online students will receive their myKolbe log in information and receive access to their online courses within 3 business days after their course registration is approved by the advisor and finalized by Admissions.

  • Students starting at the mid-year point in the second semester will receive access to their online courses no later than the first Friday of the new year.  Second semester online classes begin the following Tuesday. Please see the School Calendar for specific online school dates.

• Online teachers will send students a short welcome email to help open a line of communication and can provide scans of required materials for the first week of class.

• The Dean of Students will schedule a series of 1-4 onboarding meetings for late enrolling students to attend with their parents.  The onboarding meetings will cover Student Orientation, a game plan for managing initial assignments, and possible subsequent check ins to evaluate student's acclimation to the online environment.  Students who need additional support beyond these initial meetings will be recommended for the accountability mentoring program.