Admissions and Selection Process

Please read the selection and admissions criteria. We are open enrollment during the course selection process. Programs that are over selected during the course selection process will then follow the process in the admissions and selection document. This information is also on the main page and you can down load the PDF copy here: CTE Selection _ Admissions Policy.pdf


Career and Technical Education Admissions of Students

Carlisle Area School District CTE Program Selection Criteria & Admissions

The Center for Careers and Technology at Carlisle High School accepts all students into its programs/courses. Our enrollment is unlimited. We have an open enrollment policy for all Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. Students can select a program/course to complete as a career and technical (CTC) Program of Study or students can select a program/course as a career elective with the opportunity to then choose to continue on in the Program of Study as a participant, concentrator, or completer. However, there are exceptions to unlimited or open enrollment for the following CTC programs making enrollment limited for these programs: Carpentry, Automotive Technology, Early Childhood Education, and Culinary Arts. These CTC programs are three consecutive periods each day and have a limited number of openings. In addition, Engineering Technology, Computer Networking, Marketing, Accounting, Communications Broadcasting, Health Careers will be subject to the same process below if there is over selection for a CTC Program of Study course during the course selection process for the upcoming school year. Throughout this document the term program will mean the same as CTC Program of Study.

Students who select a CTC program and who will be eligible to complete a CTC program will be given priority over all other students at the discretion of the Director of Careers and Technology using the scoring process in the selection and placement section procedure below.

Home school education students who want to participate in one of CASD’s career and technical education programs will be given the same treatment as other students who enroll in the school district. In addition, home education students must meet the same eligibility criteria and prerequisites as applicable to CASD students. To be included in the course selection process for the upcoming school year for career and technical education, home school education students need to contact the district and notify them of their interest in a CTE program by the end of the school year. Home school education students who contact CASD after the end of the school will be added into the course selection process for the upcoming school year but placed and ranked with the students on the wait list for programs that have a wait list. This is all on the same basis as our CASD students.


Note: The PDE approved Career and Technical Education Programs have an unlimited enrollment and allows all students to participate in classes that are detailed in the scope and sequence in CATS and Carlisle High School Education Planning Guide. With the exception of the limited enrollment for the programs mentioned as limited above, Carlisle High School adds additional sections if warranted by student over selection of program courses.  

Selection and Placement Procedure

The following process starts with course selection and ends at the start of the next school year. During the course selection process, Carlisle High School Counselors meet with all students to review the potential courses they will take for the next school year. In addition, program teachers input course selection recommendations into our Student Information System for school counselors and students to use when making a decision to continue on and complete their Program of Study. Students who complete 50% of the program scope and sequence must take the end of program assessment.

For programs listed above as limited, students will be rank ordered using the following selection criteria: grade level, attendance, grade point average, and discipline. If there are students who have the same scores for the last spot in a CTC program then the Director of Career and Technical Education, Program specific teacher, and Principal will conduct an interview as a tiebreak. The Director of Careers and Technology can also make a final determination for selecting a student into a program in a tie break situation if the interview process does not yield a clear candidate for selection.

Example of the selection process. Students who want a specific CTE program are ranked against other students who want the same CTE program. If a student wants Automotive Technology, then he or she will be ranked with other students who selected Automotive Technology as their first choice for their course selection. The highest-ranking students are selected until all openings are filled. If openings remain for a program, applicants who have the program listed as a second choice and did not get into their first choice will be ranked and offered the open spot or choose to be placed on their first program choice’s wait list. Students who are not selected for their first or second choice will discuss options with their school counselor or Director of CTE about programs that still have openings. Whenever a selected student cannot fulfill his/her obligation to enroll in a career and technical education program, then the Director of CTC will select the next highest-ranking applicant on the waiting list.

Students who enter Carlisle Area School District after the course selection process has occurred are given equal consideration provided there are seats available in their preferred career and technical education program. If there is a wait list then those students will be ranked with the wait list students.

The Director of Careers and Technology will evaluate students using the following selection criteria:

Grade Level (5 possible points): Program selection includes grade level status. A student receives 5 points if he/she is able to complete the program and 100% of the required competencies/tasks within the planned course sequence. This means that students will need to be able to follow and complete the scope and sequence listed in the course planning guide. For example, a student focusing on a three-year program needs to be on track or be able to complete that program in three years. Therefore, a junior who wants to start a three-year program in his or her junior year will not be on track to complete a three-year program and will not receive 5 points. 

Attendance (10 possible points): To meet the required hours of participation and complete the competencies necessary to achieve completer status in certain programs, a student’s attendance record is considered in the selection process. All absences and their reasons are considered when reviewing selection for these programs. Lengthy illnesses in excess of three days and documented by a physician’s excuse are not included in the applicant’s attendance record review. The following formula will be used: Attendance rate = Days in school/Total Days. Therefore, if a student is in school 170 days out of 181, then they would have an attendance rate of 93.9. This student will therefore receive 9.39 points. In addition, for every two times a student is late to class that student will lose .5 points. If we use the formula above then student with 170 days would go down to 169.5 days prior to dividing by the 181.

Grade Point Average (GPA) (10 possible points): The student’s GPA is allocated a percentage value based on the 4.0 scale. The formula is Student Actual GPA/4.0. Example: A 3.5 GPA will be given 8.75 points. As 3.5/4.0 = .875.

Discipline (minus points against total): The student’s discipline record will be considered for major incidents for which they received consequences of out-of-school suspension (OSS). Each incident resulting in an OSS will result in a loss of 1 point. Example: A student’s high school discipline record that indicates two incidents of OSS will receive minus 2 points off his or her total score. For in-school-suspension (ISS) and detentions a student will lose .25 points for each ISS. The Director of Career and Technical Education has the discretion to remove a student from the selection into a program based on high amounts of discipline, 10 or more, as this creates safety issues in programs where safety is paramount due to the use of equipment. The Director will discuss this with the administrative team at the high school before making any final decisions.

Interview (Tie break only): If there are students who are tied for a last spot in a program the Director of Careers Technology, a principal, and program teacher will interview the tied students to determine who will receive the last spot.   

 Legal Reference:

1. 22 PA Code 339.21

Equity Nondiscrimination Statement

The Carlisle Area School District is an equal opportunity education institution and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, creed, religion, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, disability or any other status protected by law in its activities, programs, or employment practices as required by Title VI, Title IX and Section 504. No person shall on the grounds of race, color, age, creed, religion, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, disability or any other status protected by law be excluded from participation in or be subjected to discrimination in any program or activity funded in whole or in part by federal funds. Discrimination on the basis of sex or religion is also prohibited in some federal programs. For information regarding civil rights or grievances procedures, services, activities and facilities that are assessable to and usable by handicapped persons, contact: Mike Gogoj Title IX Coordinator and Lisa Stover Section 504 Coordinator, 540 West North Street Carlisle, PA 17013 phone: 717-240-6800, e-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]