Q: Your Henle Latin program covers more material than First Form Latin. Other courses complete more translation, and some schools complete Henle Latin First Year text in a year. How does one determine, then, what can be counted as a year of high school credit? Why are High School Latin I and First Form Latin both counted as 1 high school credit?

A:Some of the confusion results from the fact that many programs that contain more translation tend to be inductive in their approach. They attempt to immerse students in the actual language, much like they would have learned English when they were young. This is similar to the whole language method used to teach reading in many public schools. If you have an experienced teacher and you are able to spend several hours a day on Latin with a group of students who are able to converse together, this method can work. But the immersion method is harder to use if you don't have that luxury.  Immersion approaches do not tend to emphasize grammar or present it in a systematic way, and therefore do not give the student the grammar knowledge and mental training that result from more grammar-based approaches.  The benefits of Latin go beyond the mere ability to translate or even speak Latin: the grammar knowledge and mental skills one acquires in Latin study are at least as important.  First Form Latin teaches the grammar, vocab, and syntax in a logical, systematic, and grammar-based way, just like Henle Latin does.  Currently, there are no universal standards as to the content of a high school foreign language course, like there are, say, for mathematics.  Most of the folks that use First Form Latin are home school parents who are preparing their own transcripts, and when one compares what most public schools are covering in their foreign language courses, we usually exceed what is covered.  This is one of the reasons why we recommend that First Form Latin can be counted as a year worth of high school language credit.

As far as completing the Henle I text in one year, it is not impossible to cover that much Latin in a year, but we have always preferred an approach that ensures that the student has fully internalized the knowledge and skills of each aspect of the grammar. It is analogous to different Bible study methods: you may have a choice between covering the Bible in a year or studying one book of the Bible for a year. They are both equally challenging, but they do two different things. Covering the Bible in a year will give you a good overview, but does not allow you to study any one thing deeply; whereas studying one book of the Bible over a longer period of time will allow the student to have a fuller and deeper knowledge of that one text. One method is deep and the other is wide. Many seminaries and graduate schools offer both of these kinds of classes, but give the same course credit to both.  The same is true of philosophy, history, and many other courses.  For example, one can take an Introduction to Philosophy course that covers everything from logic, ethics, epistemology, history, and metaphysics.  Or, you can take a course solely devoted to each one of these subjects.  In both cases, the same amount of credit is awarded though one is a survey and one is more focused.  This is only an analogy, but it illustrates the point.  To cover Henle Latin First Year Text in a year is indeed a great accomplishment, but we prefer a slower approach that allows for full mastery at every level.  Different programs simply vary with respect to what they accept as a high school credit.  This is no slight on others who do it differently than we do, just a difference in criteria and methodology. 

Q: What are changes in the payment schedule for your classes?

A. Our year-long courses will have one payment for the year, rather than two for each semester. Also, prices will rise after our early registration deadline of July 15th. If you register by July 15th, then prices will $50 lower for year-long courses, and $25 for semester-long courses. After July 15th, all of our courses will revert to normal prices.

Q: What are the course terms? How long are they?

A: Check the Calendar page for specific dates. Our full year courses are 38 weeks in length, with four weeks of break throughout the school-year. Each semester includes 17 weeks of instructional time.

Q: What about vacations and breaks?

A: There is a one week Fall Break over Thanksgiving week, a Christmas break of 2 weeks, and a one-week Spring Break that normally corresponds with Holy Week. Please note that given the way the course is structured, if you have a break that does not correspond with our course calendar, you can take these breaks whenever you like as long as the course work is completed in a timely manner and by the end of the term.

Q: What day of the week and what time will the online class sessions be held? Also, how long will each session last?

A: Each class session lasts approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes once a week. A few of our courses may extend out longer or meet twice per week. This will be noted on the schedule. Most classes are scheduled between the hours of 11:00 a.m. est to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Since most courses will have several classes, it is normal for there to be several available times. It is likely that one of these will fit your schedule. Your student may attend any of the available classes for a particular course on any given week. You are eligible for a full refund if you sign up for a course and the class time is not suitable to you.

Q: Will the instructor be available outside of the class time?

A: Yes. The instructor will be available during the class, through the question and discussion forum. The instructor will also be available by e-mail at any time. However, it is normal for there to be a 1-2 day turn-around time from our instructors.

Q: How much time per day/week will the student need to be devote in order to do well in this course?

A: The time necessary for the online course will be the about the same as doing it out of the book, with the addition of time needed to complete the online quizzes and to participate in the weekly class. You should allow 2-5 hours a week, depending on the course. As a general rule, courses for younger students should take less time than those for older students, and work is lighter at the beginning of a course. Of course, the amount of time spent on a course also depends on each student.

Q: When should we order the course materials?

A: The course materials should be ordered as soon as possible after you enroll in your course of study. Summer is a very busy time at Memoria Press, and not having your materials on hand when the course begins will disrupt your student's learning.

Q: Do students need the DVD's in addition to the online course, or would that be too redundant?

A: DVDs are available and required for some courses, but optional for others. The DVDs are a visual part of the course and include quite a number of Powerpoint visuals to assist in the learning process. Some students find this enhances their online experience.

Q: How many students will be in a class?

A: Classes vary greatly in the number of students enrolled. Students will only be directly interacting with the 8-20 students who are in the particular class they attend on a regular basis every week. But in the case of larger classes, the student may be a part of a larger class "community" that in some cases can have up to 100 students. The student can interact with these other students who are in other sections of the class less directly through the question and discussion forums. This is possible by virtue of the fact that in these larger class communities there are several sections of the class available during the week, any one of which a student may attend on any given week, allowing for flexibility in the students schedule. Normally the same students attend the same class every week, and so these students get to know each other in a smaller class environment.

Q: How does a student "attend class"?

A: All of our classes are audio/visual classrooms where the teacher and 15-20 students meet in a real time environment in which the instructor converses directly with students. The student will be able to see the teacher and hear the voice of the instructor, students respond using a text chat, and can be called on by the instructor to respond orally using a microphone. The Online Academy uses the state of the art Adobe Connect Pro software, which allows the instructor all the flexibility of a whiteboard, PowerPoint, screen-sharing, a notepad, student polling, breakout rooms, etc.

Q: What happens in a class?

A: The primary purpose of the class is for the instructor to teach new material, as well as to provide accountability, motivation, and support for students. The instructor will answer questions, but students are also encouraged to ask their questions outside of class whenever possible, to allow the instructor to devote class time to instruction and review. Here is a common structure for a typical class chat:

• Free discussion (5 minutes usually before class starts)
• A comprehensive lesson that covers the assigned material for the week (20-30 minutes)
• General drill questions from the instructor about the previous week's assignment (10 minutes)
• Questions from instructor to individual students over the previous week's assignment (20-25 minutes)
• Game or competition over the previous week's assignment, testing knowledge and application of principles. Sometimes this occurs in our Breakout Rooms (15 minutes)
• Instructor answers questions from students (5 minutes)

Q: Is the Memoria Press Online Classical Academy accredited?

A: The accreditation environment for independent online schools is a little like the wild, wild West right now. Unless you are affiliated with a college or university (or, in rarer cases, a public elementary or secondary school)--or if you are in a state which has accreditation procedures for online schools--there is no accreditation process. Kentucky is one of the majority of states that does not have an accreditation process for online schools, so we are not accredited.

But if you are asking this for high school transcript purposes, be aware that this should not be an issue. We have never had credits from our school questioned for purposes of college admission. College admission departments have become used to accepting credits from home schools, which are entirely unaccredited, and from private Christian schools, many of which are unaccredited. And so when they see that, in addition to regular home school work, the student is receiving instruction from someone outside the home school--a cooperative school, unaccredited private school, or online school--they generally welcome this, since it gives them some confirmation that there is someone outside the school who is confirming the student's abilities.

If the problem is transferring credits to another elementary or secondary school, every situation is different, since different schools have different requirements that they want transferring students to meet. In this case, you would want to ask the particular school what their requirements are.

Q: Will the online tests for the courses be different than the tests in the quiz packet for this program?

A: Online tests are more comprehensive than the quiz packets that Memoria Press sells.

Q: When would it be appropriate for a child to begin the Henle program?

A: We recommend that students be at about the 7th grade level in their studies before they attempt Henle Latin. However, younger students who have completed Latina Christiana I and II would also be well-prepared for the Henle course.

Q: What is the difference between the Middle School Henle courses and the High School Henle courses?

A: Memoria Press Classical Online Academy has two Henle "tracks," The first is a middle school track, in which students proceed at about half the speed of the high school course. This allows younger students to spend more time with the material and advance in their Latin studies without being overwhelmed. Because of the way the course is structured, there are several ways for students to jump from the middle school track to the high school track.

Q: Which Latin course is right for my student?

A: Since many people use programs other than Memoria Press programs, where your student left off in his or her Latin study may not exactly correspond with where any one of our courses begins. But with the number and variety of our courses, there is likely to be a good place for the student to take up his studies. This is best determined by contacting us at 877-862-1097. We can do a simple question and answer session over the phone and quickly determine which course your student should be placed in.

Q: How does a student access the quizzes?

A: He simply gets on the course page and clicks on the link for each quiz that is in the middle column of the page for the appropriate week.

Q: What do the quizzes cover?

A: The quizzes cover a selection of the material covered in the homework. In Latin, for example, all vocabulary, grammar rules, and forms are tested, and anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3 of the sentence translations. The quiz for any given week will cover the material from the current week, as well as some review material from previous weeks.

Q: What is the purpose of the online quizzes?

A: The timed online quizzes serve several purposes in the course:

• They are the primary basis for the student's course grade
• They are a way to test the student's knowledge of course material
• They are a way to help the student check the accuracy of his homework
• They are a way to help the student learn the course material

Q: How are the quizzes structured?

A: Our quizzes have various kinds of questions::

• Fill in the Blank questions require the student to fill in the appropriate missing word
• Multiple Choice questions require the student to select one or more correct answers to a question
• Crossword questions require the student to fill in the spaces on a crossword puzzle on the basis of a clue
• Matching questions require the student to match a term with another term or with a definition that corresponds to it
• Word Mix questions require a student to find a term in a mix of letters on the basis of a clue
• Essay questions require a student to write short essay responses to questions. These are manually graded.

Q: How are the quizzes graded?

A: The grade is calculated on the basis of how many questions the student answered correctly. Every time a question is answered incorrectly, points are taken off based on how many questions are on the quiz. If there are only four questions, for example, and the student gets only three correct, his grade would be 75%. Points are added back, however, when the student goes back and corrects the answer. He can do this as long as there is still time left for the test. When the quiz is completed (when the student has corrected all his answers or the timer has expired, whichever happens first), the student's score is logged to the gradebook. Except for certain exams, such as midterms and finals, the student can take the tests as many times as he wishes in accordance with Memoria Press' master learning philosophy. However, in most courses, if the student opts to take the tests multiple times the grades will then be averaged. Other, lower-level courses, allow students to keep their highest grade and this will be noted by the instructor.

Q. Does the hint button affect the student's grade?

A. Asking for a hint on any gap will reduce the score for that gap proportionately to the number of letters in that answer. In other words, if you ask for a hint on a five-letter word, then one-fifth of the score for that word will be lost.

Q: Why is my quiz grade not recording?

A: Remember that one of either two things must happen before the system records your score:

• The student clicks on the "Check" button and gets all the answers right; or
• The timer runs out

If the student clicks on the "Check" button, but the system indicates that he is missing one or more answers, or got them incorrect, he must complete all of them correctly, or the timer must run out in order for the system to log the grade. If your score still does not record, then there is likely a problem with the settings on the user's browser. The best solution is to either check your settings (Is there a pop-up blocker on? Are your cookies enabled?) or simply switch to another browser. This solves 90 percent of problems when a student has a problem with the quiz. But technology is not perfect and there are times when the system will render a grade but does not record it. This can be corrected by sending the instructor a printed copy of the browser screen which indicates your grade.

Q: Can I keep a hard copy of the graded quiz?

A: Yes. In fact, we recommend you do this. As soon as the system displays your grade, print the page and keep it in your course records. But your student must remember to print the page of the completed, grades quiz before he leaves the page. Once you have left the page, you cannot return to the graded page.

Q: How do I keep track of my student's grades?

A: Each quiz is immediately graded and logged in the gradebook. All you need to do to keep track of the grades on the quizzes is to access the online course page with your student's login name and password and click on the "Grades" link at the left-hand side of the page.

Q: How many times can the quizzes be taken?

A: The quizzes can be taken as many times as your student needs. In most courses, the quizzes are averaged.

Q: What is the student allowed to have with him when he takes the tests?

A: In most cases, the student is allowed—and even encouraged—to have his book and his homework in front of him when he takes a quiz. This allows him to correct any mistakes he has made on his homework. Again, this may seem counterintuitive, but the point is not to play "gotcha" on a test, but to help the student learn. If he has done his homework correctly, he should be rewarded for that. There are some quizzes, however, such as vocabulary tests and Latin grammar fill-in-the-blank quizzes, where the student is expected to know the material from memory, and to complete the test from memory. The quiz itself will indicate whether the student is allowed to use his book and homework or not.

Q: How long do the quizzes last?

A: The quizzes are timed and last anywhere from 2 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the material being covered. In most cases, even with long quizzes, the student will finish before the allotted time. More material will be covered in the quizzes as the course progresses, so the allotted time will increase. However, because the student will be expected to acclimate himself to the quiz format as the course progresses, the amount of time allotted for the same amount of material will decrease over the course of the class.

Q: What about homework?

A: All homework should be completed before the student takes the online quizzes. Even though the quizzes form the basis for the student's grade in the course, this does not mean the student does not have to do the homework. If the homework is not completed before taking the quizzes, the student will either not do well on them or will have to spend an inordinate amount of time retaking them. It will take less time for a student to complete the homework and take the quizzes than it would to sit in front of the computer not having done his homework, and take the quizzes over and over again until he gets a decent grade.

Q: What do I do if I want to transfer my child from one course to another?

A: If you wish to transfer from one course to another before the beginning of the class, please contact us and we will take care of it. Please do not enroll in the other course and then request a refund of the course the student was originally enrolled in. We can do this (and have), but it creates additional administrative work for us. It is much easier to simply transfer your student. The only exception to this is if the price of the course you want to transfer into is different from the one you are transferring out of. In that case, call us and we will let you know the best way to proceed.

Q: What do I do if I'm unable to take a course once I've already enrolled?

A: Because of busy schedules and potential conflicts with the class times, some people may find that they have to drop a class. You may drop a class up to 30 days before the beginning of a term with no drop fee. There will be a $50 fee to drop a class if you drop it less than 30 days before the first day of the term. Students who drop a class after the 2nd week of the class term will owe the entire fee for the course.