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SOAR

SOAR stands for Students Occupationally and Academically Ready. The mission of SOAR is to prepare students for college and careers in a diverse, high-performing workforce.  

A SOAR Program is a PDE approved, Career & Technical Education Program that credits skills and tasks learned at the secondary school (high school) level to a postsecondary ( college) degree, diploma or certificate program. SOAR programs prepare today’s student for High Priority Occupations which are tomorrow’s high demand and high wage careers.  

A Career and Technical Education (CTE) Articulation Agreement is a an agreement written between two institutions which permits skills and tasks learned at one institution (in this case, the secondary school offering the PDE Approved SOAR Program)  to be accepted and applied toward a degree or certificate at a postsecondary institution. In SOAR Programs, the agreement is made between PDE representing the Secondary School Partners and Perkins-Allocated Postsecondary Institution Partners.

Statewide articulation occurs when a specific Perkins Allocated Postsecondary Institution agrees to award college credit opportunities to any qualifying graduate of a PDE approved secondary school offering the SOAR Programs of Study across the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hence a statewide articulation.

Under the terms and conditions of this Agreement and based on the following principles, college-level credit will be granted to students matriculating into a partnering postsecondary CTE program when all the student criteria listed below is achieved and proper documentation is submitted.   

Students must:

  • Earn a high school diploma, achieve a minimum 2.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale in the technical courses and complete the Secondary School component of the approved PDE Program of Study.
  • Achieve competent or advanced level on the Secondary School end-of-program assessment that is appropriate to the approved PDE Program of Study.  
  • Achieve proficiency on all of the approved PDE Program of Study Secondary Competency Task List.
  • Furnish documentation necessary to the Postsecondary Institution upon written request.  Documents should be student specific that verify that the student meets all secondary requirements of the approved PDE Program of Study.  

For more information about specific SOAR Programs, visit the link below:

http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/programs_of_study/7686