How to Document Audited Classes on a Homeschool Transcript

When your child takes an audited class at a public or private school, the class technically doesn’t earn any credit from the school. You many be asking yourself, “Why even take a class that doesn’t earn credits?” Here are a few good reasons.

1. Exposure to New Subjects – audited classes allow your student to take classes that you as the teacher might not be confident in teaching, and it can help you identify areas they may be passionate about or potential career paths.

2. Flexibility and Low Pressure – since audited classes typically don’t involve any graded assignments, students can learn at their own pace and focus only on learning, not their performance.

3. Preparation for Higher Education – audited classes can familiarize students with the college environment and expectations and can also better prepare students for the challenges of higher education.

4. Cost-Effective Education – audited classes are often cheaper than full enrollment, so your student can learn a myriad of subjects at a much cheaper rate.

But, probably the most important reason:

5. YOU CAN GIVE YOUR STUDENT CREDIT! – If they put in the work and the hours, that is worth a high school credit, even if they technically don’t earn a credit from the institution. Audited classes can give all the benefits of dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment classes without the cost or the pressure. As homeschoolers we can grant credit where it is earned, regardless of audit status.

I encourage you to list the school and the class on the transcript the same way it would be listed for other students. First, create an acronym for the name of the school then calculate the credit value. Here is a breakdown of what I mean:

You might use the acronym LHS for Lutheran High School.
Your class title might be LHS: Religion and Worldview.

If the school has class about 2-3 hours a week all year long, then it’s a 1/2 credit class.
If they call it a “semester class” then it’s a 1/2 credit class.
If the class is in session about 5 days a week all year, then it is a 1 credit class.

Be sure to hold on to all completed projects or papers for this class. Even if the teacher doesn’t provide a grade for these assignments, you, the homeschool teacher, can provide a grade! These documents also provide work samples for colleges if they request them.

When you are taking a school class for credit, then you must use the grade they provide. Their B is the B you put on your homeschool transcript by that class. But if you are simply attending the class without receiving credit, or just auditing the class, then you won’t receive a grade from the school. In that case, you can choose to put “AU” for audited, in place of the grade and the credit. If you do that, then clarify what the acronym means, and at the bottom of the transcript write “AU indicated classes take Lutheran High School for audit. No grade or credit given.”

If you as the teacher choose to give your student credit for the work they completed, add their grade to the transcript as you would for any other class.