Families can explore flexible credit recovery options through full-time enrollment at Laurel Springs or, for a student who wants to stay enrolled at their current high school, through an individual, single course. A currently enrolled Laurel Springs student cannot retake a Laurel Springs course for credit recovery purposes.

Enrollment windows and year-round availability.

Laurel Springs uses rolling admissions, so a student can begin a course on almost any Wednesday throughout the year rather than waiting for a semester or fall start date. From an individual start date, students generally have five months to complete a semester-length course or ten months for a year-long course, with the flexibility to pace faster if needed.

Course selection and academic review.

Families work with an Admissions Coordinator to identify the specific course or credit needed. Our academic team reviews official transcripts to confirm credit values and appropriate placement before a course is assigned.

All Laurel Springs courses are held to high standards and are taught by credentialed teachers who provide 1:1 instructional support throughout the standard program. Explore our catalog of more than 300 accredited courses to find the course you need.

Coursework is asynchronous and mastery-based rather than tied to a fixed daily schedule. In practice, that means a student can log in at any hour and work through lessons in the order that fits their circumstances.

Assessments and mastery expectations.

Students complete each course’s full set of assessments and are held to the Laurel Springs’ accredited grading standards. Advancing through the course depends on demonstrated mastery, not on completing the material quickly.

How credit is awarded.

Credit is awarded upon successful completion of the course and its assessments, under Laurel Springs’ own accredited academic standards. Whether that credit satisfies a specific requirement at a student’s current school depends on that school’s own transfer-credit and credit recovery policies (see “Will My School Accept the Credit?” below).

Records and transcripts.

Laurel Springs provides an official transcript or course completion record once a course is finished. Record requests are typically processed within five to seven business days.

What is high school credit recovery?

High school credit recovery is the process of retaking or completing coursework to earn academic credit for a required course a student did not successfully complete the first time.

Can you complete credit recovery online?

Yes. Laurel Springs offers accredited, online credit recovery courses through either full-time enrollment or a single, individual course, taught by credentialed teachers who provide 1:1 support throughout. A currently enrolled Laurel Springs student cannot retake a Laurel Springs course for credit recovery purposes.

How long does online credit recovery take?

It depends on the course and the student’s pace. Under standard rolling admissions, students generally have five months to complete a semester-length course or ten months for a year-long course. Through Laurel Springs’ online summer program, a semester course can be completed in four to six weeks and a full-year course in eight to twelve weeks.

Is credit recovery the same as summer school?

No. Summer school describes when a student takes a course; credit recovery describes why. Credit recovery can happen during the summer, but it is not limited to it, since Laurel Springs’ rolling admissions allow a student to pursue credit recovery at any point in the year.

Are Laurel Springs credit recovery courses accredited?

Yes. Laurel Springs is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Cognia, and every course in our catalog, including those used for credit recovery, is held to the same accredited standards.

Will my current school accept Laurel Springs credits?

In many cases, yes, but this depends on the policies of the student’s current school rather than on Laurel Springs alone. Families should confirm eligibility with their current school and a Laurel Springs Admissions Coordinator before enrolling.

Can I take just one course for credit recovery?

Yes. Laurel Springs offers individual, single-course enrollment for students who want to remain enrolled at their current school while recovering a specific credit.

Does credit recovery appear on a transcript?

Laurel Springs provides an official transcript or course completion record once a course is finished. How a recovered credit is ultimately recorded on a student’s overall transcript depends on the policies of their current school.

Can student-athletes use online courses for credit recovery?

Student-athletes can pursue credit recovery through Laurel Springs, but should verify applicable NCAA eligibility requirements first, since not every credit recovery scenario automatically satisfies NCAA core-course standards.

Can I use my state's Education Savings Account (ESA) for credit recovery at Laurel Springs?

Families in Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, and New Hampshire may be able to apply approved ESA or education freedom account funds toward tuition or course fees, including an individual course taken for credit recovery, once both the family and Laurel Springs are approved under that state’s program.

Which states currently allow ESA funds to be used at Laurel Springs?

Laurel Springs is currently an approved vendor in Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, and New Hampshire, and continues to pursue approval in additional states. Families outside these states should confirm directly with their state whether a similar program exists.

Online Credit Recovery

Apply Now Request Information

Laurel Springs School offers a flexible credit recovery program that can help high school students recover needed academic credits and stay on track toward their educational goals. Students complete coursework online with the support of experienced, credentialed teachers while maintaining greater flexibility over when and where they learn.

What is Credit Recovery?

Credit recovery is the process of retaking or completing coursework to earn credits for a course a student did not successfully complete the first time, most often a required course that was not passed, though the same process can apply to a course that was dropped or left incomplete for other reasons.

Requirements around credit recovery, including which courses qualify, how a recovered credit is recorded, and whether an outside school’s coursework is accepted at all, vary by a student’s current school and district.

Laurel Springs’s online high school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Cognia, and families considering credit recovery through Laurel Springs should confirm their current school’s specific policy before enrolling.

Who Is Online Credit Recovery For?

Online credit recovery at Laurel Springs tends to serve families in few specific situations:

A student who did not pass a required course at another school, such as a 9th grade core subject
A student who needs to make up credits or replace a missing credit
A student trying to stay on track for graduation
A student looking to complete coursework over the summer
A student who needs more scheduling flexibility than a traditional classroom allows
A student enrolled elsewhere who needs a single, individual course rather than full-time enrollment
A student-athlete who needs to factor NCAA eligibility requirements into a credit recovery decision

How Online Credit Recovery Works at Laurel Springs

Flexible Online Learning Credit Recovery vs. Summer School Can Credit Recovery Help You Graduate on Time?Will My School Accept the Credit?NCAA and Credit Recovery Request More Info

Flexible Online Learning Without Sacrificing Academic Quality

Credit recovery should not be about completing a course as quickly as possible. At Laurel Springs, flexibility describes who sets the pace, not a reduction in what is required. Advancing through any Laurel Springs course depends on demonstrated master, and students receive 1:1 support from credentialed teachers along the way.

Credit Recovery vs. Summer School

Summer school and credit recovery are related but not interchangeable terms. Summer school describes when a student takes a course, typically during a break in the traditional school calendar. Credit recovery describes why a student is taking a course, because a course was not successfully completed the first time. Credit recovery can happen during the summer, and Laurel Springs’ online summer program is one option for it, but a student can also pursue credit recovery at any other point in the year through our year-round, rolling admissions enrollment.

Laurel Springs’ online summer program allows students to complete a semester-length course in four to six weeks or a full-year course in eight to twelve weeks, with new sessions starting nearly every week from late April through July, and students may enroll in up to two credits per summer term. For a student who needs to recover a missing credit before the next school year begins, summer coursework offers a defined, compressed timeline; for a student who needs to recover credit at another point in the year, an individual course through standard rolling admissions works the same way without the summer-specific compression.

Can Credit Recovery Help You Graduate on Time?

Recovering a missing or failed credit can help a student get back on a path toward graduation, but graduation eligibility ultimately depends on a student’s complete academic record and the specific graduation requirements set by their school. Laurel Springs requires 23.5 credits to earn an accredited high school diploma, distributed across English, math, lab science, social studies, world language, fine arts, physical education, health, and electives.

Families whose student wants to move even further ahead of a traditional timeline, rather than simply catch up, may also be interested in our blog post on how to graduate high school early.

Will My School Accept the Credit?

This is likely the single biggest question standing between a family and enrollment. Laurel Springs is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Cognia, two of the most widely recognized accrediting bodies in American education, which is what allows our credits and diploma to be evaluated using an established, transparent standard. Because Laurel Springs is accredited, a course completed here can, in many cases, be used for credit recovery, but acceptance is ultimately determined by the policies of the student’s current school, not by Laurel Springs.

Families enrolled at another school should confirm that school’s specific transfer-credit and credit recovery policy before enrolling in a Laurel Springs course for this purpose. A Laurel Springs Admissions Coordinator can walk through what documentation is typically needed to support that conversation.

NCAA and Credit Recovery

Student-athletes considering credit recovery need to pay close attention to NCAA academic eligibility requirements in addition to their own school’s graduation requirements. Not every course, and not every credit recovery scenario, should be assumed to automatically satisfy NCAA core-course requirements; the NCAA applies its own rules to how repeated, retaken, and nontraditional or online coursework counts toward eligibility, and those rules can be specific to a student’s situation.

Laurel Springs offers an NCAA-approved curriculum, and dedicated College Athletic Counselors guide student-athletes through NCAA Eligibility Center registration, amateurism requirements, and recruitment alongside their academic planning. NCAA approval confirms that Laurel Springs’ core-course sequencing meets the same standards applied to any other accredited high school; it does not, by itself, confirm that a specific course taken for credit recovery will satisfy a specific student-athlete’s remaining eligibility requirements, which is why individual verification matters here more than in most other enrollment decisions.

Paying for Credit Recovery: State ESA Options

Families in a growing number of states can apply state-funded Education Savings Account (ESA) or similar school-choice program dollars toward tuition or course fees, including individual courses taken for credit recovery, if both the family and Laurel Springs are approved under that state’s program.

Laurel Springs is currently approved as a vendor under the following state-funded programs:

Laurel Springs continues to research and pursue vendor approval in additional states where we meet the applicable eligibility requirements. Because ESA programs are state-funded, both a family and Laurel Springs must be approved before funds can be applied, and the amount a family is approved for is determined entirely by their state program, not by Laurel Springs. Families in one of the states above who are considering credit recovery should confirm their eligibility directly through their state’s program, then speak with a Laurel Springs Admissions Coordinator about how an approved award applies to a specific course or credit recovery plan.

How to Get Started

Tell us what course or credit your student needs. An Admissions Coordinator will start by understanding the specific course or credit your student is missing.

Review course and enrollment options. We will walk through whether full-time enrollment, dual enrollment or a single, individual course best fits your student’s situation.

Confirm transfer and graduation requirements. Before enrolling, confirm with your student’s current school how a Laurel Springs course will apply, and, for student-athletes, confirm applicable NCAA requirements.

Enroll and begin coursework. Because Laurel Springs uses rolling admissions, a student can typically begin onboarding and coursework within weeks of applying.